Robinson Crusoe on his Raft
Sir John Gilbert, R. A.
1867?
7.9 cm high x 5.6 cm, vignetted
Illustration for Daniel Defoe's Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, facing page 60.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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Passage Illustrated
The next day I made another voyage, and now, having plundered the ship of what was portable and fit to hand out, I began with the cables. Cutting the great cable into pieces, such as I could move, I got two cables and a hawser on shore, with all the ironwork I could get; and having cut down the spritsail-yard, and the mizzen-yard, and everything I could, to make a large raft, I loaded it with all these heavy goods, and came away. But my good luck began now to leave me; for this raft was so unwieldy, and so overladen, that, after I had entered the little cove where I had landed the rest of my goods, not being able to guide it so handily as I did the other, it overset, and threw me and all my cargo into the water. As for myself, it was no great harm, for I was near the shore; but as to my cargo, it was a great part of it lost, especially the iron, which I expected would have been of great use to me; however, when the tide was out, I got most of the pieces of the cable ashore, and some of the iron, though with infinite labour; for I was fain to dip for it into the water, a work which fatigued me very much. After this, I went every day on board, and brought away what I could get. [p. 61]
Commentary: A Derivative Image of Crusoe
In contrast to the previous image of Crusoe in his tent during these early weeks on the island, this is very much the traditional image of a stalwart young castaway, still in European clothing, just arrived on the island and struggling to clear anything salvageable off the wreck before it goes down. Gilbert is careful to include what had become the standard accoutrements of Defoe's protagonist (the dog, cat, musket, sabre, and cask of spirits), but adds a new element to the character of the rafter himself. He braces his leg as he poles with a spar to bring the raft around and head back to the island. In the background, as in other artists' representations, the wreck looms large under a gloomy sky.
Parallel Scenes from Stothard (1790), Cruikshank (1831), the Children's Book (1818)
Left: Thomas Stothard's conventional image of Crusoe salvaging whatever is useable from the wreck, Young Crusoe and his Father (1790). Centre: Cruikshank's less atmospheric realisation of the same episode, Crusoe salvaging cargo from the shipwreck (1831: wood-engraving, Chapter III, "Wrecked on a Desert Island"). Right: Colourful realisation of the same scene, but somewhat lacking in realistic perspective: Robinson Crusoe on the Raft (1818). [Click on the image to enlarge them.]
Bibliography
De Foe, Daniel. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Written by Himself. Illustrated by Gilbert, Cruikshank, and Brown. London: Darton and Hodge, 1867?].
Last modified 16 February 2018