"And the communication I have got to make is, that he has Great Expectations."
H. M. Brock
Photographic reproduction of pen and ink drawing (?)
1903
13.8 cm high by 9 cm wide (5 and ⅜ by 3 ½ inches), framed.
Fourth regular illustration for Dickens's Great Expectations, p. 100.
Scanned image, caption, and commentary by Philip V. Allingham.
[You may use this image and those below 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.]
Passage Illustrated: Jaggers announces Pip's "Great Expectations"
I thought Mr. Jaggers glanced at Joe, as if he considered him a fool for his disinterestedness. But I was too much bewildered between breathless curiosity and surprise, to be sure of it.“Very well,” said Mr. Jaggers. “Recollect the admission you have made, and don’t try to go from it presently.”
“Who’s a-going to try?” retorted Joe.
“I don’t say anybody is. Do you keep a dog?”
“Yes, I do keep a dog.”
“Bear in mind then, that Brag is a good dog, but Holdfast is a better. Bear that in mind, will you?” repeated Mr. Jaggers, shutting his eyes and nodding his head at Joe, as if he were forgiving him something. “Now, I return to this young fellow. And the communication I have got to make is, that he has great expectations.”
Joe and I gasped, and looked at one another. [Chapter XVIII, pp. 100-101]
Relevant Illustrations of Jaggers from Other Editions (1861-1898)
Left: Charles Green's introduction of the criminal attorney in a characteristic pose: He bit the side of a great forefinger, etc. (1898). Left of centre: In the first American serialisation, periodical illustrator John McLenan emphasizes the working class camaraderie that Pip must now leave behind: Saturday night at the Three Jolly Bargemen (9 February 1861).
Left: F. W. Pailthorpe introduces the criminal attorney outside his proper milieu, London's mean streets, as he hectors Joe at the local public house: A Stranger at the Jolly Bargeman (1885). Right: A. A. Dixon in the Collins Pocket Edition focuses on the expressions of surprise on the faces of Joe and Pip in "He has Great Expectations" (1905).
Other Artists’ Illustrations for Dickens's Great Expectations
- A Comparison of Fraser's Illustrations in the original 1870s Household Edition plates and those in the Collier New York edition of 1900
- J. Clayton Clarke or "Kyd"
(2 coloured lithographs) - Felix O. C. Darley (2 plates)
- A. A. Dixon (8 lithographs)
- Sol Eytinge, Jr. (8 wood-engravings)
- F. A. Fraser (30 wood-engravings)
- Harry Furniss (28 plates)
- Charles Green (10 lithographs)
- Frederic W. Pailthorpe (21 lithographs)
- John McLenan (40 plates)
- Marcus Stone (8 plates)
Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Imperial Edition. 16 vols. London: Gresham Publishing Company [34 Southampton Street, The Strand, London], 1901-3.
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NextCreated 19 January 2002 Last updated 29 April 2026
