Footnotes

THE ORIGINAL DRAWING BY 'PHIZ' FOR PLATE 37 IN PICKWICK, WITH A RARE DICKENS "SIGNATURE OF APPROVAL" REFERENCING 'THE PICKWICK CONTROVERSY' IN THE BOOK.

The etching of 'The Ghostly passengers in the ghost of a mail' appeared opposite page 523 in the book and was one of the two Phiz illustrations included in Part 17. As stated in the 1925 Anderson Galleries catalogue in which it was previously offered, apart from being reversed, "the drawing is identical with the published plate. The hamper is uncorded as in the First State of the plate". We have not traced any other original Pickwick drawings with a Dickens inscription being offered at auction since the 1953 sale, which included this and five other original Pickwick drawings, all described as having been in the Samuel and Hearst collections.

The author's autograph inscription "Charles Dickens his + mark" is a reference to the well-known passage in the book, when Pickwick discovers an old stone seemingly engraved with the words "X/ BILST/ UM/ PHSI/ S.M./ ARK". Believing it to be of Roman origin, he buys it from the owner, a farmer, and later takes it back to London where his lectures and findings on the subject are taken at face value by many experts in historical societies. Hoping to expose Pickwick, Mr Blotton, a rival in an upcoming election, visits the farmer, a Mr. Stumps, and discovers that the illiterate farmer had indeed carved the stone himself, intending that it should read "X BILL STUMPS, HIS MARK". Despite Blotton's best efforts, Pickwick has the last laugh as all the learned societies eventually pronounce in favour of their much-lauded hero.


Provenance:
Stuart M. Samuel M.P. (1856-1926, politician, manuscript collector, owner of the autograph manuscript of A Christmas Carol between 1882-1890, his library sold in 1907), stated provenance in 1953 catalogue; Anderson Galleries, 8 December 1925, lot 274 (one of 15 Pickwick drawings offered for sale); Edward Lowell Dean (rare-book and autograph dealer, 347 Madison Avenue), typed copy of note recording purchase from him on 21 December 1925 included in the lot (presumably originates from the Hearst or Hird collections); William Randolph Hearst, stated provenance in 1953 catalogue; Lewis A. Hird, bookplate on inside cover of cloth folder; his sale (First Editions, Autographs, Manuscripts, Original Drawings by and Relating to Charles Dickens... Collection of Lewis A. Hird, Englewood, New Jersey), Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 17 November 1953, lot 113 (illustrated on facing page); private North American collection.