(Dickens, Charles) — Hablot K. Browne (pseud. "Phiz," illustrator) — A group of steel plates

(Dickens, Charles) — Hablot K. Browne (pseud. "Phiz," illustrator)

A group of steel plates, illustrating some of Dickens's early works

Lot comprises: Original steel plate from The Pickwick Papers, being "The Rival Editors" [Undated, but ca. 1837]. Facing p. 549 in the original published work. Engraved steel plate (210 x 128 mm), with beveled edge. Housed in felt-lined clamshell case; some rubbing. [With:] 1 page typed letter signed by the Deputy Chairman, on Chapman & Hall Ltd. stationery, authenticating the plate. Number 144 of the 877 engraved steel plates presented to subscribers of The Nonesuch Dickens (Bloomsbury: The Nonesuch Press, 1938).

[With:] Original steel plate from Martin Chuzzlewit, being "Mr. Pinch Departs to Seek His Fortune." [Undated, ca. 1842]. Facing p. 419 in the original published work. Engraved steel plate (205 x 125 mm); some pitting and oxidization to plate. Housed in felt-lined clamshell case; some rubbing. [With:] 1 page typed letter signed by the Deputy Chairman, on Chapman & Hall Ltd. stationery, authenticating the plate. Number 490 of the 877 engraved steel plates presented to subscribers of The Nonesuch Dickens (Bloomsbury: The Nonesuch Press, 1938).

[And:] Original steel plate from Martin Chuzzlewit, being "Mr. Tapley Acts Third Party With Great Discretion" London: [undated, ca. 1842]. Facing page 178 in the original published work. Engraved steel plate (228 x 138 mm); some pitting and marginal corrosion. Housed in velvet-lined, straight-grained morocco case with button clasp; some rubbing. [With:] 1 page typed letter signed by the Managing, on Chapman & Hall Ltd. stationery, authenticating the plate.

Hablot Knight ("Phiz") Browne is now best-remembered as the illustrator of the novels of Charles Dickens. Though he had little formal training as an artist, he was apprenticed to the line-engraver William Finden. In 1834, Browne established an illustrators’ workshop with fellow apprentice Robert Young, where they produced etchings and watercolors, and in the spring of 1836, he met Charles Dickens. The young author was looking for someone to illustrate The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, which was originally issued in monthly parts. Robert Seymour was the illustrator for the first two instalments before his suicide. Robert Buss illustrated the third instalment, but Dickens didn't care for his aesthetic, and the remaining instalments were illustrated by Browne. Initially, Browne signed himself "Nemo" ("no one" in Latin), and then "Phiz" (a depicter of physiognomies), to accord with Dickens’s "Boz." Browne went on to illustrate the majority of Dickens’s novels.

(Sold as a group lot, not subject to return.)