Will Marks Takes up His Position for the Night — Phiz's seventh illustration for Charles Dickens's Master Humphrey's Clock, No. 4, "First Chapter of Mr. Pickwick's Tale." 1 ⅞ x 2 ¾ inches (5 cm high x 6.9 cm wide). (London: Chapman & Hall, 25 April 1840) Tailpiece, p. 60. [Click on images to enlarge them. Mouse over links]
Context of the Illustration: Mr. Pickwick's Unlikely Protagonist
W. H. Groome's first full-page illustration for this story in the Collins Pocket Edition realizes the subsequent scene at the gibbet: Will seized a woman by the wrist.. (1907).
At last they made a halt at the opening of a lonely, desolate space, and, pointing to a black object at some distance, asked Will if he saw that, yonder.
"Yes," he replied. "What then?"
Informing him abruptly that it was the gibbet where he was to watch, they wished him good night in an extremely friendly manner, and ran back as fast as their feet would carry them.
Will walked boldly to the gibbet, and, glancing upwards when he came under it, saw — certainly with satisfaction — that it was empty, and that nothing dangled from the top but some iron chains, which swung mournfully to and fro as they were moved by the breeze. After a careful survey of every quarter he determined to take his station with his face towards the town; both because that would place him with his back to the wind, and because, if any trick or surprise were attempted, it would probably come from that direction in the first instance. Having taken these precautions, he wrapped his cloak about him so that it left the handle of his sword free, and ready to his hand, and leaning against the gallows-tree with his cap not quite so much on one side as it had been before, took up his position for the night. [First Chapter of "Mr. Pickwick's Tale," 60]
Commentary: The Tailpiece Engenders Suspense
Whatever will befall the skeptical Will Marks at the foot of the gibbet outside KIngston-upon-Thames? He has accepted the challenge of his uncle, John Podgers, and his cronies, to get to the bottom of the mystery reported as far away as Windsor. The messenger arrives with a plea for Windsor's leading citizen, John Podgers, to root out the witchcraft at the gibbet, but he demurs, being of too sleepy a disposition to maintain an all-night vigil at the foot of the gibbet there. Apparently, the superstitious denizens of the upper Thames have imputed the strange sounds emanating from this area at night recently to the activity of witches. Phiz depicts the twenty-year-old nephew of Podgers as equal to anything the desolate region and the supernatural may subject him to. The illustrator isolates the tale's hero and positions him at the foot of the gibbet to heighten the suspense at very end of the first chapter of "Mr. Pickwick's Tale."
Although it is but a miniature, Phiz has taken pains to realize the accompanying passage, stationing the cloaked Will at the foot of the gallows, facing towards the town, and away from the wind that blows hard against his back. Fellow illustrator George Cattermole in Will Marks reading the News concerning Witches has already established the feathered cap that Will wears that sets him apart from the others such as the farrier, so that Phiz has inexplicably violated visual continuity in his drawing of Will wearing a Jacobean hat. As a bit of cynic, Will does not really expect to encounter any witches whom he will have to stab with his rapier, but Phiz suggests a resolute quality in his posture and expression.
Relevant Illustrations from Other Editions (1872-1910)
Left: Harry Furniss's focus is on the teller of the tale rather than on the story itself in Mr. Pickwick Examining the Clock (1910). Right: Fred Barnard in the Household Edition realizes a key moment in satire on popular beliefs about witchcraft in the reign of James I: At last they made a halt at the opening of a lonely, desolate space, and, pointing to a black object at some distance, asked Will if he saw that, yonder. (1872).
Other Illustrated Editions of Master Humphrey's Clock
- Harry Furniss's Six Charles Dickens Library Edition Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (1910)
- W. H. C. Groome's Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (1907)
- Fred Barnard's Four Household Edition Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (Vol. XX, 1872)
Scanned images and texts 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.]
Bibliography
Cohen, Jane Rabb. "George Cattermole." Charles Dickens and His Original Illustrators. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio U. P., 1980. Pp. 125-134.
Davis, Paul. "Master Humphrey's Clock." Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to his Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998. P. 238.
Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). London: Chapman and Hall, 4 April 1840 — 6 February 41.
_______. Master Humphrey's Clock. The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Reprinted Pieces, and Other Stories. With thirty illustrations by L. Fildes, E. G. Dalziel, and F. Barnard. The Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. XX. Pp. 253-306.
_______. Master Humphrey's Clock and Pictures from Italy. With eight illustrations by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow, 1907. Vol. XLIX. Pp. 1-168.
_______. Barnaby Rudge and Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Volume VI.
Hammerton, J. A. The Dickens Picture Book: A Record of the Dickens Illustrators. Ch. XIV. "Master Humphrey's Clock." The Charles Dickens Library. London: Educational Book Co., 1910. Pp. 259-265.
Lester, Valerie Browne Lester. Phiz! The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004.
Vann, J. Don. "The Old Curiosity Shop in Master Humphrey's Clock, 25 April 1840 — 6 February 1841." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: Modern Language Association, 1985. Pp. 64-65.
Created 28 August 2022