Title-pages for the Collins' Clear-type Press Pocket Editions (1900)
Left: David Copperfield (No. 1). Centre: The Old Curiosity Shop (No. 36). Right: Dombey and Son/span>, Volume Two (No. 40).
N. B. Groome illustrated eight Dickens titles in total for Collins, the others being Hard Times (No. 42), Nicholas Nickleby (No. 37), Bleak House (No. 47), Little Dorrit (No. 48), and Master Humphrey's Clock & Pictures from Italy (No. 49).
The standard for the Collins' Clear-type Editions, in their original editions and numerous re-printings, is only 12.4 cm high by 8.0 cm wide, on pages measuring 15.2 cm by 9.5. Nwevertheless, William Harry Charles Groome's twenty-four Edwardian illustrations given here reveal a sure sense of composition, His usual practice is to depict a limited number of characters upon whom he concentrates at the expense of context. See, for example, "She hurriedly put her work aside" for Ch. VIII of Dombey and Son. Here, as usual, Groome puts his few characters in focus, and blurs the backdrop, in this case a seaside scene.
Groome's Contributions to the Collins Clear-type Pocket Editions (1900)
- Dickens's David Copperfield (No. 1)
- Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop (No. 36)
- Dickens's Dombey and Son (No. 40)
The Collins' Illustrated Pocket Classics (Works of the Victorian Era)
Cloth, 1/- net. Leather, 2/- net. (In Great Britain only.) Thin paper editions at popular prices. Over 1400 New Illustrations. The List of titles ranges from Harrison Ainsworth's Windsor Castle (No. 74) to C. M. Yonge's The Dove in the Eagle's Nest (No. 166). In this original series Collins published poetry, essays, travelogues, and short fiction, as well as novels, the whole comprising one-hundred-eighty-one volumes, including twenty-two Dickens titles, by far the dominant author. In a new series, each worth seven shillings, Collins published "Modern Fiction" exclusively, ranging from Maxwell Gray's The Great Refusal (No. 1) to Robert Orange's John Oliver Hobbes (No. 66).
Seven David Copperfield Illustrations (1907)
- Frontispiece, "Barkis is willin'."
- "No, sir. I never giv him no name." (facing p. 289)
- Bottle-washing at Murdstone & Grinby's. (facing p. 320)
- I turned a corner, and met her. (facing p. 417)
- "I'm a going to seek my Em'ly." (facing p. 448)
- "You — you Heep of infamy." (facing p. 737)
- "And when does the ship sail, Mr. Micawber?" (facing p. 768)
Dombey and Son: two volumes in one (1907, rpt. 1934)
- Frontispiece, She hurriedly put her work aside (see p. 114)
- "Papa! What's money?" (see p. 98)
- Florence kissed him on the cheek (see p. 260)
- "I'll call it after her." (see p. 375)
- They were received by the matron (see II, p. 178)
- "Let us have no turning out." (see II, p. 38)
- Bunsby put his arm around Mrs. MacStinger (see II, p. 117)
- The unfortunate Native suffered terribly. (see II, p. 358)
The Old Curiosity Shop (1907)
- Frontispiece, She is quite exhausted.
- The Wanderers in the Vignetted Title-Page
- "Now, my boys, fight away." (facing p. 48)
- Nelly was soon engaged in her task. (facing p. 161)
- "Will you go, sir?" (facing p. 192)
- Mrs. Jarley was at great pains to instruct her. (facing p. 321)
- Mr. Swiveller rained down a shower of blows (facing p. 352)
- They went off very fast. (Kit and his family's outing to Astley's) (facing p. 513)
- The Marchioness considered which to play. (Dick teaching the Small Servant cribbage) (facing p. 544)
Scanned images, colour correction, sizing, caption, and commentary by Philip V. Allingham. [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.] Click on the image to enlarge it.
Bibliography
Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. New York and Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1990.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Illustrated by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow, 1907.
_______. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow, 1907, rpt. 1934. 2 vols. in one.
_______. The Old Curiosity Shop. Illustrated by William H. C. Groome. The Collins' Clear-Type Edition. Glasgow & London: Collins, 1907.
Created 4 July 2022