Dickens and His Illustrators Part 26

[Sidenote: =Little Dorrit, 1861.=]

The opportunity soon arrived when the novelist's interest in the son of "poor Frank Stone" a.s.sumed a very practical form, for at this juncture it occurred to him to test the artistic capabilities of Marcus Stone, probably without any intention of permanently ousting "Phiz." The young _protege_, however, possessed no knowledge of etching, and, indeed, had gained but little experience in any other form of ill.u.s.tration. Fortunately, the art of drawing upon wood (then much in vogue, but now practically obsolete) needed very little training in the hands of one skilled in the use of the pencil, so that d.i.c.kens was induced to favour Marcus Stone by agreeing to the adoption of the readiest means of producing his designs for the engraver. It is not generally known that the artist's first attempt at drawing on wood was the frontispiece for the first cheap edition of "Little Dorrit" (1861), which, although showing marked ability, is by no means equal to his subsequent efforts. Marcus Stone was fortunate in making his _debut_ as a black-and-white draughtsman at the time when a remarkable array of talent presented itself in the pages of the _Cornhill Magazine_, just then launched by Thackeray, the ill.u.s.trations for which were supplied by Millais, Fred. Walker, Sandys, and Leighton--a new school of designers, whose admirable pencillings could not fail to inspire the younger members of the craft.

[Sidenote: =Our Mutual Friend, 1864-65.=]

Mr. Marcus Stone, who was scarcely twenty-one years of age when he first essayed the art of book-ill.u.s.tration, rightly considers that one of the most important events of his life was the receipt of the commission to ill.u.s.trate "Our Mutual Friend," and, doubtless, he fully realised at the time how valuable was the _prestige_ arising from such collaboration with so popular a writer as Charles d.i.c.kens. This story, like those which preceded it, was issued in monthly parts, the first instalment appearing in May 1864. At the beginning the novelist was about four numbers in advance, but he lost his advantage as the tale progressed, until at length he found himself in a position necessitating the preparation of each number month by month, as required by the exigencies of publication. Before the initial number could be circulated, a pictorial wrapper was requisitioned, for which Mr. Stone designed a series of _tableaux_ embodying somewhat allegorically the leading characters and incidents, and displaying prominently in the centre the t.i.tle of the story, the word "Our" being dropped in over one of the subjects. A preparatory sketch was submitted to d.i.c.kens, who, while thoroughly approving thereof, made certain proposals tending to its improvement. Writing to the artist (February 23, 1864) he said:

"I think the design for the cover _excellent_, and do not doubt its coming out to perfection. The slight alteration I am going to suggest originates in a business consideration not to be overlooked. The word 'Our' in the t.i.tle must be out in the open like 'Mutual Friend,' making the t.i.tle three distinct large lines--'Our' as big as 'Mutual Friend.'

This would give you too much design at the bottom. I would therefore take out the dustman, and put the Wegg and Boffin composition (which is capital) in its place. I don't want Mr. Inspector or the murder reward bill, because these points are sufficiently indicated in the river at the top. Therefore you can have an indication of the dustman in Mr.

Inspector's place. Note, that the dustman's face should be droll, and not horrible. Twemlow's elbow will still go out of the frame as it does now, and the same with Lizzie's skirts on the opposite side. With these changes, work away!..."

PLATE LVIII

MONSIEUR DEFARGE AND DOCTOR MANETTE

_Facsimiles_ of the Original Studies by

MARCUS STONE, R.A.

These Studies were prepared for the First Cheap Edition of "A Tale of Two Cities."

_Lent by the Artist._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Before executing this drawing for the wrapper, the artist had received from d.i.c.kens a few general hints as to the points to be ill.u.s.trated, beyond which he had little to guide him. "Give a vague idea," said the novelist, "the more vague the better." Mr. Stone desired to introduce Silas Wegg into his composition, but the description of the mercenary old ballad-monger was so indefinite that he was compelled to ask d.i.c.kens if he had absolutely decided in his own mind whether Silas's wooden leg was the right or the left one. Judging by his reply, the novelist had evidently overlooked this detail, for he said, "It's all right--please yourself;" whereupon the doubtful point was settled by the artist, who placed the timber limb on Wegg's left side. Mr. Stone recalls an interesting circ.u.mstance in the fact that d.i.c.kens laid special stress upon a certain incident which he desired should be hinted at by the artist in his design for the monthly cover. "One of the strongest features of the story," observed the novelist, "will be the death of Eugene Wrayburn after the a.s.sault by the schoolmaster. I think," he added, "it will be one of the best things I have ever done." d.i.c.kens, however, changed his mind, for Wrayburn does not die.

