Peggotty and Barkis, the fourth illustration for the volume by Sol Eytinge, Jr. 7.6 cm high by 9 cm wide (4 by 3 inches), vignetted. The fourth full-page illustration for the Diamond Edition of Dickens's Personal History of David Copperfield (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1867), facing page 83. [Mouse over the text for links. Click on the image to enlarge it.]
The most peculiar character in the first part of the story, the Yarmouth carrier, Barkis, is clearly interested in marrying Clara Peggotty, but somehow he lacks the self-confidence to propose for himself, and so he enlists the child upon whom Clara Peggotty dotes to be his spokesman. Apparently — if we may judge by the rather formal manner in which the pair are dressed and the spatterboard of Barkis's wagon — they have just been married, and are driving away from the church:
Passage Illustrated
She was a little confused when Mr. Barkis made this abrupt announcement of their union, and could not hug me enough in token of her unimpaired affection; but she soon became herself again, and said she was very glad it was over. [Ch. X, "I Become Neglected, and Am Provided For," 83]
Related Resources
- The Remains of the Day: Death and Dying in Victorian Illustration
- Hablot Knight Browne's forty original serial illustrations for Chapman and Hall (May 1849-November 1850)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 1, 1863)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 2, 1863)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 3, 1863)
- W. H. C. Groome's 7 lithographs for the Collins Clear-type Pocket Edition (1907)
- Fred Barnard's 62 Illustrations for the British Household Edition (1872)
- Harry Furniss's 29 lithographs for David Copperfield for the Charles Dickens Library Edition (1910)
- Kyd's six Player's Cigarette Card watercolours (1889)
Scanned image and text 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
Dickens, Charles. The Personal History of David Copperfield, illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz"). The Centenary Edition. London & New York: Chapman & Hall, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911 [rpt. from 1850]. 2 vols.
_______. The Personal History of David Copperfield. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr. The Diamond Edition. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. Vol. V.
Created 9 January 2011 Last modified 11 July 2022