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Context of the Illustration: The Story-telling Pact

The statues of the two giants, Gog and Magog, each above fourteen feet in height, those which succeeded to still older and more barbarous figures, after the Great Fire of London, and which stand in the Guildhall to this day, were endowed with life and motion. These guardian genii of the City had quitted their pedestals, and reclined in easy attitudes in the great stained glass window. Between them was an ancient cask, which seemed to be full of wine; for the younger Giant, clapping his huge hand upon it, and throwing up his mighty leg, burst into an exulting laugh, which reverberated through the hall like thunder.

Joe Toddyhigh instinctively stooped down, and, more dead than alive, felt his hair stand on end, his knees knock together, and a cold damp break out upon his forehead. But even at that minute curiosity prevailed over every other feeling, and somewhat reassured by the good-humour of the Giants and their apparent unconsciousness of his presence, he crouched in a corner of the gallery, in as small a space as he could, and, peeping between the rails, observed them closely.

It was then that the elder Giant, who had a flowing gray beard, raised his thoughtful eyes to his companion’s face, and in a grave and solemn voice addressed him thus: ["Introduction to The Giant Chronicles," pp. 7-8]

Commentary: Dickens's Daring Initiative — A Weekly Miscellany

Chapman and Hall, prime beneficiaries of Dickens's genius in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (April 1836 — November 1837), must have thought that the twenty-eight-year-old writer was onto something when he proposed a weekly periodical "to run indefinitely, and to be written entirely by himself" (Hammerton, VI: ii). Appropriately, a project requiring the inventiveness of a necromancer and the stamina of a giant, begins with a pair of London characters, the fourteen-foot giants Gog and Magog from the mediaeval Guildhall. They offer two tragic but entertaining and well-conceived tales from London's storied past, "The Giant Chronicles," namely Magog's account of the bowyer's daughter and his apprentice, Master Graham, and Gog's only slightly less effective Poesque narrative by a madman, "A Confession Found in a Prison in the Time of Charles the Second." Despite Dickens's sometimes grim descriptions of the pair (reflecting Joe Toddyhig's impressions of them), Phiz captures their essential playfulness and camaraderie.

Other Illustrated Editions of Master Humphrey's Clock

• Harry Furniss's Six Charles Dickens Library Edition Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (1910)
• W. H. C. Groome's Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (1907)
• Fred Barnard's Four Household Edition Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (Vol. XX, 1879)

Scanned images and texts by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Bibliography

Cohen, Jane Rabb. "George Cattermole." Charles Dickens and His Original Illustrators. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio U. P., 1980. Pp. 125-134.

Davis, Paul. "Master Humphrey's Clock." Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to his Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998. P. 238.

Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). London: Chapman and Hall, 4 April 1840 — 6 February 41.

_______. Master Humphrey's Clock. The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Reprinted Pieces, and Other Stories. With thirty illustrations by L. Fildes, E. G. Dalziel, and F. Barnard. The Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. XX. Pp. 253-306.

_______. Master Humphrey's Clock and Pictures from Italy. With eight illustrations by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow, 1907. Vol. XLIX. Pp. 1-168.

_______. Barnaby Rudge and Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Volume VI.

Hammerton, J. A. "The Story of This Book." The Dickens Picture Book: A Record of the Dickens Illustrators. Master Humphrey's Clock. The Charles Dickens Library. London: Educational Book Co., 1910.  Pp. i-iii.

Lester, Valerie Browne Lester. Phiz! The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004.

Vann, J. Don. "The Old Curiosity Shop in Master Humphrey's Clock, 25 April 1840 — 6 February 1841." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: Modern Language Association, 1985. Pp. 64-65.

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Created 25 August 2022