It is a recognised fact among ill.u.s.trators of works of fiction that authors are usually devoid of what Mr. Stone aptly designates a sense of "pictorialism,"--that is to say, the subjects selected by them for ill.u.s.tration invariably prove to be unsuitable. Charles d.i.c.kens (according to Mr. Stone's experience) was a noteworthy exception to the rule, although he usually afforded the artist free scope in this matter, sending him the revised proof-sheets of each number, that he might make his own choice of the incidents to be depicted; and it is worthy of remark that in no instance did the novelist question the propriety of his selection. A preliminary sketch for each ill.u.s.tration was forwarded to d.i.c.kens, who returned it to the artist with suggestions, and with the t.i.tle inscribed by him in the margin. The finished drawings upon the wood were never seen by the novelist, as they were dispatched by Mr.

Stone to the engravers immediately on completion.

Mr. Marcus Stone affirms that he was much hampered by d.i.c.kens with respect to these designs, for the novelist, hitherto accustomed to the diminutive scale of the figures in Hablot Browne's etchings, was somewhat imperative in his demand for a similar treatment of the ill.u.s.trations for "Our Mutual Friend." The author, it seems, was usually in an appreciative mood whenever a sketch was submitted for approval, now and then favouring his ill.u.s.trator with information that often proved indispensable. With reference to the drawing ent.i.tled "The Boffin Progress," he wrote: "Mrs. Boffin, as I judge of her from the sketch, 'very good indeed.' I want Boffin's oddity, without being at all blinked, to be an oddity of a very honest kind, that people would like."

Concerning a second sketch for another proposed ill.u.s.tration, he observed: "The doll's dressmaker is immensely better than she was. I think that she should now come extremely well. A weird sharpness not without beauty is the thing I want." Towards the close of the first volume d.i.c.kens wrote to the artist from Paris the following letter respecting subsequent designs:--"The sooner I can know about the subjects you take for ill.u.s.tration the better, as I can then fill the list of ill.u.s.trations to the second volume for the printer, and enable him to make up his last sheet. Necessarily that list is now left blank, as I cannot give him the t.i.tles of the subjects, not knowing them myself.... I think the frontispiece to the second volume should be the dustyard with the three mounds, and Mr. Boffin digging up the Dutch bottle, and Venus restraining Wegg's ardour to get at him.[47] Or Mr.

Boffin might be coming down with the bottle, and Venus might be dragging Wegg out of the way as described."

Footnote 47: This subject was chosen.

The story, when concluded, was issued in two volumes, each containing twenty ill.u.s.trations, engraved by Dalziel Brothers and W. T. Green in almost equal proportions. Mr. Marcus Stone regards these early efforts in black-and-white art as very immature, and believes he could have achieved greater results if he had been less handicapped by certain hara.s.sing restrictions. That these clever designs possess the charm of unconventionality is undeniable, while in addition to this they are marked by an originality of treatment which may be attributed to the fact that each drawing is the fruit of many careful studies of figures and accessories, these imparting an air of reality to the scenes depicted. Notable instances of this may be observed in the first frontispiece, ent.i.tled "The Bird of Prey," in which is represented a characteristic portion of the river-bank below London Bridge (probably Rotherhithe), and in the last engraving "Not to be Shaken Off," the snow-covered lock-gates in this ill.u.s.tration having been drawn from a sketch of the gates still existing on the Regent's Ca.n.a.l, Hampstead Road.

PLATE LIX

"BLACK AND WHITE"

_Facsimile_ of the Original Drawing by

MARCUS STONE, R.A.

This Study was prepared for the Library Edition of "American Notes."

_Lent by the Artist._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Mr. Stone enjoys the distinction of having introduced to d.i.c.kens's notice the original of that remarkable personage, Mr. Venus. Early in 1864, the artist was engaged upon a painting representing a "loafing"

deserter being marched off under arrest, while some busy workmen temporarily suspend their labours in order to watch the military procession as it wends its way along a public thoroughfare.[48] The artist desired to introduce into the composition a begging dog, but, not succeeding to his own satisfaction, he consulted a brother-artist (well known for his clever delineation of animals), who said, "Why don't you go to Willis? He will soon find you a dog, and 'set him up' for you."

Willis was a taxidermist, who lived on the north side of St. Andrew's Street, near Seven Dials, and to him Mr. Stone at once stated his requirements, with the result that in the course of a few days the stuffer of skins went to Mr. Stone's studio accompanied by a dog such as the artist had described. The animal being deemed suitable, its fate was sealed, and there is a touch of pathos in the recollection that the little creature made such friendly overtures to the artist during the interview that he felt very much averse to authorising its destruction.

