The Fox Discovered. Alfred Crowquill. Hand-coloured wood engraving; engraved by J. C. Jobbins, 5 x 6 inches. Source: Alfred Crowquill, The Careless Chicken, 12. Mr Fox prepares for the kill – and acts as a lightly coded representation of the dangers of urban living. Labelled a ‘rascal’, ‘brigand’ and ‘thief’, his jaunty coat is part of the motley costume that middle-class Victorians regarded as a sign of villainy. Dickens’s rascals, with their inappropriate hats and ill-fitting jackets are prime examples of the symbolism of clothes – of which this is another example.
Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Crowquill, Alfred. The Careless Chicken. London: Grant & Griffith, n.d. [mid 1850s],
Created 3 June 2017