MY MOTHER'S SONGS.
Of all the songs from sweetest voice,
In the sweet days of old,
That made my inmost soul rejoice,
However oft they're told,
Are those sweet songs my mother sung
While we were round her knee;
When all the world seemed blythe and young
And fresh and fair to see.
O, I have wandered far away
In sunny lands of song,—
And I have heard the minstrels play
That thrilled the listening throng;
Tho' sweet the charm when beauty sings,—
And sweet the minstrelsie,—
There is no charm that memory brings
Like those old songs to me.
Oft in the calm clear starry night,
Among the leafy trees,—
Or on the weird lone mountain height,
And in the gentle breeze,—
Or on the rough wild stormy sea,
When all is dark and drear,
The dear old songs will come to me,—
My mother's songs I hear.
Sweet is the strange enchanting spell
That lures all thought away,
To warm fireside or woody dell,
Where we were wont to play.
Around my boyhood's happy home
Glad mem'ries fondly cling;
And oft' the sweet old songs will come
My mother used to sing.
Through many years of joyous life
I reach the sere and old;
Now all the battle and the strife,
The fierce sun, and the cold,
Are o'er for me, and calm I wait
Until the "joy-bells" ring;
For I shall hear at Heaven's gate
My angel mother sing.
George Dalziel.
Of the many art contributors, it will be sufficient if we state the names of the principal men whose works have adorned the pages of Fun and Hood's "Comic Annual." Of these, naturally, the cartoonists take the foremost place. Paul Gray, who held this position on Hood assuming the editorship, was a young Irish artist of very considerable promise, and displayed much fine feeling for black and white work. He also made drawings for some of our "Fine Art Books." He was a man of delicate constitution, and within twelve months of his joining the Fun staff he fell into a consumption and died. Shortly before the sad event, writing to us on other subjects, he said:
"I take the opportunity of saying how very pleased I am with the way in which the cartoons are engraved—some of the latter, more especially, could not possibly be better."
Jeffrey Prowse, in one of his poems, makes the following touching allusion to the early death of his young friend:
"There is one of our band whom we cherished—
The youngest, the purest, the best—
In the frost of the night-time he perished,
Going quietly home to his rest;
And we thought, as we buried our dear one,
And mournfully turned us to go,
That the summons was still sounding near one—
Listen! On bot,
On bot le rappel là-haut!"
Going Home to Love in a Cottage. By F. A. Fraser. From Fun.
The very spot where the Snorkers held a pic-nic. Oh! didn't the ladies cry out in one voice, "I could live in such a charming place for ever, if only——" At the self-same pic-nic, Tilbury Pawkins plighted his troth to Amelia Softispoon. Now they are married, and Amelia has begun trying to live in the "charming place," and Pawkins is going home to a damp cottage and a rheumatic wife as blithely as a newly-married man should.
Then came W. J. Weigand, followed by A. Boyd Houghton. Notwithstanding the great ability of the latter, his quality of mind hardly fitted him to join in with Tom Hood's idea of the punctuality indispensable for conducting a weekly periodical. Next came Henry Doyle, a brother of the more famous Richard Doyle—an extremely careful and painstaking artist—who subsequently became Keeper of the Dublin National Gallery, with the distinction of C.B. After Doyle came Fred Barnard, an artist of surpassing versatility and humour. Perhaps it is not too much to say that in wit and true comicality he far outstripped all his predecessors on the journal; but some slight difference of opinion with the editor—or was it some interference on the part of Mr. Wylam, the then proprietor—caused him to secede from the position. Then followed Gordon Thomson, an artist upon the merits of whose productions there was a wide difference of opinion; but he did much good work—the series of double-pages in connection with the Franco-Prussian War being exceptionally strong. His large pictures for Christmas and other Holiday Numbers were remarkable for the varied topical events he crowded into them, and those who remember his "Academy Skits" will know what quaint burlesques they were. Here is an appreciation by one of his most distinguished contemporaries:
Sir John Gilbert said:
"These funny 'Academy Skits' are extravagant to a degree, and at the same time they give such a complete embodiment of the picture in hand as to stamp the subject in my mind far more fixedly than any careful copy could possibly do."
