"In the course of a December tour in Yorkshire," writes Washington Irving, "I rode for a long distance on one of the public coaches on the day preceding Christmas."Three schoolboys were amongst his fellow-passengers. "They were under the particular guardianship of the coachman to whom, whenever an opportunity presented, they addressed a host of questions, and pronounced him one of the best fellows in the world. Indeed I could not but notice the more than ordinary air of bustle and importance of the coachman, who wore his hat a little on one side and had a large bunch of Christmas green stuck in the button-hole of his coat."Wherever an English stage coachman may be seen he cannot be mistaken for one of any other craft or mystery. He has commonly a broad full face, curiously mottled with red, as if the blood had been forced by hard feeding into every vessel of the skin; he is swelled into jolly dimensions by frequent potations of malt liquors, and his bulk is still further increased by a multiplicity of coats in which he is buried like a cauliflower, the upper one reaching to his heels. He wears a broad-brimmed low-crowned hat; a huge roll of coloured handkerchief about his neck, knowingly knotted and tucked in at the bosom, and has in summer-time a large bouquet of flowers in his button-hole, the present most probably of some enamoured countrylass. His waistcoat is commonly of some bright colour, striped; and his small clothes extend far below the knees to meet a pair of jockey-boots which reach about halfway up his legs.
"In the course of a December tour in Yorkshire," writes Washington Irving, "I rode for a long distance on one of the public coaches on the day preceding Christmas."
Three schoolboys were amongst his fellow-passengers. "They were under the particular guardianship of the coachman to whom, whenever an opportunity presented, they addressed a host of questions, and pronounced him one of the best fellows in the world. Indeed I could not but notice the more than ordinary air of bustle and importance of the coachman, who wore his hat a little on one side and had a large bunch of Christmas green stuck in the button-hole of his coat.
"Wherever an English stage coachman may be seen he cannot be mistaken for one of any other craft or mystery. He has commonly a broad full face, curiously mottled with red, as if the blood had been forced by hard feeding into every vessel of the skin; he is swelled into jolly dimensions by frequent potations of malt liquors, and his bulk is still further increased by a multiplicity of coats in which he is buried like a cauliflower, the upper one reaching to his heels. He wears a broad-brimmed low-crowned hat; a huge roll of coloured handkerchief about his neck, knowingly knotted and tucked in at the bosom, and has in summer-time a large bouquet of flowers in his button-hole, the present most probably of some enamoured countrylass. His waistcoat is commonly of some bright colour, striped; and his small clothes extend far below the knees to meet a pair of jockey-boots which reach about halfway up his legs.
The Stage Coachman.The Stage Coachman.
"All this costume is maintained with much precision; he has a pride in having his clothes of excellent materials; and notwithstanding the seeming grossness of his appearance, there is still discernible that neatness and propriety of person which is almost inherent in an Englishman. Heenjoys great consequence and consideration along the road; has frequent conferences with the village housewives, who look upon him as a man of great trust and dependence; and he seems to have a good understanding with every bright-eyed lass. The moment he arrives he throws down the reins with something of an air, and abandons the cattle tothe care of the ostler; his duty being merely to drive from one stage to another. When off the box his hands are thrust in the pockets of his greatcoat, and he rolls about the inn yard with an air of the most absolute lordliness. Here he is generally surrounded by an admiring throng of ostlers, stable-boys, shoe-blacks, and those nameless hangers-on that infest inns and taverns and run errands. Every ragamuffin that has a coat to his back thrusts his hands in his pockets, rolls in his gait, talks slang, and is an embryo 'coachey.'"
