Harry Furniss - 1910 Original "Oliver Twist" Illustration

This Harry Furniss illustration appeared in the 1910 edition of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, published by the Educational Book Company in London. This book was part of Furniss' eighteen-volume edition of The Charles Dickens Library, for which Furniss furnished a total of 1500 illustrations!

This illustration had a short caption of "Oliver Aroused", with a longer caption of: "The cruel insult to his dead mother had set his blood on fire. The cowardly tormentor lay crouching at his feet. "He'll murder me!" blubbered Noah. "Charlotte! and missis! Here's the new boy a-murdering of me! Help! help! Oliver's gone mad!"

There is a longer context for the illustration, found on pages 42 and 43 in the book:

"What did you say?" inquired Oliver, looking up very quickly.
"A regular right-down bad 'un, Work'us," replied Noah, coolly. "And it's a great deal better, Work'us, that she died when she did, or else she'd have been hard labouring in Bridewell, or transported, or hung; which is more likely than either, isn't it?"
Crimson with fury, Oliver started up; overthrew the chair and table; seized Noah by the throat; shook him, in the violence of his rage, till his teeth chattered in his head; and collecting his whole force into one heavy blow, felled him to the ground.

A minute ago, the boy had looked the quiet child, mild, dejected creature that harsh treatment had made him. But his spirit was roused at last; the cruel insult to his dead mother had set his blood on fire. His breast heaved; his attitude was erect; his eye bright and vivid; his whole person changed, as he stood glaring over the cowardly tormentor who now lay crouching at his feet; and defied him with an energy he had never known before.

"He'll murder me!" blubbered Noah. "Charlotte! missis! Here's the new boy a murdering of me! Help! help! Oliver's gone mad! Char — lotte!"

Furniss' illustration shows some lively pen work, with beautiful hatching and cross-hatching throughout. There is also some wonderful figure work, with Oliver's outstretched arm and Noah's cowering body.

George Cruikshank, the noted British illustrator, created the illustrations for the original serialized version of the story from 1837 to 1839. The illustrations are comparable, though Cruikshank's figures are stiffer, without the exaggerated movement found in Furniss' work. I'll post a side-by-side comparison in the additional images.

It's amazing to me that original illustrations from seminal works such as Oliver Twist are available for reasonable prices, given the current state of our hobby. I'm glad to add this one to the collection.