Among the general contributors to Fun were many well-known draughtsmen—Professor H. von Herkomer, R.A.; George J. Pinwell, R.W.S.; Hal Ludlow, and "E. G. D." The last named (the eldest son of Edward Dalziel) was a young artist full of promise and great ability. Had he given continued attention to his oil painting he must undoubtedly have taken a very high position. He exhibited many pictures at the Royal Academy, the Grosvenor, and other galleries, but the allurement of black and white became too much for him, and he laid aside his brush for the pencil. He contributed many excellent works to our various "Fine Art Books," as well as to our "Bible Gallery." Unfortunately he died at the early age of 39. Amongst his many admirers was Sir John Gilbert, as the following letter, which refers to his drawings in Fun, will show:
"Vanbrugh Park, Blackheath,
"20th December, 1878.
"Dear Mr. Dalziel,—Pray accept my best thanks for your kind remembrance.
"The drawings as they appear weekly in Fun I always admired. The uncommon humour, the wonderfully expressive faces, with attitude in accordance with the face, is always delightful and wonderful.
"The idea of gathering them together in a volume was excellent and I had intended to get the book. I thank you again for it.
"Pray remember me very kindly to your brother and your son, and with best wishes for your continued prosperity, health and happiness,
"I am, very truly yours,
"John Gilbert."
Argumentum ad Hominem. By J. Mahoney. From Fun.
Young Graceless.—"Natural selection!"
Old Graceless.—"Certainly! Only the finest specimens of the race survive."
Young Graceless.—"Come now, that won't do! Why, you're over sixty now, and good for another twenty years!"
Among other artists employed on Fun were—William Small; Harry French; "F. A. F." (Francis A. Fraser), and his brother, G. Gordon Fraser, whose sketches of humorous Irish character were for several years a prominent feature in the journal (poor fellow! during the very severe winter of 1895 he was accidentally drowned while skating); E. J. Brewtnall, R.W.S., the water colour painter; F. S. Walker, R.H.A.; George Gatcombe, Harry Tuck; and J. W. Houghton. The last named also contributed the dramatic criticisms, with illustrations, for several years. Jack Houghton is a ready writer of smart, clever verse, and wrote all the rhymed descriptions to Gordon Thomson's "Academy Skits."
Another very talented youth who it was our good fortune to introduce on Fun's pages, both in literature and art, was J. F. Sullivan. He was a student at South Kensington, when he first forwarded some sketches for our inspection; and seeing they gave evidence of considerable ability, we at once availed ourselves of his drawings. Though he had much originality of conception and design, he did not very readily acquire a "style" of his own, such as is evidenced in his later productions. Perhaps the most notable works Sullivan did were some very clever character sketches—"The British Working-man" and "The British Tradesman." But he was not an artist only, for, during the many years he was associated with Fun, he contributed to it a fair amount of very good verse and general comic matter.
OYSTERS.
"Here you are! the finest natives! best of appetite-creatives.
Come and buy! Taste and try!"
By Ernest Griset. From Fun.
There was a distinct cleverness about the quaint grotesque drawings of Ernest Griset, a young Frenchman, who made his appearance in London now many years ago. His drawings were at first exhibited in the window of a book shop close to Leicester Square, where they attracted considerable attention. Tom Hood had a great opinion of the artist's ability. They were generally in pen and ink, lightly tinted with delicate colour. We thought very highly of Griset's drawings, and soon enlisted his services, not only on Fun and "Hoods Annual," but upon many other publications—for which we bought hundreds of his drawings, and from them made selections. Tom Hood wrote clever verses to some of these, and we published them in book form through Messrs. Routledge as "Griset's Grotesques." We also got together several of his drawings which had appeared in Fun and published them as shilling books from the Fun Office.