"All this costume is maintained with much precision; he has a pride in having his clothes of excellent materials; and notwithstanding the seeming grossness of his appearance, there is still discernible that neatness and propriety of person which is almost inherent in an Englishman. Heenjoys great consequence and consideration along the road; has frequent conferences with the village housewives, who look upon him as a man of great trust and dependence; and he seems to have a good understanding with every bright-eyed lass. The moment he arrives he throws down the reins with something of an air, and abandons the cattle tothe care of the ostler; his duty being merely to drive from one stage to another. When off the box his hands are thrust in the pockets of his greatcoat, and he rolls about the inn yard with an air of the most absolute lordliness. Here he is generally surrounded by an admiring throng of ostlers, stable-boys, shoe-blacks, and those nameless hangers-on that infest inns and taverns and run errands. Every ragamuffin that has a coat to his back thrusts his hands in his pockets, rolls in his gait, talks slang, and is an embryo 'coachey.'"
In the Stable YardIn the Stable Yard.
Surely it has seldom happened in the history of illustration that an author should be so very closely followed—if not overtaken—by his illustrator. No literary touch seemed to be wanting from the author to convey a picture of English life and character passed away; but Caldecott's coachman helps to elucidate the text; and whilst it carried to many a reader ofOld Christmasin the New World a living portrait of a past age, it revealed also the presence of a new illustrator.
Here was a reproachful lesson. The art of illustration—an art untaught in England and unconsidered by too many—was shown in all its strength and usefulness by a comparatively new hand.
Of the numerous illustrations drawn by Caldecott in 1874 forOld Christmas, we may select as examples the young Oxonian leading out one of his maiden aunts at a dance on Christmas Eve; and "the fair Julia" in the intervals of dancing listening with apparent indifference to a song from her admirer; amusing herself the while by plucking to pieces a choice bouquet of hothouse flowers.
The Troubadour.The Troubadour.
The Fair Julia.The Fair Julia.
The style and treatment of the drawing, on the opposite page, differs from anything previously done by Caldecott, and would hardly have been recognised as his work; the handling is less firm, and colour and quality have been more considered in deferenceto what was considered the public taste in such matters. But in a few pages he emancipates himself again, and gives us some brilliant character sketches. In the last example fromOld Christmashe is in his element. Nothing could be more characteristic, or in touch with the period illustrated, than the picture of Frank Bracebridge, Master Simon, and the author ofOld Christmas, walking about the grounds of the family mansion "escorted by a number of gentleman-like dogs, from the frisking spaniel to the steady old staghound. The dogs were all obedient to a dog-whistle which hung to Master Simon's button-hole, and in the midst of the gambols would glance an eye occasionally upon a small switch he carried in his hand."[7]Thus the minute observation of the writer is closely followed by the illustrator, who here from his own habit of close observation of the ways of animals, was enabled to give additional completeness to the picture; and the effect was greatly heightened by a wise determination on the partof Mr. Cooper the engraver, that the illustrations should be "so mingled with the text that both united should form one picture." This book was engraved at leisure, and not published until the end of 1875, by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., bearing date 1876.
Master Simon and his Dogs.Master Simon and his Dogs.
It is interesting to note thatOld Christmaswas offered to, and declined by, one of the leading publishers in London; principally on theground that the illustrations were considered "inartistic, flippant and vulgar, and unworthy of the author ofOld Christmas"! It was not until 1876 that the world discovered a new genius.
During the progress of the drawings forOld Christmasin 1874, Caldecott went with the writer to Brittany to make sketches for a new book; but the publication was postponed until after a more extended tour in 1878.
These summer wanderings of Caldecott in Brittany were prolific of work; his pencil and notebook were never at rest, as the pages ofBreton Folktestify (seeChapter xi.). The drawings, both in 1874 and in 1878, mark a strong artistic advance upon similar work in the Harz Mountains. His feeling for the sentiment and beauty of landscape, especially the open land,—generally absent from the sketches in the Harz Mountains,—is noticeable here. The statuesque grace of the younger women, the picturesqueness of costume, operations of husbandry, outdoorfêtesand the like, and the open air effect of nearly every group of figures seen in these summerjourneys—all came as delightful material for his pencil.
Caldecott's studies with M. Dalou, the sculptor, in 1874, and the great proficiency he had already obtained in modelling in clay, enabled him to make several successful groups from his Brittany subjects.
On the Road Side, Brittany.On the Road Side, Brittany.
