The Frontispiece
W. H. C. Groome
1900
12.2 by 8 cm, or 4 ¾ by 3 ⅛ inches, framed
Lithograph
Dickens's Old Curiosity Shop, facing engraved title-page.
[Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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Commentary: Groome's Obvious Antecedents
The first of Groome's illustrations suggests that he had studied both the original sequence in Master Humphrey's Clock (1840-41) and the series by Charles Green in the Household Edition (1876). However, the smaller scale and the medium of the lithograph meant that Groome had to focus on a small group of characters without providing much background detail. The gestures, expressions, and juxtapositions of the characters depicted therefore convey the underlying meaning, connecting the image with the passage realised. To set the keynote, Groome focuses on three of the book's chief characters (Nell, her grandfather, and the country schoolmaster), realizes as his title a specific piece of dialogue: "She is Quite Exhausted," Page 428. This quotation suggests that Groome is anticipating the following passage which had been illustrated in the 1876 Household Edition:
It was the poor schoolmaster. No other than the poor schoolmaster. Scarcely less moved and surprised by the sight of the child than she had been on recognising him, he stood, for a moment, silent and confounded by this unexpected apparition, without even the presence of mind to raise her from the ground.
But, quickly recovering his self-possession, he threw down his stick and book, and dropping on one knee beside her, endeavoured, by such simple means as occurred to him, to restore her to herself; while her grandfather, standing idly by, wrung his hands, and implored her with many endearing expressions to speak to him, were it only a word.
"She is quite exhausted," said the schoolmaster, glancing upward into his face. "You have taxed her powers too far, friend."
"She is perishing of want," rejoined the old man. "I never thought how weak and ill she was, till now." [Chapter XLVI, 427-28]
Worth's and Green's Equivalent Household Edition Illustrations (1872 and 1876)
Left: American Thomas Worth's illustration takes us to the precise moment of Nell's collapse, not her recovery at a nearby inn afterward, in The child uttered a wild shriek, and fell senseless at his feet (1872). Right: Charles Green depicts the identical scene that Groome has selected as his frontispiece in order to focus the reader's attention on the travails of Nell as she tries to keep her grandfather away from gamblers and escape Quilp: "She is quite exhausted," said the schoolmaster. (1876).
Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. The Old Curiosity Shop in Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by Phiz, George Cattermole, Samuel Williams, and Daniel Maclise. 3 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1841; rpt., Bradbury and Evans, 1849.
_______. The Old Curiosity Shop. Illustrated by Thomas Worth. The Household Edition. New York: Haper & Bros., 1872.
_______. The Old Curiosity Shop. Illustrated by Charles Green. The Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1876.
_______. The Old Curiosity Shop. Illustrated by William H. C. Groome, with engraved title by Harry Furniss. The Collins' Clear-Type Edition. Glasgow & London: Collins, 1900.
Created 7 August 2020
Last modified 27 August 2026