Griset was, and is, a hard and rapid worker. He has been engaged in many other ways as an illustrator; much on "Prehistoric Man." Also as a decorator of public halls, he has done good things.
Àpropos to a Proposal. By Hal Ludlow. From Fun.
Frank (just accepted).—"Love thee, dearest? Ay, and when time shall have furrowed these youthful cheeks and dimmed the lustre of your eyes, when age shall have threaded silver amidst these glossy locks and bowed the figure erstwhile straight——"
Laura (hastily).—"Oh, Frank, I hope not! Think how old you will be!"
W. S. Brunton, known as "Billy" Brunton, was a young Irishman full of racy humour and odd fancies. He was a constant contributor of comic sketches dealing with passing events of every-day life. It is well known that when the present Earl Dunraven was a young man he was occupied for many years as a journalist, on the London Press. He was of a genial disposition, a fluent writer, and a general favourite among his brethren of the pen, as well as a popular member of the Savage Club at the time that "Billy" Brunton and some few other kindred spirits kept the place pretty lively with their jovial nights and merry Irish rollicking. On one occasion, shortly after Dunraven had come into the title and estates, a small group of "Savages" were standing gossiping in the club smoke-room, when he very quietly said:
"By the way, old chums, now that my position in the world is a little altered, and I have been obliged to change my name, I hope there may be no reserve on your parts, or change of feeling towards me, and that we shall continue to meet and chum together on precisely the same friendly terms, and with the same cordial good-fellowship, that has always existed among us."
"Billy" Brunton, who happened to be one of the group, laid his hand, with a caressing pat, on Dunraven's shoulder, and in an encouraging tone said:
"All right, old man, that shall be all right, so let your mind be entirely at ease on that score. Bedad, I pledge my word for it; and I'm sure I speak the sentiments of every member of this club, that 'although your position in the world is a little altered, and you have been compelled to change your name,' you'll find no change in us—for you shall at all times be treated with precisely the same respect and the same consideration that has always been shown you here; and to prove I'm entirely in earnest in what I say—gentlemen, I propose that Dunraven stands glasses round."
It is hardly necessary to say that the proposal met with approval by the entire party, or that it was responded to by the noble "Savage."
Henry Sampson remained editor of Fun and "Tom Hood's Comic Annual" for nearly four years, when he resigned that position to commence a weekly newspaper—the Referee.
Early in the Sixties we made the acquaintance of Edward Lear, who was a landscape painter of great distinction, a naturalist, a man of high culture, and a most kind and courteous gentleman. He came to us bringing an original chromo-lithographic copy of his "Book of Nonsense"—published some years before by McLean of the Haymarket. His desire was to publish a new and cheaper edition. With this view he proposed having the entire set of designs redrawn on wood, and he commissioned us to do this, also to engrave the blocks, print, and produce the book for him. When the work was nearly completed, he said he would sell his rights in the production to us for £100. We did not accept his offer, but proposed to find a publisher who would undertake it. We laid the matter before Messrs. Routledge & Warne. They declined to buy, but were willing to publish it for him on commission, which they did. The first edition sold immediately. Messrs. Routledge then wished to purchase the copyright, but Mr. Lear said, "Now it is a success they must pay me more than I asked at first." The price was then fixed at £120, a very modest advance considering the mark the book had made. It has since gone through many editions in the hands of F. Warne & Co.