The bright-eyed stolid child in sabots at the roadside (one of the first of the quaint little figures that attracted his attention in Brittany) stands onthe writer's table in concrete presentment in clay; the model is not much larger than the sketch—the front, the profile, and the back view, each forming a separate and faithful study from life.
The young mother and child in the cathedral at Guingamp (reproduced opposite) was another successful effort in modelling, but Caldecott was not satisfied with it excepting as a rough sketch—"a recollection in clay."
It is interesting here to note the handling of the artist in his favourite material, French clay. The model stands but six inches high, but it was intended to have reproduced it larger. Another sketch in the round was of "a pig of Brittany," reproduced on page194.
"Save up," he writes about this time to a friend in Manchester, "and be an art patron; you will soon be able to buy some interesting terra cottas by R. C.!"
"Save up," he writes about this time to a friend in Manchester, "and be an art patron; you will soon be able to buy some interesting terra cottas by R. C.!"
This was a heavy year, for many illustrations were produced not mentioned in these pages; and in October he was busy on the wax bas-relief of a "Brittany horse fair," afterwards cast in metal and exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1876 (see page137).
AT GUINGAMP, BRITTANY. Facsimile of Model in Terra Cotta, 1874.AT GUINGAMP, BRITTANY.Facsimile of Model in Terra Cotta, 1874.
To M. H.—Christmas, 1874.To M. H.—Christmas, 1874.
On the 19th of November and following days Caldecott was "working at Dalou's on a cat crouching for a spring." He had a skeleton of a cat, a dead cat, and a live cat to work from. This model in clay was finished on the 8th December, 1874.
Christmas Eve was spent "in the caverns of the British Museum making a drawing, and measuring skeleton of a white stork." This was a most elaborate and careful record of measurements. On the 28th of December he was "engaged on brown paper cartoon of storks at Armstrong's," and on the 30th is the entry,—"at British Museum; had storks out of cases to examine insertion of wing feathers."
Thus, all through the year 1874 Caldecott, working without much recognition excepting from a few intimates, got through an immense amount of work; not forgetting his friends the children, to whom he sent many Christmas greetings with letters and coloured sketches. The drawing on the opposite page accompanied a kindly letter to a child of six years.
"I thank you," he says, "very much for your grand sheet of drawings, which I think are very nice indeed. I hope you will go on trying and learning to draw. There are many beautiful things waiting to be drawn. Animals and flowers oh! such a many—and a few people."
The last sketch in 1874—a postscript to a private letter—tells its own story.
In a letter to a friend in Manchester, on the 17th January, 1875, Caldecott writes:—
"I stick pretty close to business, pretty much in that admirable and attentive manner which was the delight, the pride, the exultation of the great chiefs who strode it through the Manchester banking halls. Yes, I have not forsaken those gay—though perhaps, to the heart yearning to be fetterless, irksome—scenes without finding that the world ever requires toil from those sons of labour who would be successful."However, during the last year I managed to do a lot of work away from town, and enjoyed it. Sometimes it was expensive, because when at the cottage in Bucks, we of course mixed with the county families and had to 'keep a carriage' to return calls, return from dinner, and so forth."
"I stick pretty close to business, pretty much in that admirable and attentive manner which was the delight, the pride, the exultation of the great chiefs who strode it through the Manchester banking halls. Yes, I have not forsaken those gay—though perhaps, to the heart yearning to be fetterless, irksome—scenes without finding that the world ever requires toil from those sons of labour who would be successful.
"However, during the last year I managed to do a lot of work away from town, and enjoyed it. Sometimes it was expensive, because when at the cottage in Bucks, we of course mixed with the county families and had to 'keep a carriage' to return calls, return from dinner, and so forth."
At Farnham Royal—Returning Visits.At Farnham Royal—Returning Visits.
