"Nicholas in the Counting House" — Furniss's eighteenth illustration for Dickens's "Nicholas Nickleby" (1910)

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Nicholas in the Counting House

Harry Furniss

1910

5 by 4 ⅝ inches (13.3 cm high x 9.3 cm wide), vignetted

Nicholas plunged into the books of Cheeryble Brothers. The brothers looked on with smiling faces; at length, Tim Linkinwater secretly pointed with the feather of his pen towards Nicholas, and nodded, plainly signifying "He’ll do." (481)

Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby, The Charles Dickens Library Edition, facing IV, 481.

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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

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Passage Illustrated: Tim Linkinwater accepts Nicholas into the Counting House

Young men are adventurous. It is extraordinary what they will rush upon, sometimes. Without even taking the precaution of sitting himself down upon his stool, but standing leisurely at the desk, and with a smile upon his face—actually a smile—there was no mistake about it; Mr Linkinwater often mentioned it afterwards—Nicholas dipped his pen into the inkstand before him, and plunged into the books of Cheeryble Brothers!Tim Linkinwater turned pale, and tilting up his stool on the two legs nearest Nicholas, looked over his shoulder in breathless anxiety. Brother Charles and brother Ned entered the counting-house together; but Tim Linkinwater, without looking round, impatiently waved his hand as a caution that profound silence must be observed, and followed the nib of the inexperienced pen with strained and eager eyes. The brothers looked on with smiling faces, but Tim Linkinwater smiled not, nor moved for some minutes. At length, he drew a long slow breath, and still maintaining his position on the tilted stool, glanced at brother Charles, secretly pointed with the feather of his pen towards Nicholas, and nodded his head in a grave and resolute manner, plainly signifying "He’ll do." Brother Charles nodded again, and exchanged a laughing look with brother Ned; but, just then, Nicholas stopped to refer to some other page, and Tim Linkinwater, unable to contain his satisfaction any longer, descended from his stool, and caught him rapturously by the hand. "He has done it!" said Tim, looking round at his employers and shaking his head triumphantly. "His capital B’s and D’s are exactly like mine; he dots all his small i’s and crosses every t as he writes it. There an’t such a young man as this in all London," said Tim, clapping Nicholas on the back; "not one. Don’t tell me! The city can’t produce his equal. I challenge the city to do it!" [Chapter XXXVII, "Nicholas finds further Favour in the Eyes of the brothers Cheeryble and Mr Timothy Linkinwater. The brothers give a Banquet on a great Annual Occasion. Nicholas, on returning Home from it, receives a mysterious and important Disclosure from the Lips of Mrs. Nickleby," 481]

Commentary

Whereas the earlier illustrators of the novel (Phiz, Eytinge, Reinhart, and Barnard) from 1839 through 1875 have focussed on Charles Cheeryble's introducing Nicholas to his brother and the office staff in Chapter 35, Furniss has realised the all-important moment several chapters later when the faithful Tim Linkwater agrees to pass along some of his responsibilities to the new clerk. Nicholas takes a deep dive into the firm's books immediately to demonstrate his diligence and his appreciation for receiving a post that will enable him to look after his family.

Other Editions' Versions of the Benevolent Brothers (1839-1910)

Left: Phiz brings in the fairy-godfather businessmen to resolve the Nicklebys' problems: Mr. Linkinwater Intimates His Approval of Nicholas (March 1839). Right: C. S. Reinhart's 1875 American Household Edition composite woodblock engraving of business meeting in the counting-house: His conductor advanced, and exchanged a warm greeting with another old gentleman, the very type and model of himself.

Left: Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s Diamond Edition study of the benevolent businessmen and their elderly clerk: Cheeryble Brothers and Tim Linkinwater (1867). Right: Fred Barnard's 1875 woodblock engraving of the Cheerybles, their clerk, and Nicholas in the same scene, "I'm not coming an hour later in the morning, you know," said Tim, breaking out all at once, and looking very resolute. "I'm not going to sleep in the fresh air — no, nor I'm not going into the country either.", in the British Household Edition.

Related material, including front matter and sketches, by other illustrators

Bibliography

Barnard, J. "Fred" (illustrator). Charles Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby, with fifty-eight illustrations. The Works of Charles Dickens: The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1875. Volume 15. Rpt. 1890.

Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. Oxford and New York: Oxford U. P., 1988.

Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998.

Dickens, Charles. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. With fifty-two illustrations by C. S. Reinhart. The Household Edition. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1872. I.

__________. Nicholas Nickleby. With 39 illustrations by Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz"). London: Chapman & Hall, 1839.

__________. Nicholas Nickleby. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. IV.

__________. "Nicholas Nickleby." Scenes and Characters from the Works of Charles Dickens, being eight hundred and sixty-six drawings by Fred Barnard et al. Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1908.

Created 27 April 2021