Lear told us how "The Book of Nonsense" originated. When a young man he studied very much at the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park. While he was engaged on an elaborate drawing of some "Parrots," a middle-aged gentleman used to come very frequently and talk to him about his work, and by degrees took more and more interest in him. One day he said, "I wish you to come on a visit to me, for I have much that I think would interest you." The stranger was the Earl of Derby. Lear accepted the invitation, and it was during his many visits at Knowsley that these "Nonsense" drawings were made, and the inimitable verses written. They were generally done in the evening to please the Earl's young children, and caused so much delightful amusement that he redrew them on stone, and published them as before stated. That is how this clever, humorous book came into existence; a work that will cause laughter and pleasure to young and old for all time. John Ruskin says of Lear's "Book of Nonsense":
"Surely the most beneficent and innocent of all books yet produced is the 'Book of Nonsense,' with its corollary carols, inimitable and refreshing, and perfect in rhythm. I really don't know any author to whom I am half so grateful for my idle self as Edward Lear. I shall put him first of my hundred authors."
John Proctor, the celebrated cartoonist, had retired from his position, and had gone over to Moonshine, the then new "comic," and William Boucher had taken his place, before we became connected in any way with Judy, or The London Serio Comic Journal. Charles H. Ross was the editor when the paper came into our hands in 1872.
Madame. By Frederick Barnard.
"She is one of the most amiable ladies I ever met, and has a pleasant smile and a pretty something to say to one and all, and she doesn't mean a word she says. Watch her now softly crossing the floor, no doubt fearful of waking old Mr. Topperton, whose heavy breathing might by the ill-disposed almost be likened to a snore. See, she is carrying a pillow; doubtless it is to prop up Topperton's head, now resting against the hard wooden edge of the chair at a painful angle. Not a bit of it."
"Behind a Brass Knocker" (Judy).—Charles H. Ross.
Published by Mr. Gilbert Dalziel.
He was a gifted writer of varied powers, a dramatist and novelist of the most sensational order. But above all, Ross was a great humorist, with a manner peculiarly his own. He was also a skilful draughtsman, and we engraved hundreds of his drawings. His pages of humorous pictures, which appeared in Judy, were generally signed "Marie Duval" (his wife's maiden name), and the subjects often savoured somewhat of French origin.
One of the principal contributors to the paper at this period was Ernest Warren, an admirable verse writer. He, too, wrote for the stage. Of his books, many of which were of "The Round Table" series, the most popular were "Four Flirts," and "The White Cat." Another, which had run through the Journal, and was written in collaboration with his friend Ross, was "Rattletrap Rhymes and Tootletum Tales." All three books went through many editions.
"The Bloomin' Flower of Rorty Gulch" was published in the last-named book, and shows Ross's power as a sarcastic verse writer. As a recitation, the poem is very popular, and in the hands of that clever and esteemed actor, E. J. Odell, who has made a feature of it for many years, it is highly appreciated in Bohemian and other circles.
In his "Book of Beauty" Ross says "On Love":
"Ladies and gentlemen! there is no such thing as love.
"This fact is thrown in by A. Sloper without any extra charge.
"Some people take a long while to find this out, and some never do quite find it out: those are the lucky ones.
"During A. Sloper's infancy, when A. Sloper was a mere boy, he was under the impression that he was in love, and couldn't eat over two eggs and a couple of rashers for breakfast; but it turned out he was wrong, and only wanted medicine.
"Later on he had another attack, and made poetry. He made a line that ended with love, and stuck grove on to the end of another, and move on to the end of a third, and hove and stove on to the end of the fourth and fifth, and still he was not happy, nor was any one else to whom he read the poem.
"Love has been the stock-in-trade of all poets ever since the first poet started in business, and they have generally treated the subject from a thoroughly business-like point of view.
"A young man once late at night told A. Sloper that some people never tell their love, but feed on their damask—and he fell down immediately after making the observation.
"A. Sloper has known men who could not make love, but have made boots, Geneva watches, and other things, very well indeed. He has also known men who could make love, but could never propose. You might have brought actions against them, and still they couldn't."
Mister Mite. By Frederick Barnard.
"'What is it?' she asks.
"'It is him—papa,' responds Melia; 'he has come back!'"
"Behind a Brass Knocker" (Judy).—Charles H. Ross.
Published by Mr. Gilbert Dalziel.
