It has been remarked that Cruikshank was so accurate in the rendering of details that future antiquaries will rely upon his plates as authoritative in matters of architecture, costume, &c. For example, in the etching of "The Last Cab-Driver," he has depicted an obsolete form of cabriolet, the driver being seated over the right wheel; and in that of "The Parish Engine" we may discover what kind of public fire-extinguisher was then in use—a very primitive implement in comparison with the modern "steamer." In the latter plate, by the way, we behold the typical beadle of the period, who afterwards figured as Bumble in "Oliver Twist." Apropos of this etching, Mr. Frederick Wedmore points out (in Temple Bar, April 1878) that it is "an excellent example of Cruikshank's eye for picturesque line and texture in some of the commonest objects that met him in his walks: the brickwork of the house, for instance, prettily indicated, the woodwork of the outside shutters, and the window, on which various lights are pleasantly broken. I know no artist," he continues, "so alive as Cruikshank to the pretty sedateness of Georgian architecture. Then, too, there is the girl with basket on arm, a figure not quite ungraceful in line and gesture. She might have been much better if Cruikshank had ever made himself that accurate draughtsman of the figure which he hardly essayed to be, and she and all her fellows—it is only fair to remember—might have been better, again, had the artist who designed her done his finest work in a happier period of English dress." Mr. Wedmore alludes to another etching in "Sketches by Boz" as being "perhaps the best of all in Cruikshank as proof of that sensitive eye for what is picturesque and characteristic in every-day London. It is called 'The Streets, Morning,' the design somewhat empty of 'subject,' only a comfortable sweep who does not go up the chimney, and a wretched boy who does, are standing at a stall taking coffee, which a woman, with pattens striking on pavement and head tied up close in a handkerchief, serves to the scanty comers in the early morning light. A lamp-post rises behind her; the closed shutters of the baker are opposite; the public-house of the Rising Sun has not yet opened its doors; at some house-corner further off a solitary figure lounges homeless; beyond, pleasant light morning shadows cross the cool grey of the untrodden street; a church tower and spire rise in the delicate distance, where the turn of the road hides the further habitations of the sleeping town."
It may be hypercritical to resent, on the score of inaccuracy, an occasional oversight on the part of Cruikshank; but it is nevertheless interesting to note that in the plate entitled "Election for Beadle," Cruikshank has omitted from the inscription on Spruggins's placard a reference to "the twins," the introduction of which caused that candidate to become temporarily a favourite with the electors; in "Horatio Sparkins," the "dropsical" figure of seven (see label on right) is followed by a little "1/2d." instead of the diminutive "3/4d." mentioned in the text; in "The Pawnbroker's Shop" it will be observed that the words "Money Lent" on the glass door should appear reversed, so as to be read from the outside; while in the etching illustrating "Private Theatres," the artist has forgotten to include the "two dirty men with the corked countenances," who are specially referred to in the "Sketch."
The first cheap edition of "Sketches by Boz," issued by Chapman & Hall in 1850, contained a new frontispiece, drawn on wood by Cruikshank, representing Mr. Gabriel Parsons being released from the kitchen chimney,—an incident in "Passage in the Life of Mr. Watkins Tottle."
George Cruikshank not unfrequently essayed several "trial" designs before he succeeded in realising to his satisfaction the subject he aimed at portraying. Some of these are extremely slight pencil notes—"first ideas," hastily made as soon as conceived—while others were subjected to greater elaboration, and differing but slightly, perhaps, from the etchings; on certain drawings are marginal memoranda—such as studies of heads, expressions, and attitudes—which are valuable as showing how the finished pictures were evolved. The majority of the designs are executed in pencil, while a few are drawn with pen-and-ink; occasionally one may meet with a sketch in which the effect is broadly washed in with sepia or indian-ink, and, more rarely still, with a drawing charmingly and delicately wrought in water-colours. Besides original sketches, the collection at the South Kensington Museum contains a series of working tracings, by means of which the artist transferred his subjects to the plates. There are no less than three different suggestions for the frontispiece of the first cheap edition of "Sketches by Boz," together with various renderings of the design for the wrapper of the first complete edition, in which the word "Boz" in the title constitutes a conspicuous feature, being formed of the three letters superimposed, while disposed about them are several of the prominent characters. Probably the most interesting in this collection is a sheet of slight sketches signed by the artist, although they are merely tentative jottings for his etchings. One of these pencillings (an unused subject) represents a man proposing a toast at a dinner-table, doubtless intended as an illustration for "Public Dinners"; and here, too, are marginal studies of heads—including one of a Bill Sikes type—together with a significant note (apparently of a later date) in the autograph of Cruikshank, which reads thus: "Some of these suggestions to Chas. Dickens, and which he wrote to in the second part of 'Sketches by Boz'!"
Plate V
"THOUGHTS ABOUT PEOPLE"
Facsimile of an Unused Design for "Sketches by Boz" by
GEORGE CRUIKSHANK
A large number of studies for "Sketches by Boz" may also be seen in the Print Room of the British Museum, many of which are very slight. In some instances we find the same subject rendered in different ways, and it is worthy of note that a few of these designs were never etched; among the most remarkable of the unused sketches is a rough drawing for the wrapper of the monthly parts (octavo edition), with ostensible portraits of author and artist introduced. This collection includes "first ideas" for "Thoughts about People," "Hackney Coaches," "The Broker's Man," &c., and a careful examination shows that the sketches for the plates illustrating "Seven Dials" and "The Pickpocket in Custody" are entitled by the artist "Fight of the Amazons" and "The Hospital Patient" respectively. In one of the trial sketches for "The Last Cabman," the horse is represented as having fallen to the ground, the passenger being violently ejected from the vehicle.