Tony Weller by J. Clayton Clarke ("Kyd") for the 1910 watercolour series: reproduced on John Player cigarette card no. 18: Ninety-two Characters from Dickens: The Pickwick Papers. 2 ½ inches high by 1 ¼ inches wide (6.3 cm high by 3.3 cm wide). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
TONY WELLER (The Pickwick Papers)
Father of Sam; an old-time coachman and an admirable justification of Caesar's dictum — "Let me have men about me that are fat." Is full of quaint lore and still quainter philosophy, while his "Beware o' the widders" has long passed into the regions of Proverbial Wisdom. [Verso of Card No. 18]
Passage Illustrated: A Second Cockney Wit and His Wellerisms
'I am ashamed on you!' said Sam reproachfully; 'what do you let him show his red nose in the Markis o’ Granby at all, for?'
Mr. Weller the elder fixed on his son an earnest look, and replied, '’Cause I’m a married man, Samivel, ‘cause I’m a married man. Ven you’re a married man, Samivel, you’ll understand a good many things as you don’t understand now; but vether it’s worth while goin’ through so much, to learn so little, as the charity-boy said ven he got to the end of the alphabet, is a matter o’ taste. I rayther think it isn’t.' [Chapter XXVII, "Samuel Weller Makes a Pilgrimage to Dorking, and Beholds His Mother-in-Law," Household Edition, 186]
Commentary: The Jovial Coachman Somewhat Henpecked by His Second Wife
Right: Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s group study of the Tony and his fellow coachmen in the Pickwick Papers in Chapter LV (The Diamond Edition, 1867).
In "Tony Weller" Dickens found another useful Cockney wit, with an oversized coachman's interesting vocabulary and observations about married life — and widows, in particular. Phiz established the vogue for depicting the jovial coachman in his travelling attire, even when not on the seat of a carriage, as in The Valentine (Chapter XXXIII, Part 12; March 1837) and Mr. Weller and his friends drinking to Mr. Pell (Chapter LV, Part 19; November 1837) — a late arrival in the nineteen-month serial, but an enduring favourite with Victorian readers on account of his indefatigable wit and conviviality, both sorely tried by his second wife, a prosperous publican. The tankard and long-stemmed pipe Tony is depicted as carrying are not much help in determining the passage realised.
Phiz's Other Scenes Involving The Convivial Tony Weller in the 1836-37 Serial
- The Red-Nosed Man Discourseth (August 1837 instalment)
- Tony Weller ejects Mr. Stiggins (November 1837 instalment)
- Mr. Weller and his friends drinking to Mr. Pell (November 1837 instalment)
The Jovial Tony Weller in the British and American Household Editions (1873-74)
Left: Phiz in the British Household Edition woodcut reworked his original steel engraving as Before Sam could interfere to prevent it, his heroic parent had penetrated into a remote corner of the room, and attacked the Reverend Stiggins with manual dexterity (Ch. XXII, 1874). Right: Phiz's British Household Edition woodcut reworks his August 1837 steel engraving as Mr. Stiggins, getting on his legs as well as he could, proceeded to deliver an edifying discourse for the benefit of the company (Ch. XLV, 1874). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Left: The American Household Edition's illustration by Thomas Nast gives us the climactic scene from inside the public house, Resuming his kicking with greater agility than before (1873). Right: Phiz's re-drafted version of the same scene for the Household Edition, Mr. Weller . . . . . immersing Mr. Stiggins's head in a horse-trough. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Tony Weller in Onwhyn's "Extra" Illustrations (1837)
- “He called me a wessel, Sammy — a wessel of wrath — and all sorts of names. So my blood being reg’larly up, I first gave him two or three for himself, and then two or three more to hand over to the man with the red nose, and walked off.” Page 225. [Chapter XXII, “In which Mr. Pickwick Journeys to Ipswitch and Meets with a Romantic Adventure with a Middle-Aged Lady in Yellow Curl-Papers,” issued August 31, 1837]
- “Well, that's a blessing,’” said Mr. Weller. “Sammy, help your master up to the box; t’other leg, Sir, that’s it; give us your hand, Sir. Up with you. You was a lighter weight when you was a boy, Sir.’” Page 227. [Chapter XXII, issued September 30, 1837]
- “Brother Tadger, Sir,” said Mr. Stiggins, suddenly increasing in ferocity, and turning sharp round on the little man in the drab shorts, “you are drunk, Sir.” Page 214. [Chapter XXXIII, “Mr. Weller the Elder Delivers Some Critical Sentiments Respecting Literary Composition; And, Assisted by his Son Samuel, Pays a Small Instalment of Retaliation to the Account of the Reverend Gentleman with the Red Nose,” issued October 26, 1837]
- “Mr. Weller surveyed the attorney from head to foot with great admiration, “And what’ll you take, Sir?” / “Why, really,” replied Mr. Pell “you’re very_Upon my word and honour, I’m not in the habit of_ It’s so very early in the morning, that, actually, I am almost_Well, you may bring me three penn’orth of rum, my dear.” Page 458. [Chapter LV, “Mr. Solomon Pell, Assisted by a Select Committee of Coachmen, Arranges the Affairs of the Elder Mr. Weller,” issued October 26, 1837]
- “Well, I’ll bet you half a dozen of claret,” said Wilkins Flasher, Esquire_ This was addressed to a very smart young gentleman who wore his hat on his right whisker, and was lounging over the desk killing flies with a ruler.” Page 591. [Chapter LV, issued November 30, 1837]
Other artists who illustrated this work, 1836-1910
Scanned images and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
The Characters of Charles Dickens pourtrayed in a series of original watercolours by “Kyd.” London, Paris, and New York: Raphael Tuck & Sons, nd. [1910?]
Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998.
Dickens, Charles. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Robert Seymour, R. W. Buss, and Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). With 32 additional illustrations by Thomas Onwhyn (London: E. Grattan, April-November 1837). London: Chapman & Hall: April 1836 through November 1837.
_______. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Frontispieces by Felix Octavius Carr Darley and Sir John Gilbert. The Household Edition. 55 vols. New York: Sheldon & Co., 1863. 4 vols.
_______. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr. The Diamond Edition. 14 vols. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. Vol. 1.
_______. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Thomas Nast. The Household Edition. 22 vols. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1873. Vol. 2.
_______. 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 Thomas Nast. The Household Edition. 16 vols. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1873. Vol. 4.
_______. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. 2.
Hill, Elizabeth W., and Martha H. Starr. "Sam Weller." A Dickens Day Book. Washington, DC: Starrhill Press, 1987. Cover, and p.5.
Created 6January 2015
Last updated 12 July 2025