And see the glowing description of "The Beautiful Gymnast: A Fragment":
" ... Nothing could have been more lovely!
"Scarcely eighteen summers had passed over the golden-hued silkiness of the tightly-bound tresses of that classic head. The flush of health was on her peachy cheeks. The joyousness of youth lit up her big blue eyes, and wreathed her red lips into a smile, that showed two rows of glistening teeth. The tightly-fitting dress revealed in all its glorious young beauty the faultless contour of her form.
"She cast an eye of pardonable pride upon the shapely limbs supporting her; then turned her eyes upward towards the horizontal bar, set her teeth, and jumped.
"An instant later, and she had sat down sharply on the resonant bounding-board with a deuce of a bump! and all the plain young women looking on were smiling...."
On the Uselessness of Nursery Lore. By E. G. Dalziel.
"NURSERY MORALS" (JUDY).
Published by Mr. Gilbert Dalziel.
One of the most interesting series of stories that Charles H. Ross wrote for Judy, he called "Behind a Brass Knocker." This was done in conjunction with Fred Barnard, who made all of the drawings. It was rather a sad theme—the experiences of a lot of impecunious people living together in a boardinghouse, the poorest of them all being Mrs. Mite, whose shifts and cunning ways are told with a touch of pathos, her crowning trouble being a drunken husband. The work had considerable success in volume form. Fred Barnard's work in this was of his very best kind.
Ross also wrote a series of wonderfully clever articles to accompany a set of drawings by E. G. Dalziel, which were strangely unlike the usual work of this artist—so much so, as to suggest the idea that he must have been under the influence of Gustave Doré at the time. Ross called them "Nursery Morals," which were of a fanciful character. After playfully rebuking "Little Bo-Peep" on her vanity, he concludes:
"I think the artist might as well have shown us the nose of one of the silly sheep peeping round a distant corner; but perhaps the sheep were all tired of her airs and graces, and had taken themselves off in disgust. I am not naturally of a malignant disposition, but I sincerely trust she never did find those sheep. Don't you?"
"On The Giant-Killer," he writes:
"I have every reason to believe that abnormally large men are comparatively harmless. There must be exceptions, of course, and I will give you 'Sir Roger' and Count Fosco. The Count, by the way, is a fictitious personage, and perhaps 'Sir Roger' was also rather that way inclined.
"These, however, were enormously fat men, not giants, and I have to do with giants. Now, we have it on good authority, that the intellect of a giant is generally as weak as his knees. We hear over and over again of giants in shows being awfully bullied by the 'smallest man in the world,' who travels with him, and who is exhibited outside on the parade in a largish-sized doll's house, through the roof of which he pokes out his head, whilst he rings a bell from the second-floor window, and rests his feet in the front parlour."
On Love as a Passion. By E. G. Dalziel.
"NURSERY MORALS" (JUDY).
Published by Mr. Gilbert Dalziel.
He remarks "On the Utter Wrongness of Nursery Lore":
"The more I reflect upon the unworthiness of the Nursery hero, as compared with the spotless purity of my own character (I am a London tradesman), the more am I lost in wonder to think that these alarming humbugs should so long have been tolerated by an indulgent public. When I think of that fellow whose name is associated with the beanstalk of abnormal growth—an unhappy combination of rogue and fool—when I think of that wholesale murderer (another Jack), and indeed all the rest of them, I ask myself 'Why so?' and all that remains of the Echo, at one halfpenny, is discreetly silent."
"On Love as a Passion":
"The passion of love is very properly excluded from the subjects discussed in the best regulated nurseries. Indeed, in households where the young lady's material has reached a certain height and breadth and fulness, the love that has any particular amount of passion in it is not the one discussed. And I think it right that it should not be.
"Writing as I do exclusively for female babes (or rather, I should say, young lady babes, because a young lady babe ought not to be called a female, and would with reason feel annoyed at being called one), I am anxious to do away with the passionate love-fiction altogether. Of course, I know I have only to explain the thing properly, in my own particular way, and the thing will at once be done away with; and surely it is my duty to do so, when by doing so, I know I shall do good."