Here is "a meditation for the New Year"—"You will excuse me," he says, "talking of myself when I tell you that amongst the resolutions for the New Year was one only to talk of matters about which there was a reasonable probability that I knew something. Now human beings are a mystery to me, and taking them all round I think we may consider them a failure. If I do not understand anything that belongs to myself, how can I understand what belongeth to another? This, my dear W., with your clear intellect, you will see is sound."I often think of the scenes and faces and jokes of banking days, and have amongst them many pleasant reminiscences. Perhaps we shall all meet again in that land which lies round the corner!"[Here follows a grotesque sketch of a man on a winter's day, with an umbrella, hurrying off to the "Nag and Nosebag."]
Here is "a meditation for the New Year"—
"You will excuse me," he says, "talking of myself when I tell you that amongst the resolutions for the New Year was one only to talk of matters about which there was a reasonable probability that I knew something. Now human beings are a mystery to me, and taking them all round I think we may consider them a failure. If I do not understand anything that belongs to myself, how can I understand what belongeth to another? This, my dear W., with your clear intellect, you will see is sound.
"I often think of the scenes and faces and jokes of banking days, and have amongst them many pleasant reminiscences. Perhaps we shall all meet again in that land which lies round the corner!"
[Here follows a grotesque sketch of a man on a winter's day, with an umbrella, hurrying off to the "Nag and Nosebag."]
At the beginning of 1875, in the intervals of book illustration, Caldecott was busy "working on a cartoon of storks." This was a design for a picture in oils, painted in March and afterwards bought by Mr. F. Pennington, late M. P. for Stockport.
Sunrise.Sunrise.
On the 7th of January he enters in his diary, "Painted some storks on the wing for a panel for awardrobe." The rendering of dawn on the upmost clouds, the storks rising from the dark earth to greet the sun, can hardly be indicated without colour, but the design is given accurately. It was a poetic fancy which he had had in his mind for some time; one of many half developed designs which, if his health had permitted, the world might have seen more of.
Study in Line.Study in Line.
On the 25th of January he "made a dry point sketch of a Quimperlé Brittany woman," and in February he was busy modelling as usual.
On the 5th of February, "took to Lucchesi (moulder) wax bas-relief of horse fair, and small 'sketch of brewers' waggon."
Study in Line.Study in Line.
The advance of the art of reproducing drawings in facsimile in a cheap form, suitable for printing at the type press like wood engravings, was attracting much attention in England in 1875, and at the writer's request Caldecott made a series of diagrams suggestiveof the power of line and of effects to be obtained by simple methods, to illustrate a paper read before the Society of Arts in London in March, 1875, on "The Art of Illustration."
Diagram. Design for a Picture, 1875.Diagram. Design for a Picture, 1875.
With his usual kindness and enthusiasm he put aside his work—some modelling in clay which he had been studying under his friend M. Dalou, the French sculptor—and at once began a diagram, about seven feet by five feet, to suggest a picture inthe simplest way. Without much consideration, without models, and in the limited area of his little studio in Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, he set to work with a brush on the broad white sheet, and in about an hour produced the drawing in line of "Youth and Age" on the last page.
Diagram.Diagram.
The horses were not quite satisfactory to himself; but the sentiment of the picture, the openair effect of early spring, the crisp grass, the birds' nests forming in the almost leafless trees, the effect of distance indicated in a few lines—and above all, the feeling of sky produced by theuntouchedbackground—were skilfully suggested in the large diagram.
Diagram. "The Lecturer."Diagram. "The Lecturer."
On other occasions, and for the same lecture, he made several other diagrams, including one of thepursuit of a dog in a village, another of a lecturer and various heads in an audience. The reproductions are interesting to examine together as early work in a style in which he afterwards was famous—a style, which wasnot outlinein the strict sense of the word, and which to a great extent was his own. It had little in common with Flaxman, it was not in the manner of Gillray, Cruikshank, Doyle, or Leech; nor in the more academic manner of his friend—and predecessor in children's books—Walter Crane.
Diagram.Diagram.
To these somewhat tentative drawings he afterwards added to the series a diagram, six feet high, of the famous mad dog from one of his Picture Books, and another of the figure of a child running, reproduced above.
