Dickens's "Take care of him. He Bites." by Harold Copping (1924)

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"Take care of him. He Bites."

Harold Copping

1924

Photographic reproduction of line drawing

11.8 x 4 cm (4 ⅝ by 1 ⅝ inches), vignetted

An illustration for "Little David Copperfield," p. 63.

The kindly master, Mr. Mell, drives David to the school at Blackheath. But Mr. Murdstone has sent instructions that the school is to regard him as a pupil who should be ostracized, for he has been sent there "as a punishment for his wickedness" (60). The boys, however, do not respond to the beautifully written placard as David's cruel stepfather had anticipated.

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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

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Passage Illustrated: Murdstone's failed attempt to ostracize David at school

When they got to Salem House, as the school was called, David found that he had been sent before the holidays were over as a punishment, and was also to wear a placard on his back, on which was written — "Take care of him. He bites." This made David miserable, and he dreaded the return of the boys. Fortunately for David, the first boy who came back, Tommy Traddles, was not an unkind boy, and seemed to think the placard rather a joke, and showed it to all the boys as they came back, with the remark —

"Look here — here's a game!"

Some of the boys teased David by pretending he was a dog, calling him Towser, and patting and stroking him; but, on the whole, it was not so bad as David had expected. [Character Sketches from Dickens, 60]

Relevant Illustrated Editions of this Novel (1849 through 1910)

David Copperfield (homepage)
Phiz's 40 serial illustrations for David Copperfield (May 1849 - November 1850)
O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 1, 1862)
O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 2, 1862)
O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 4, 1862)
John Gilbert's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 3, 1862)
Sol Eytinge, Junior's sixteen Diamond Edition Illustrations (1867)
W. H. C. Groome's seven illustrations for the Collins Clear-type Pocket Edition, Vol. I (1907)
Kyd's five Player's Cigarette Cards, 1910
Harry Furniss's 29 Illustrations for Dickens's The Personal Experience and History of David Copperfield in the Charles Dickens Library Edition (1910)

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz"). London: Chapman & Hall, May 1849 to April 1850.

Dickens, Mary Angela [Charles Dickens' grand-daughter]. Dickens' Dream Children. London, Paris New, York: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., 1924.

Dickens, Mary Angela et al. Children's Stories from Dickens. Introduction by Percy Fitzgerald. Illustrated by Harold Copping. London, Paris New, York: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., 1893.

Matz, B. W., and Kate Perugini; illustrated by Harold Copping. Character Sketches from Dickens. London: Raphael Tuck, 1924. Copy in the Paterson Library, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

Created 29 September 2023