"Even Mr. Codlin had nothing to urge against a proposal so seasonable. Nelly, kneeling down beside the box, was soon busily engaged in her task, and accomplishing it to a miracle."
"The Old Curiosity Shop" (Household Edition).—Charles Dickens.
By Charles Green, R.I.
By permission of Messrs. Chapman & Hall.
In 1888, Gilbert Dalziel, who had been working in the interests of the paper from the day it came into our hands, took over the journal, paying the sum of eight thousand pounds for it. He at once made considerable alterations in the conduct of the paper. Amongst his artistic staff were that powerful draughtsman, W. G. Baxter; Bernard Partridge, one of the most brilliant and deservedly popular black and white men of our time; Maurice Greiffenhagen, whose drawings had graced the pages of Judy from the day of his early studentship; Alfred Bryan, inimitable in his way; Fred Pegram, Raven Hill, F. H. Townsend, and Fred Barnard.
With such a list of artists at work week by week, small wonder that it should now be spoken of as "The Golden Period" of Judy.
In the pages of Judy, Charles H. Ross created the character of Ally Sloper and also of his friend Ikey Moses. In the early part of 1884, Gilbert Dalziel conceived and modelled a new publication, to be called the Half-Holiday, in which Ally Sloper was to be a leading character. It was finally decided, however, to add the Old Man's name to the title, and on May 3rd, 1884, Ally Sloper's Half-Holiday made its first appearance.
Amongst the many quaint features of the paper, perhaps the "Award of Merit" stands foremost. This decoration consists of a very clever design by W. G. Baxter, executed in colours, and has been presented to and accepted by men and women of the highest distinction in all branches of art, science, literature, music, and the professions generally.
"'You're the wax-work child, are you not?' said Miss Monflather.
"'Yes, ma'm,' replied Nell, colouring deeply."
"The Old Curiosity Shop" (Household Edition).—Charles Dickens.
By Charles Green, R.I.
By permission of Messrs. Chapman & Hall.
Gilbert Dalziel has in his possession a collection of autograph letters, in acknowledgment of the "Award," from some of the most eminent folks before the public during the latter part of the old century, amongst whom may be mentioned—Lord Tennyson, as representing Literature; Sir John E. Millais, Bart., P.R.A., for Painting and Drawing on Wood; Sir Arthur Sullivan, for Music; Sir Charles Russell, for Law; Arthur W. Pinero and Sir Henry Irving, for the Drama; Lord Charles Beresford, for the Navy; and Lord Roberts (when he was in command in India), for the Army.
Charles H. Bennett was one of the most original artists of his period. Alas! his life was all too short. There was an individual stamp about his work—independent in manner and full of deep thought. We had many of his drawings through our hands and knew him well. A more earnest man concerning his work we never met; and, not unlike Pinwell, he held it as a principle that time should never be allowed to enter into the question; the task should be defined, but never trammelled by, "How long will it take?"—whether it be days, weeks or years, for the proper execution of the project. Perhaps his "Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress" will rank as his greatest achievement.
We have already spoken of our connection with Messrs. Chapman & Hall, on that light feat of Doyle's, the "Panorama." There were also a very clever set of drawings for "Fairy Tales of all Nations," by Richard Doyle, and illustrations to Morley's "Oberon's Horn, and other Fairy Tales," by Charles H. Bennett, which we produced for the same firm.
"I made my way back to the 'Dolphin's Head.' In the gateway I found J. Mellows looking at nothing, and apparently experiencing that it failed to raise his spirits.
"'I don't care for the Town,' said J. Mellows, when I complimented him on the sanitary advantage it may or may not possess; 'I wish I had never seen the Town.'"
"The Uncommercial Traveller" (Household Edition).—Charles Dickens.
By E. G. Dalziel.