The discovery of a process by which a drawingon paper in line, could be photographed and brought into relief, like a wood-block for printing at the type press, was not perfected in England until 1875, and did not come into general use until 1876; had it come a year or two earlier it would have had an important influence upon Caldecott's work.
Diagram.Diagram.
Without going too far into technicalities, it may be interesting to illustrators to mention here that all Caldecott's best drawings in his Picture Books,John Gilpin,The House that Jack Built, &c.; in theGraphicnewspaper, and in Washington Irving'sOld Christmas, &c., were photographed on to wood-blocks and have passed through the hands of the engraver.
The system of photographic engraving (by which the drawings are reproduced on pp. 124 and 125) bids fair to supersede wood-engraving for rapid journalistic purposes. It naturally attracted Caldecott in the first instance; but with increased knowledge and perception of "values," and of the quality to be obtained in a good wood-engraving above any mechanical reproduction in relief, Caldecott was glad to avail himself of the help of the engraver. He drew with greater freedom, as he expressed it, preferring, as so many illustrators do, to put in tints with a brush, to be rendered in line by skilful engravers. But at the same time he delighted in shewing thepower of linein drawing, studying "the art of leaving out as a science"; doing nothing hastily but thinking long and seriously before putting pen to paper, remembering, as he always said, "the fewer the lines, the less error committed."
In the spring of 1875 he sends this lively pictureof himself from Dodington, near Whitchurch, in Shropshire, where he had been working, staying with friends, in the full enjoyment of country life.
Writing on the 27th of April, 1875, he says:—
"I feel I owe somebody an apology for staying in the country so long, but don't quite see to whom it is due, so I shall stay two or three days longer, and then I shall indeed hang my harp on a willowtree. It is difficult to screw up the proper amount of courage for leaving the lambkins, the piglets, the foals, the goslings, the calves, and the puppies. We want rain, and then things will grow with exceeding speed; as it is, the earth is dry and the buds are slow to display their hidden beauties. A little of 'something to drink' will cheer them, and then, like some human beings, they will look pleasant and cheerful and 'come out.'"
"I feel I owe somebody an apology for staying in the country so long, but don't quite see to whom it is due, so I shall stay two or three days longer, and then I shall indeed hang my harp on a willowtree. It is difficult to screw up the proper amount of courage for leaving the lambkins, the piglets, the foals, the goslings, the calves, and the puppies. We want rain, and then things will grow with exceeding speed; as it is, the earth is dry and the buds are slow to display their hidden beauties. A little of 'something to drink' will cheer them, and then, like some human beings, they will look pleasant and cheerful and 'come out.'"
Next, from a letter to an intimate friend, dated 5th March, 1875, on being asked to become a trustee:—
"The event is of a pleasing nature because it shows that somebody still believes in the continuance of that uprightness of principle, rectitude of conduct, and general respectability of mind and heart which for so many years endeared me to the nobility, clergy, gentry, gasmen, and fowl stealers of W——."
"The event is of a pleasing nature because it shows that somebody still believes in the continuance of that uprightness of principle, rectitude of conduct, and general respectability of mind and heart which for so many years endeared me to the nobility, clergy, gentry, gasmen, and fowl stealers of W——."
Life in the country with Caldecott was "worth living," and he chafed much at this period if he had to be with his "nose to the grindstone," as he expressed it, in Bloomsbury. Whilst in the countryhis letters to town were full of sketches, but in letters from London he hardly ever pictured life out of doors.
Shows his Terra Cottas."Shows his Terra Cottas."
In June 1875, he shows the bas-relief of "A Boar Hunt," and some small groups in terra cotta, to his friends.[8]
Before the favourable verdict of the press was pronounced onOld Christmas, Caldecott was commissioned to illustrate a second volume; and, in May 1875, he was already at work making studies and drawings forBracebridge Hall, which did not appear until the end of 1876.
About this time the first number ofAcademy Noteswas published, and in a postscript to a letter to the writer (of too private a nature to be printed) Caldecott pictures its "first appearance in a family circle."
