Crusoe salvaging cargo from the shipwreck
George Cruikshank
1831
Wood-engraving
6.7 cm high by 6.7 cm wide, half-page, vignetted
Illustration for Chapter VI of Daniel Defoe's Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, p. 47.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
My raft was now strong enough to bear any reasonable weight. My next care was what to load it with, and how to preserve what I laid upon it from the surf of the sea; but I was not long considering this. I first laid all the plank or boards upon it that I could get, and having considered well what I most wanted, I first got three of the seamen's chests, which I had broken open and emptied, and lowered them down upon my raft; the first of these I filled with provisions, viz. bread, rice, three Dutch cheeses, five pieces of dried goat's flesh (which we lived much upon), and a little remainder of European corn, which had been laid by for some fowls which we brought to sea with us, but the fowls were killed. There had been some barley and wheat together; but, to my great disappointment, I found afterwards that the rats had eaten or spoiled it all. As for liquors, I found several, cases of bottles belonging to our skipper, in which were some cordial waters; and, in all, about five or six gallons of rack. These I stowed by themselves, there being no need to put them into the chest, nor any room for them. While I was doing this, I found the tide begin to flow, though very calm; and I had the mortification to see my coat, shirt, and waistcoat, which I had left on the shore, upon the sand, swim away. As for my breeches, which were only linen, and open-knee'd, I swam on board in them and my stockings. However, this set me on rummaging for clothes, of which I found enough, but took no more than I wanted for present use, for I had others things which my eye was more upon; as, first, tools to work with on shore: and it was after long searching that I found out the carpenter's chest, which was, indeed, a very useful prize to me, and much more valuable than a shipload of gold would have been at that time. I got it down to my raft, even whole as it was, without losing time to look into it, for I knew in general what it contained. [Chapter IV, "First Few Weeks on the Island," p. 47]
In other nineteenth-century conceptions of Crusoe's salvaging operations, the stranded vessel looms large, dominating a significant portion of the right-hand quadrant of the composition. In the Cruikshank illustration, however, Crusoe occupies the foreground, and the wreck is a considerable distance away, as if Crusoe has already mentally and emotionally detached himself from it, his only immediate link to European civilisation, as he self-confidently determines to establish himself on the tropical island. According to the text, by the time Crusoe brings his initial raft into the creek he is about a mile from the wrecked vessel, a fact which Cruikshank has taken into account.
Left: The Cassell's matter-of-fact scene of Crusoe's salvage operations, Crusoe loading his raft (1863: composite woodblock engraving, Chapter III, "Wrecked on a Desert Island"). Centre: Colourful realisation of the same scene, but somewhat lacking in realistic perspective: Robinson Crusoe on the Raft (1818). Right: John Gilbert's vivacious young Crusoe rescues the ship's dog and one cat, Robinson Crusoe on his Raft (1860s). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner, with introductory verses by Bernard Barton, and illustrated with numerous engravings from drawings by George Cruikshank expressly designed for this edition. 2 vols. London: Printed at the Shakespeare Press, by W. Nichol, for John Major, Fleet Street, 1831.
De Foe, Daniel. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Written by Himself. Illustrated by Gilbert, Cruikshank, and Brown. London: Darton and Hodge, 1867?].
Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. (1831). Illustrated by George Cruikshank. Major's Edition. London: Chatto & Windus, 1890.
Patten, Robert L. "Phase 2: "'The Finest Things, Next to Rembrandt's,' 1720–1835." Chapter 20, "Thumbnail Designs." George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art, vol. 1: 1792-1835. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers U. P., 1992; London: The Lutterworth Press, 1992. Pp. 325-339.
Last modified 21 February 2018