By permission of Messrs. Chapman & Hall.
When Charles Dickens abandoned the etchings of H. K. Browne as a means of illustrating his books, the next work, "Our Mutual Friend," was placed in the hands of Marcus Stone, whose father, Mr. Frank Stone, A.R.A., had for many years been a next-door neighbour and a very constant friend of Dickens. Some of these drawings, which are marked with all the refinement and good taste of this popular artist, were entrusted to us to engrave.
We were early engaged on the various editions of the works of Charles Dickens, commencing (through our friend, Ebenezer Landells,) with the wood engravings for "Master Humphrey's Clock," which were soon followed by those for the "Christmas Books" from drawings by Richard Doyle, John Leech, and Daniel Maclise.
But by far the most important commission ever placed in our hands by Messrs. Chapman & Hall was the production and entire control of the illustrations for the Household Edition of the Works of Charles Dickens, which was commenced in serial form in 1871 and completed in 1879, thus extending over a period of eight years. The publishers began the issue with "Pickwick," using the original designs by H. K. Browne ("Phiz"), but immediately after this Mr. Frederick Chapman placed the entire control of the illustrations in our hands. We were to find the best artists we considered suitable for the various works. The first selected was James Mahoney, who had already attained some distinction in drawing on wood. He did in all three books, the first being "Oliver Twist," followed by "Little Dorrit" and "Our Mutual Friend." Mahoney had a firm, clear style of manipulation, and no one knew better than he how to make work look solid and firm by leaving large masses of white in his arrangement of colour. He painted some good water colours. We had several small examples, the most important of which is "A Bird of Prey," a repeat of one of his designs for "Our Mutual Friend." Charles Green, R.I., made a beautiful set of illustrations to "The Old Curiosity Shop." Every picture is carefully studied both as to character, scene, and subject; the picture of "Short and Codlin," with Nell and her Grandfather, being one of the most perfect. Green painted many very fine water colour pictures, several of which we were fortunate enough to possess.
"On the second occasion of my seeing him he said, huskily, to the man of sleep, 'Am I red to-night?' 'You are,' he uncompromisingly answered."
"The Uncommercial Traveller" (Household Edition).—Charles Dickens.
By E. G. Dalziel.
By permission of Messrs. Chapman & Hall.
"78 Park Road.
"Dear Mr. Dalziel,—These proofs are so beautiful I cannot find any fault; and should be a brute if I did. The only one I have touched is because it is a little too dark and heavy—perhaps it is a heavy proof. I am delighted with them generally. I send two more drawings. Please do not forget to let me have the three proofs I mentioned in this morning's letter.
"Yours very truly,
"C. Green."
Again on another occasion:
"I like those proofs very much indeed; they are beautiful. There is only one thing wants touching—the face of the Charwoman in No. 27 is rather muddy, it wants clearing up a bit. I have touched the proof."
H. French, a clever and popular artist, the son of an accomplished wood engraver, who came of the Bewick school, did the pictures for "Hard Times," and very good they were.
"He stooped a little, and with his tattered blue cap pointed under the carriage. All his followers stooped to look under the carriage."
"A Tale of Two Cities" (Household Edition).—Charles Dickens.
By Frederick Barnard.
By permission of Messrs. Chapman & Hall.
F. A. Fraser, a well-known illustrator, made those for "Great Expectations."
A. B. Frost, an American artist of great ability, did "American Notes," and Gordon Thomson "Pictures from Italy." E. G. Dalziel undertook "Reprinted Pieces" and "The Uncommercial Traveller," as well as other short stories. Of "E. G. D.'s" work we will here quote two letters by distinguished artists in appreciation.
"2 Palace Gate,
"30th January, 1878.
"Dear Dalziel,—I ought to have thanked you for your kind and thoughtful present of Xmas books. The illustrations of your son to 'The Uncommercial Traveller' are admirable. I recognise his work in Fun, and the care of his work is not lost upon
"Yours very truly,
"J. E. Millais."