The First Year of Academy Notes.The First Year of Academy Notes.
In June 1875, Caldecott had "three drawings in sepia, badly hung, in the 'black and white' exhibition at the Dudley Gallery."
On the 4th of August he was "making designs for pelican picture;" and afterwards studying this subject at the Zoological Gardens. Two pictures of pelicans were eventually painted; the second,in the possession of Mr. W. Phipson Beale, is sketched below.
Three Pelicans and Tortoise (Oil Painting).Three Pelicans and Tortoise (Oil Painting).
Writing on the 10th August, 1875, respecting some Cretan embroideries just arrived in England, he sends the sketch overleaf.
"In accordance with your letter about the embroideries," he says, "I have placed the address of the importer in the hands of Mr. N., a man well-skilled in detecting that which is good in a crowd of worksof art. He is great in pottery, embroidery and decoration; but he has a mind great in forgetting, and a fine talent for losing addresses."
Inspecting Embroideries.Inspecting Embroideries.
In October, whilst at the seaside, he "made sixdrawings;" and, later in the year, was "modelling panels for Lord Monteagle's chimney-piece."
In November 1875 he received the first copy ofOld Christmasfrom the publishers, and already favourable notices of the illustrations had begun to appear in the newspapers.
A Christmas Card to K. E. B.A Christmas Card to K. E. B.
Reading "Opinions of the Press" on "Old Christmas."Reading "Opinions of the Press" on "Old Christmas."
The "opinions of the press" on Washington Irving'sOld Christmas, which Mr. J. D. Cooper, the wood engraver, is depicted reading to the artist with so much glee, were all that could be desired; and they fully justified the second venture (Bracebridge Hall), on which Caldecott was already engaged.
In February he was "painting a frieze for Mr. Pennington's drawing room" at Broome Hall, Holmwood, Sussex; and, later on, was "carving panels for a chimneypiece."
In this year, 1876, Caldecott exhibited his first painting in the Royal Academy, entitled, "There were Three Ravens sat on a Tree." The humour and vigour of the composition are well indicated in the sketch. It was hung rather out of sight, above (and in somewhat grim proximity with) a picture of "At Death's Door," by Hubert Herkomer. Both artists were then thirty years of age.
There were Three Ravens sat on a Tree."There were Three Ravens sat on a Tree."(Oil Painting) Royal Academy, 1876.Cat. No. 415. 49 × 32.
In the same room (Gallery V.) were collected that year, the works of painters whose names are familiar—W. B. Richmond, A. Gow, H. R. Robertson,E. H. Fahey, W. W. Ouless, Val C. Prinsep, Henry Moore, and others.
Private view of my first R.A. picture,"Private view of my first R.A. picture," April 1876.
Besides "The Three Ravens" he exhibited in 1876 the metal bas-relief of a "Horse Fair in Brittany," reproduced opposite. This was a more masterful production than the picture, and attracted great attention in the Royal Academy Exhibition. It was mentioned in theTimesof that year, and in theSaturday Review, June 10th, 1876, we read:—
"Of low relief—taking the Elgin frieze as the standard—one of the purest examples we have seen for many a day is Mr. Caldecott's bas-relief, 'A Horse Fair in Brittany.' Here a simple and almost rude incident in nature has been brought within the laws and symmetry of art."
"Of low relief—taking the Elgin frieze as the standard—one of the purest examples we have seen for many a day is Mr. Caldecott's bas-relief, 'A Horse Fair in Brittany.' Here a simple and almost rude incident in nature has been brought within the laws and symmetry of art."
A Horse Fair in Brittany."A Horse Fair in Brittany."Metal bas-relief exhibited in the Royal Academy, 1876.Cat. No. 1499. Size 14 × 5-1/2 in.
In 1876 Caldecott also produced a relief in metal of "A Boar Hunt," which was exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery in 1878.
