cquired at Chiswick Auctions in 2024, this compilation has marbled boards (now quite worn) with leather at the spine and corners, and measures 28 x 40 x 7 cms. Its 149 pages contain 675 pen and print studies and 852 prints dating from the eighteenth century to about 1855. Among the most significant contents are a pair of sketches by Robert Seymour, the first illustrator of Charles Dickens's Pickwick Papers, close to it in both spirit and style; and 303 drawings (32 in colour) by George Cruikshank, including his original drawings (print studies) of 1837 for the first seven illustrations in Dickens's Oliver Twist. Each of these seven has a heading and seven to 13 manuscript lines of text from Bentley's Miscellany.
Based on its contents, then, the album can be tentatively associated with Richard Bentley (1794-1871), noting that the Bentley Miscellany serialisation of Oliver Twist is the only one of Dickens's literary works to appear in the album in the form of print studies. Dickens was the first editor of the Miscellany, from 1836-1839; after his dispute with Bentley, he left before his contracted date.
If this was indeed from the publisher's offices, from when Seymour's work was very much in circulation (he died in 1836, but the five-volume edition of Seymour's Sketches was published in 1838) and Oliver Twist was coming out in its first serial form, it could well have been intended to contextualise and document important works currently at hand. In fact, Alison Ingram's index to the Bentley office's archives contains a number of items of this nature, such as "Publication ledger (catalogues, books, excerpts etc. printed; arranged and indexed by title (1836-53))," held at the British Library (reel 2, vol. 7). The present album combines a variety of material too, not in ledger-form to be shelved in an archive but probably also for record-keeping — and possibly as a form of promotional literature for future contributors of various kinds, literary, artistic, or even financial — advertisers, for instance.
The album is dated 24 May 1838 in gold ink on the inside cover, indicating that it was started during the time when the early parts of Dickens's work were being prepared for book publication: Bentley published the three-volume edition of Oliver Twist in November 1838. Among the other illustrators most fully represented here is Alfred Crowquill (the pseudonym of the Forrester brothers, Charles Robert and Alfred Henry): as Simon Cooke says, Alfred, who was responsible for the brothers' quirky and highly satirical illustrations, played "an unusual part in the development of Dickensian illustration" (see "Crowquill and Dickens") and was very active in this early period.
Bentley's papers can be found in various collections, for example in the Charles E. Young Research Library at the University of California, which lists, among others, "Box 14: Contains family photographs, Bentley's Miscellany illustrations by George Cruikshank (1840), and a variety of ephemera, serial publications, and catalogues." But the way such a range of materials has been compiled into album form here does support the idea that it served the kind of purpose indicated above, whether for the reference of the publisher himself, or for showing or passing on to an associate in the publishing network.
The compilation goes no further than the 1850s, and shows no signs of change after that time. Not only the drawings themselves, but the inscriptions and mounting as well, all appear early Victorian in origin, and the album seems to have remained unaltered over the years since it was first completed. It is attractive and comprehensive, and to have been handed down in this untouched state is unusual. The closest parallel might be with the large collection of scrapbooks assembled by the neglected author Martin Tupper (1810-1899), who himself was published by Bentley. Documenting his literary career, Tupper's albums are now in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Illinois.
It is hard to be completely sure about the circumstances around the preparation of the album, or its purpose. Ultimately, these must remain a matter of speculation. But one thing is certain: its contents are a gift for twenty-first century scholars interested in the history of book and periodical illustration.
Notable Contents: Work by Various Illustrators
- A Happy Chance and An Unhappy Chance by Robert Seymour
- Other drawings by Seymour in the album (coming shortly)
- George Cruikshank's seven original drawings (print studies) for the first seven illustrations in Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist (coming shortly)
- Examples of work by Alfred Crowquill (the Forrester brothers, Charles Robert and Alfred Henry) (coming shortly)
Page showing one of the Oliver Twist illustrations.
Bibliography
Collection Guide: Richard Bentley and Son Papers. Online Archive of California. Web. 31 January 2026.
Cooke, Simon. "Crowquill and Dickens." in "'If Not a Genius'? Alfred Crowquill as an Illustrator and Applied Artist." Victorian Web. 31 January 2026.
Ingram, Alison. Index to the archives of Richard Bentley & Son, 1829-1898. Cambridge: Chadwyck-Healey, 1977.
"Victorian Scrapbooks Rediscovered." The Non Solus blog of the University of Illinois Library. Web. 3 February 2026. https://publish.illinois.edu/nonsolusblog/?p=52
Created 31 January 2026
Last modified 5 February 2026