"Vanbrugh Park,
"Blackheath,
"23rd December, 1877.
"Dear Mr. Dalziel,—I thank you for the volume, where your son's drawings show an amazing care and truth—a certain weirdness most telling in some subjects, notably, 'Chips, the Carpenter'—the Devil with the Rat on his shoulder is grand. There is a Donkey, taken into custody by the police, most beautifully drawn. The Cart is by Albert Durer, so also is 'Mr. Baker's Trap'; 'A Cheap Theatre' is good, full of varied character; so is the Group of Chair-menders on title—the man's eyes screwed up because of the sun, and the woman looking through the back of the chair. There is a group of old women on p. 136 which is capital; very good character on p. 101, also on p. 84. 'Mr. J. Mellows,' p. 112, very good.
"With best wishes for health and happiness to you and yours,
"I am, dear Mr. Dalziel,
"Very truly yours,
"John Gilbert."
"'No matter! What do you mean, sir?' was the tart rejoinder. 'No matter! Do you think you bring your paltry money here as a favour or a gift; or as a matter of business, and in return for value received?'"
"Nicholas Nickleby" (Household Edition).—Charles Dickens.
By Frederick Barnard.
By permission of Messrs. Chapman & Hall.
But of all the artists engaged on this edition Frederick Barnard held the most prominent position, he having fully illustrated no less than nine out of twenty books.
Barnard ranks as one of England's truly comic artists; but he was not only comic, he was one of the most versatile artists of our time. He unquestionably stands among the foremost illustrators of Dickens. The many drawings he made for the Household Edition, as well as some larger pictures, illustrating the works of the great author, all possess a certain peculiarity: while the drawings are strictly in his own style, there is just enough resemblance to the figures created by H. K. Browne to save you a shock; the Dick Swiveller, the Bill Sykes, and other characters are the same as one had accepted when the stories were first written.
A powerful set of drawings are those for "How the Poor Live," which were commissioned by Gilbert Dalziel, in connection with G. R. Sims' articles, for publication in the Pictorial World.
Again, how grand are many of his designs for the "Pilgrim's Progress," which we prepared for Alexander Strahan; one of the most effective is "Lord Hategood," from which we commissioned him to paint an oil picture. Barnard was no mean painter: perhaps his "Saturday Night in the East End" and "The Guards' Band Marching" are amongst his most important works. He also painted a "Ball-room Scene," of an elegant character, from one of the Dickens' books, that had a very prominent place in the Institute of Painters in Oil Colours.
Our long connection with Barnard was of close intimacy and friendship; he was a delightful companion, amusing, and full of bright repartee, and would often "set the table in a roar."
As a mimic and comic singer he was inimitable. A favourite song of his at studio evenings was "I Long to be a Hartist, Mother," written by himself, we believe, and screamingly funny. As a practical jokist, Fred Barnard was simply au fait. On one occasion he called at Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, and asked the porter if Sir John Soane was at home. "Why, lor bless you, sir," said the man, "Sir John Soane has been dead these sixty years." Barnard was staggered at the news and overwhelmed with grief, and beating his breast he cried, "Dead! Dead! Dead! And we were boys at school together!"
His own death, poor chap, was tragic, and a great shock to all who knew him. He was an ardent smoker. One morning, having had breakfast in bed, he requested that he should not be disturbed again for some hours; when the servant went to call him there was no response, and on the door being forced open the room was found to be full of smoke, the bed-clothes smouldering fire. It is supposed that while courting further sleep he lit a pipe, which, falling from his mouth, ignited the clothes; although somewhat severely burnt, his death was, in fact, due to suffocation, and he passed away while in a state of insensibility.
George Dalziel
1901
From a Photograph by Grace and Dora Dalziel.
Edward Dalziel
1901
From a Photograph by Grace and Dora Dalziel.
Thomas BGS Dalziel 1901
From a Photograph by Lovel Dalziel.