To the world at large and in the opinion of many critics, there was, in his Academy work of 1876, promise of an exceptionally successful career. Decorative design and modelling in relief were Caldecott's especial forte, and it is to be regretted that so few of these works remain to us. "The Horse Fair in Brittany," in the possession of the writer, is one of the few completed works of this character. He was not destined to be a prolific painter, although strongly urged at this time by members of the Royal Academy to devote his energies to painting. Neither his health nor his previous training justified his leaving a branch of art in which he was already becoming famous, that of book illustration.
In 1876 the system of reproducing sketches in pen and ink by photo-engraving became general in England, and in the pages ofAcademy Notesof that year there appeared, for the first time, sketches by the painters of their exhibited works.
Amongst well-known artists—who powerfully aided in founding a system of illustration which was destined to spread over the world—were Sir John Gilbert, R.A., H. Stacy Marks, R.A., Marcus Stone, A.R.A., and, the comparatively young, Randolph Caldecott. The three first-named are masters in line each in his own style, and their methods were studied and imitated by many other painters in England to whom line drawing was then a sealed book. Several sketches of pictures in theAcademy Notes, 1876, were drawn by Caldecott, including the portrait of Captain Burton, painted by Sir Frederick Leighton, P. R. A.
Captain Burton, R.A., 1876.Captain Burton, R.A., 1876.
In June he made a series of illustrations, entitled "Christmas Visitors," for theGraphicnewspaper; and about this time the drawings forBracebridge Hallwere finished.
Facsimile of First Page of "Bracebridge Hall."Facsimile of First Page of "Bracebridge Hall."
BRACEBRIDGE HALL."The success ofOld Christmashas suggested the re-publication of its sequel,Bracebridge Hall, illustrated by the same able pencil, but condensed, so as to bring it within reasonable size and price."
BRACEBRIDGE HALL.
"The success ofOld Christmashas suggested the re-publication of its sequel,Bracebridge Hall, illustrated by the same able pencil, but condensed, so as to bring it within reasonable size and price."
The Chivalry of the Hall prepared to take the Field"The Chivalry of the Hall prepared to take the Field"
InBracebridge Hallwe meet the fair Julia again in one of the most graceful illustrations Caldecott ever drew. An extract from the text is necessary to show the subtle touch of the illustrator.
"I have derived much pleasure," says Washington Irving, "from observing the fair Julia and her lover.... I observed them yesterday in the garden advancing along one of the retired walks. The sun was shining with delicious warmth, making great masses of bright verdure and deep blue shade. The cuckoo, that harbinger of spring, was faintly heard from a distance; the thrush piped from the hawthorn, and the yellow butterflies sported, and toyed and coquetted in the air."The fair Julia was leaning on her lover's arm, listening to his conversation with her eyes cast down, a soft blush on her cheek and a quiet smile on her lips, while in the hand which hung negligently by her side was a bunch of flowers. In this way they were sauntering slowly along, and when I considered them, and the scenery in which they were moving, I could not but think it a thousand pities that the season should ever change or that young people should ever grow older, or that blossoms should give way to fruit or that lovers should ever get married." The harmony here between author and illustrator needs no comment.
"I have derived much pleasure," says Washington Irving, "from observing the fair Julia and her lover.... I observed them yesterday in the garden advancing along one of the retired walks. The sun was shining with delicious warmth, making great masses of bright verdure and deep blue shade. The cuckoo, that harbinger of spring, was faintly heard from a distance; the thrush piped from the hawthorn, and the yellow butterflies sported, and toyed and coquetted in the air.
"The fair Julia was leaning on her lover's arm, listening to his conversation with her eyes cast down, a soft blush on her cheek and a quiet smile on her lips, while in the hand which hung negligently by her side was a bunch of flowers. In this way they were sauntering slowly along, and when I considered them, and the scenery in which they were moving, I could not but think it a thousand pities that the season should ever change or that young people should ever grow older, or that blossoms should give way to fruit or that lovers should ever get married." The harmony here between author and illustrator needs no comment.
The fair Julia and her LoverThe fair Julia and her Lover
There were 120 drawings made forBracebridge Hall, remarkable for artistic qualities and fully sustaining the reputation of the artist.
