David and Little Em'ly
Harold Copping
1924
Colour lithography
Approximately 7 x 5 inches (18 x 12.6 cm)
From Character Sketches from Dickens, facing p. 90.
The scene chosen to exemplify the happier aspects of the protagonist's childhood, "David and Little Em'ly," occurs on the Yarmouth sands when David goes to stay with Daniel Peggotty, whose family lives in a "kind of superannuated boat, . . . high and dry on the ground," which Phiz depicted as an upside down, even though the text does not so specify. Copping chose to be guided by the letterpress rather than by the original Phiz illustration. The moment realized occurs in instalment one (chapter 3, "I Have a Change"), May 1849.
Scanned image, caption, and commentary below by Philip V. Allingham
"Of all my books, I like this [David Copperfield ] the best. It will be easily believed that I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as I love them; but, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child, and his name is David Copperfield."
"So wrote Dickens in the preface to the original edition, and his own choice is shared by thousands of his readers. The book is in many respects the story of Dickens's own life up to a certain period, and the reality of it has stamped it as one of the first half-dozen novels in the language" [writes B. W. Matz in 1924].
Full as it is of incident, whimsicality, humour, pathos and adventure, the outstanding features of the book are its group of characters, all of whom become staunch friends wherever his books are read.
The four incidents following, deal with different periods of David's life, associated with Little Em'ly, Mr. Micawber, Uriah Heep, and many others — all old acquaintances. [In fact, as the depictions of David in the four illustrations make obvious, the artist's interests lie with David the child rather than with David the adult.]
References
Matz, B. W., and Kate Perugini; illustrated by Harold Copping. Character Sketches from Dickens. London: Raphael Tuck, 1924. Copy in the Paterson Library, Lakehead University.
Last modified 16 February 2009