Records in art of the Great Plague of London, though numerous, are mostly unimportant. Generally artists have been content to illustrate its copious literature. In 1863 Frederic Shields commenced an intended series of illustrations of the Journal of Defoe. Ruskin lavished great praise on the woodcuts, for their imaginative power and for the superlative excellence of the design. Proofs of six of these woodcuts were to be seen at the Memorial Exhibition of the works of Shields (Alpine Club, September-October 1911). The set of six comprised the following scenes:
1. The Decision of Faith
A man is seated at a table, on which lies a Bill of Mortality, with his Bible open before him. He says to himself, ‘Well I know not what to do, Lord direct me.’ His finger points to the answer in the open Bible: ‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation: there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.’
2. The Death of the First-born
A youth lies in convulsions on a bed, while a woman kneels beside it. In the background are bearers carrying away a corpse: both are smoking pipes. On the ground lies an hour-glass.
3. Solomon Eagle warning the Impenitent
Solomon Eagle stands with a brazier of live coals on his head in a fierce preaching attitude before a group of lewd young women at an open window.
4. The End of a Refugee
A man with a long hooked pole is dragging a corpse along. Beside him stands a grave-digger with spade, dog, and dinner-basket.
5. The Plague-Pit