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Passage Illustrated: The Great Sportsman Hits Wide of the Mark — Tracy Tupman

Mr. Winkle fired. There was a scream as of an individual — not a rook — in corporal anguish. Mr. Tupman had saved the lives of innumerable unoffending birds by receiving a portion of the charge in his left arm.

To describe the confusion that ensued would be impossible. To tell how Mr. Pickwick in the first transports of emotion called Mr. Winkle "Wretch!" how Mr. Tupman lay prostrate on the ground; and how Mr. Winkle knelt horror-stricken beside him; how Mr. Tupman called distractedly upon some feminine Christian name, and then opened first one eye, and then the other, and then fell back and shut them both — all this would be as difficult to describe in detail, as it would be to depict the gradual recovering of the unfortunate individual, the binding up of his arm with pocket-handkerchiefs, and the conveying him back by slow degrees supported by the arms of his anxious friends. [Chapter XIX, "A Pleasant Day with an Unpleasant Termination," 87-8]

Commentary: An Irresistible Scene

Although Furniss lacked an 1836 precedent for this scene, he certainly would have had access to Phiz's 1874 Household Edition illustration of Winkle's hunting accident, which is crucial in setting up the abortive romance between the wounded Tracy Tupman and Rachael Wardle at Dingley Dell Farm. However, Furniss's treatment of the hapless, awkward pseudo-sportsman Winkle, whose ineptitude and constant posing lead to one absurd scenario after another, far surpasses his possible sources in sheer humour. Furniss doubtless could not resist putting his own stamp on this farcical moment, with a stunned shooter, a fallen Tupman, a genuinely concerned Wardle (centre), and an irate Pickwick. Furniss has exaggerated the gnarled and twisted nature of the trees in the rookery to lend a note of weirdness to the scene. The distortion of the trees mirrors the imbalance of the angular, shocked Winkle, distinguished by his white hat and shooting coat, as well as his signature gaiters. The illustrator here also seems to be satirising the fall of Tupman (who has suffered a mere fleshwound) through parodying such historical genre paintings as Daniel Maclise's The Death of Nelson (1865) and Benjamin West's The Death of Wolfe (1770), which show the demise of noble commanders during scenes of battle. Furniss has also used the illustration to introduce another perennial Dickens favourite, Joe, the fat boy (lower right, holding a dead rook).

Parallel Scene by Phiz in the British Household Edition (1874)

Above: Phiz's entirely new scene of the sporting accident, an 1874 wood-engraving which focusses on Pickwick, Tupman, and Winkle: There was a scream as of an individual — not a rook — in corporeal anguish. Mr. Tupman had saved the lives of innumerable unoffending birds by receiving a portion of the charge in his left arm. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Above: Thomas Nast's version of the scene in the American Household Edition (1873), which Furniss may not have seen: To describe the confusion that ensued would be impossible. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Various Interpretations of Nathaniel Winkle, 1836 to 1874

• Nathaniel Winkle (1873)
• Mr. Winkle Soothes the Refractory Steed (1836)
• Mr. Winkle Returns under extraordinary Circumstances (1837)
• The Start: Showing how Mr. Pickwick undertook to drive and Mr. Winkle to ride (1861)
• Making a Point — "What's the matter with the dogs' legs?" (1861)
• The words were scarcely out of the old gentleman's lips, when footsteps were heard ascending the stairs (1874)

Bibliography

Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Checkmark and Facts On File, 1999.

Dickens, Charles. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz"). The Authentic Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1901 [rpt. of the 1868 volume, based on the 30 May 1857 volume].

_____. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Thomas Nast. The Household Edition. 16 vols. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1873. Vol. 4.

_____. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1874. Vol. 5.

_____. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. 2.

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Created 16 July 2019

Last modified 5 February 2020