However, sad to relate, he hardened his heart, and the poor beast was "set up" accordingly. On the evening of the day when Mr. Stone first called upon Willis, and observed the strange environment resulting from the man's occupation, he was invited by d.i.c.kens to go with him to the play, and between the acts the novelist enquired if he knew of any peculiar avocation, as he wished to make it a feature of his new story,--"it must be something very striking and unusual," he explained.

The artist immediately recalled Willis as he appeared when "surrounded by the trophies of his art," and informed d.i.c.kens that he could introduce him to the very thing. Delighted with the suggestion, the novelist appointed "two o'clock sharp" on the following day, for a visit to Willis. It happened that the man was absent when they called, but d.i.c.kens, with his unusually keen power of observation, was enabled during a very brief s.p.a.ce to take mental notes of every detail that presented itself, and his readers were soon enjoying his vivid portrayal of that picturesque representative of a curious profession, Mr. Venus.

The novelist was so elated by the discovery that he could not refrain from confiding the secret to Forster: "While I was considering what it should be," he wrote, "Marcus, who has done an excellent cover, came to tell me of an extraordinary trade he had found out, through one of his painting requirements. I immediately went with him to St. Giles's to look at the place, and found--what you will see."

Footnote 48: This picture, called "Working and Shirking," was exhibited at the Royal Academy during the same year.

Mr. Stone visited Willis's shop two or three times for the purpose of sketching, in order that he might effectively introduce the more salient features into his drawing. The ill.u.s.tration gives an approximate representation of that dingy interior, with its "bones warious; bottled preparations warious; dogs, ducks, gla.s.s eyes, warious;" but, in delineating the proprietor, the artist did not attempt to give a true presentment of Willis, whom, by the way, d.i.c.kens never saw, and who never suspected that it was his own establishment which figures in the story.

In all the ill.u.s.trations there is that happy delineation of character which indicates how admirably the artist understood his author. Perhaps the most successful designs are those where Rogue Riderhood appears, particularly that in which we behold the thankless ruffian at the moment of his recovery from "that little turn-up with Death;" while among other drawings deserving attention special mention must be made of those containing the quaint and pathetic figure of Jenny Wren, and of that ent.i.tled "The Boofer Lady," the latter denoting Mr. Stone's ability, even at this early date, in depicting a pretty woman,--an art in which he has since displayed such consummate skill.

PLATE LX

"TAKING LEAVE OF JOE"

_Facsimile_ of the Original Drawing for the Library Edition of "Great Expectations" by

MARCUS STONE, R.A.

In the engraved version of this Design, Pip is seen wearing a "bowler"

hat.

_Lent by the Artist._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Mr. Marcus Stone claims the credit of bringing into repute the now universal custom of duplicating drawings upon wood-blocks by means of photography, his ill.u.s.trations for Anthony Trollope's story, "He Knew He was Right," being the first thus treated. The adoption of this plan secures the preservation of the original designs, and therefore renders them available for comparison with the engraved reproductions. Mr.

Stone, nevertheless, is by no means satisfied with the engraver's treatment of his work, nor is this surprising when we critically examine such deplorable examples of wood-engraving as instanced in the ill.u.s.trations ent.i.tled "The Garden on the Roof" and "Eugene's Bedside."

In one of the designs, that representing "The Boffin Progress," it will be noticed that the wheels on the "off-" side of the Boffin chaise are omitted, an oversight (explains Mr. Stone) for which the engraver is really responsible.

The original sketches for "Our Mutual Friend" were disposed of by the artist, many years ago, to the late Mr. F. W. Cosens, who desired to add them to his collection of d.i.c.kensiana. At the sale in 1890 of that gentleman's effects at Sotheby's, the series of forty drawings (some of which were executed in pen-and-ink and others in pencil) sold for 66, the purchaser acting for a well-known firm of American publishers. The drawings were subsequently bound up in a copy of the first edition of the story, and the treasured volume now reposes in the library of a New York collector.

[Sidenote: =Ill.u.s.trations for Cheap Editions.=]

Mr. Stone is naturally best known as a d.i.c.kens ill.u.s.trator through his designs for "Our Mutual Friend." In addition to these, however, he has essayed some ill.u.s.trations (engraved on wood by Dalziel Brothers) for cheap issues of the works of the great novelist, of which the following is a complete list:--

LITTLE DORRIT--_First Cheap Edition_, 1861. Frontispiece.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS--_Library Edition_, 1862. Eight Ill.u.s.trations.