"Mr. Pickwick could scarcely believe the evidence of his own senses" — forty-eighth illustration by Phiz for Dickens's "Pickwick Papers" (1874)

Mr. Pickwick could scarcely believe the evidence of his own senses (See page 331.) by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne) for Chapter XLVII, “Is chiefly devoted to matters of business and the temporal advantage of Dodson and Fogg. Mr. Winkle re-appears under extraordinary circumstances. Mr. Pickwick's benevolence proves stronger than his obstinacy.” Wood-engraving, 4 ⅜ inches high by 5 ½ inches wide (11.2 cm high by 14.1 cm wide), framed, half-page; descriptive headline: "Explanations" (p. 331). [Click on the illustration to enlarge it.]

Passage illustrated: Winkle seeks Reconciliation and Assistance

As Sam Weller spoke, he threw the door open, and there rushed tumultuously into the room, Mr. Nathaniel Winkle: leading after him by the hand, the identical young lady who at Dingley Dell had worn the boots with the fur round the tops, and who, now a very pleasing compound of blushes and confusion and lilac silk and a smart bonnet and a rich lace veil, looked prettier than ever.

"Miss Arabella Allen!" exclaimed Mr. Pickwick, rising from his chair.

"No," replied Mr. Winkle, dropping on his knees. "Mrs. Winkle. Pardon, my dear friend, pardon?"

Mr. Pickwick could scarcely believe the evidence of his senses, and perhaps would not have done so, but for the corroborative testimony afforded by the smiling countenance of Perker, and the bodily presence, in the background, of Sam and the pretty housemaid; who appeared to contemplate the proceedings with the liveliest satisfaction. [Chapter XLVII, “Is chiefly devoted to matters of business and the temporal advantage of Dodson and Fogg. Mr. Winkle re-appears under extraordinary circumstances. Mr. Pickwick's benevolence proves stronger than his obstinacy,” 331]

Commentary: Winkle asks his Chief to Mediate with Winkle, Senior

Phiz's original version of Winkle's petitioning Pickwick to intervene with his father, Mr. Winkle Returns under extraordinary Circumstances (September 1837).

The romantic Mr. Winkle astonishes Mr. Pickwick, but recently released from the Fleet Prison, with the announcement that he has married Miss Arabella Allen, sister of the London medical student and Bristol pharmacist, Bob Allen. The newlyweds want Pickwick to reconcile Benjamin Allen and Winkle's father. Phiz disposes the six figures across Pickwick's room (no longer a prison cell, but a domestic space with a clock, a sideboard, and a folding dining table) effectively. As in the September 1837 original, he gives each a different physical pose suggestive of the differing attitudes of the various characters involved. However, the effect is less caricatural and more realistic and theatrical. Exactly as in the original steel engraving, the illustrator repeats the figure of the white-bedecked bride in that of the housemaid (right), whom Sam Weller holds by the waist to signify their engagement. The remaining figure (left), Pickwick's attorney, Perker, is less assertive in the 18974 revision, and the later Pickwick shows less surprise. But the chief difference in the two compositions lies in their backdrops as Phiz in the Household Edition wood-engraving moves in on the six figures in order to make them larger. Winkle and his bride are rather more attractive and natural in this realistic revision of the thirty-seven-year-old composition.

The Winkle Marriage Plot in Other Editions (1837 and 1910)

Left: Thomas Onwhyn's "extra" illustration completes this phase of the plot by bringing together Ben Allen, Bob Sawyer, Pickwick, and Winkle, Sr., in “Mr. Bob Sawyer whose wit had lain dormant for some minutes, placed his hands upon his knees and made a face after the portraits of the late Mr. Grimaldi as clown.” (15 November 1837). Right: The Charles Edition's comparable illustration by Harry Furniss of the scene is less caricatural: Winkle's Bride (1910). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]

Related Material

Other artists who illustrated this work, 1836-1910

Scanned images and text by Philip V. Allingham. Formatting by George P. Landow. [You may use these 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

Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. New York and Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1990.

Cohen, Jane Rabb. Charles Dickens and His Original Illustrators. Columbus: Ohio State U. P., 1980.

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

Dickens, Charles. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Robert Seymour, Robert Buss, and Phiz. London: Chapman and Hall, November 1837. With 32 additional illustrations by Thomas Onwhyn (London: E. Grattan, April-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 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 Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. 2.

_____. 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. 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. 6.

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

Guiliano, Edward, and Philip Collins, eds. The Annotated Dickens. 2 vols. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1986. Vol. I.

Steig, Michael. Chapter 2. "The Beginnings of 'Phiz': Pickwick, Nickleby, and the Emergence from Caricature." Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington & London: Indiana U. P., 1978. Pp. 24-50.

Created 11 March 2012

Last modified 27 April 2024