Sol. Gills and Walter Gay
Sol Eytinge, Jr.
1867
Wood-engraving
10 x 7.4 cm (framed)
Dickens's Dombey and Son (Diamond Edition), facing III, 153.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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Context of the Illustration: The Nephew and Kindly Uncle
But his Uncle was not to be left alone in the little back parlour, where he was then sitting by himself; for Captain Cuttle, considerate in his roughness, stayed away against his will, purposely that they should have some talk together unobserved: so Walter, newly returned home from his last day’s bustle, descended briskly, to bear him company.
"Uncle," he said gaily, laying his hand upon the old man’s shoulder, "what shall I send you home from Barbados?"
"Hope, my dear Wally. Hope that we shall meet again, on this side of the grave. Send me as much of that as you can."
"So I will, Uncle: I have enough and to spare, and I’ll not be chary of it! And as to lively turtles, and limes for Captain Cuttle’s punch, and preserves for you on Sundays, and all that sort of thing, why I’ll send you ship-loads, Uncle: when I’m rich enough."
Old Sol wiped his spectacles, and faintly smiled.
"That’s right, Uncle!" cried Walter, merrily, and clapping him half a dozen times more upon the shoulder. "You cheer up me! I’ll cheer up you! We’ll be as gay as larks to-morrow morning, Uncle, and we’ll fly as high! As to my anticipations, they are singing out of sight now."
"Wally, my dear boy," returned the old man, "I’ll do my best, I’ll do my best."
"And your best, Uncle," said Walter, with his pleasant laugh, "is the best best that I know. You’ll not forget what you’re to send me, Uncle?"
"No, Wally, no," replied the old man; "everything I hear about Miss Dombey, now that she is left alone, poor lamb, I’ll write. I fear it won’t be much though, Wally."
"Why, I’ll tell you what, Uncle," said Walter, after a moment’s hesitation, "I have just been up there."
"Ay, ay, ay?" murmured the old man, raising his eyebrows, and his spectacles with them. [Chapter 19, "Walter goes away," p. 149]
Relevant Illustrations from Other Editions (1847-1900)
Left: Phiz's original illustration of Florence and Susan Nipper arriving at the marine store shop: The Wooden Midshipman on the Look-Out (March, 1847). Centre: Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s dual study of the nautical characters: Sol. Gills and Walter Gay (1867). Right: W. H. C. Groome's realisation of the scene in which Florence bids Walter farewell: Florence kissed him on the cheek (1900).
Related Material, including Other Illustrated Editions of Dombey and Son
- Dombey and Son (homepage)
- The Diamond Edition of the Novels (1867)
- Phiz's Illustrations for Dombey and Son, Wholesale Retail & for Exportation (Oct. 1846 - April 1848)
- Fred Barnard's 61 illustrations for the Household Edition (1872)
- Groome's illustrations of the Collins Pocket Edition of Dombey and Son (1900, rpt. 1934)
- Harry Furniss's 29 Illustrations for the Charles Dickens Library Edition, 1910
- Kyd's five Player's Cigarette Cards for , 1910
Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz). 8 coloured plates. London and Edinburgh: Caxton and Ballantyne, Hanson, 1910.
_______. Dombey and Son.16 Illustrations by Sol Eytinge, Jr., and A. V. S. Anthony (engraver). The Diamond Edition. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. III.
Hammerton, J. A.. "Ch. XVI. Dombey and Son." The Dickens Picture-Book. London: Educational Book Co., [1910], 294-338.
Last modified 9 December 2020