The originals were drawn about one third larger, in pen and ink, photographed on wood and engraved in facsimile. The effect of many of the drawings in the first editions was injured by the want of margin on the printed page; but anédition de luxeis now printed withOld ChristmasandBracebridge Hallin one volume.
General Harbottle at Dinner."General Harbottle at Dinner."
As it is the object of this memoir to record facts—and as the originator of good ideas is seldomrecognised—it should be stated here that it is owing to Mr. Cooper, the engraver, that Washington Irving's books were ever illustrated by Caldecott. The idea, he says in the preface, "has been delayed in execution for many years, mainly from the difficulty of finding an artist capable of identifying himself with the author;" modestly adding—"whether this result has now been attained or no, must be left to the verdict of the lovers of the gifted writer in both hemispheres."
An Extinguisher."An Extinguisher."
The two next sketches mark with touching emphasis the serious change in Caldecott's health which took place in the autumn of this year.
At Whitchurch.At Whitchurch.
In August he is writing from the country in high spirits as usual, and planning out much work for the future.Bracebridge Hallwas finished, and the success ofOld Christmashad brought him many commissions. His illustrations on wood had turned out well, being fortunate in his engravers, especially Mr. J. D. Cooper and Mr. Edmund Evans, who always rendered his work with sympathetic care. He may also be said to have been fortunate in his connection with theGraphicnewspaper under the direction of Mr. W. L. Thomas, the artist and wood engraver.
But alas! in the autumn of this year his health failed him, and in October he was advised to go to Buxton in Derbyshire.
On the 2nd November, 1876, he writes:—
At BuxtonAt Buxton
"I am as above. Walking solemnly in the gardens, or sitting limply in the almost deserted saloon listening to an enfeebled band."
"I am as above. Walking solemnly in the gardens, or sitting limply in the almost deserted saloon listening to an enfeebled band."
The result of that visit was a series of delightful sketches, which appeared in theGraphicnewspaper, the originals of which are in the possession of Mr. Samuel Pope, Q.C.
A Christmas Card.A Christmas Card.
The journey to the Riviera and North Italy, which Caldecott was compelled to make for his health, before Christmas 1876, was as usual prolific of work. Writing from Monaco in January, 1877, he says:—
"This is a beautiful place, and for the benefit of you stay-at-home bodies I will describe it—in my way;" and in four original letters published in theGraphicnewspaper in March and April, 1877, there appeared about sixty illustrations containingupwards of three hundred figures, different studies of life and character; and these drawings do not represent probably, one half of the sketches made.
No such pictures of Monte Carlo and its neighbourhood had been sent home before; they were the ideal newspaper correspondent's letters—the sketches abounding in humour and accurate detail; the letters accompanying them being written from personal observation.
It would have been strange indeed if these letters had not attracted general attention and amusement in a newspaper; but they did more than this, they revealed an amount of artistic insight, and suggested possibilities in Caldecott's future career as an artist which his health never permitted him to put to the test.
At Monaco and at Monte Carlo, Caldecott found so much that suited his pencil that it is a wonder that he found time for any more serious work. With touches of satire that remind us of Thackeray, and a gaiety all his own, these spontaneous and delightful letters form the best picture of Caldecott that can be given in 1877.
"Round the tables," he writes, "from noon to nearly midnight—seven days a week—themonde élégantcongregates, from the Yorkshireman to the Japanese." Then follow sketches of an Englishman in Scotch tweed, and a young man from Japan. Next is a general sketch of the crowd at the round table, the artist's own figure, admirably given, standing back to us, hat in hand. It was a marvellous gathering presented on the printed page, "all intent on gambling—editors of journals, English justices of the peace, venerable matrons and innocent girls, beloved sons who are 'travelling,' artistes, chevaliers of the legion of honour, dames who are not of that legion." "Such costumes and toilettes sweep the polished floor, such delicately-gloved fingers clutch the glittering coins—when they happen to win, and sometimes when they don't—such a clinking of money, as the croupiers mass the rakings."