MR PICKWICK'S BIRTHDAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22836, 21 March 1936, Page 5

MR PICKWICK'S BIRTHDAY

THE GENESIS OF AN IMMORTAL Just 100 years ago on March 31 Mr Pickwick made his first bow to the world which he has continued increasingly to delight ever since, it was a modest bow and certainly none of his sponsors had any idea of the fame he would win tor himself and for them. It was one of the little ironies of fate that the man lor whom Pickwick was created obtained less credit than anv of tha others associated with his debut, and that a young man Mr Charles Dickens, who had been called in merely as an assistant, should have won a fame which rapidly spread throughout the English-speaking world. It was an artist who suggested the possibilities ot such a figure as Pickwick; it was a publisher that named the lay figure and gave him the appearance of an eccentric acquaintance; and it was only then that the author sat down to these raw •materials and, attracted chiefly by the financial rewards, set about inventing adventures and romances which would lend themselves as subjects for a series oi sporting illustrations. Iu Movember of the year 1835, a new London publishing house, Messrs Chapman and Hall, had issued an annual illustrated by the popular artist Seymour and, as it was well received, he suggested that he should do a series of sporting plates. Mr Chapman agreed that the idea might be all right if the plates were accompanied by a text. A writer was approached, therefore, about the matter. Time passed and no reply was received. Perhaps it was that the" author was not interested or, perhaps, as is quite likely, he felt it would be beneath his dignity to undertake such a commission. When two or three months had passed and nothing had been done, Seymour again approached the publishers and asked for a definite answer as he was considering another proposal. It was then that one ot the partners thought of offering the work to Mr Dickens. This young man, 23 years of age, had just concluded a series of sketches under the no m de plume of "130 z," and had also recently fulfilled a small commission for the house on the suggestion of the editor, who had previously worked on the Morning Chronicle with him. Mr Hall called on the young man at his residence in Furmvals Inn and proposed that he should write .a something that should be published. in shilling numbers that should be a vehicle for certain plates to be executed by Mr Seymour." In one of his later prefaces Dickens also states that "there was _ a notion either on the part of that admirable humorist (Seymour) or of my visitor (Mr Hall) that a 'Nrnirod Club, the members of which were to go out snooting, fishing and so forth, and getting themselves into difficulties through their own want of dexterity, would be the best means of introducing these." Dickens objected at first on the grounds that he was no sportsman himself, that such au idea was not new, and that it would be better for the plates to arise naturally out of the text. He preferred that he shoull take his own way with a free range of English scenes and people and, youthfully confident, he believed that, whether this permission was given or not, if he undertook the work, he would ultimately do the work according to his own ideas. Mr Hall offered £ls 15s for each monthly instalment, of which it was suggested that there might be 20 in all, and the upshot of the meeting was that Dickens agreed to the propos.il. It is most probable that the facts that the young man was deeply in love and desirous of getting married and that Mr Hall was willing to pay the money for two numbers in advance played no inconsiderable part in bringing about that decision. That the matter was not considered of great importance is indicated by the fact that no written agreement was entered into. Charles Dickens set about his work and, in keeping with the artist's idea, a club was incorporated in his scheme, and Mr Winkle was created expressly for Seymour's use. Seymour submitted a conception of the leader of the club—" a long, thin man "—but Mr Chapman suggested to Dickens that he should use the appearance of an acquaintance who dressed in a rather odd fashion. Dickens took the name "Pickwick" from an innkeeper at Bath and, in writing his original number, endowed him with the appearance of the elderly beau of Chapman's suggestion, lhe Pickwick Club had come into being. On March 31 the first number was published between green paper covers with the elaborate title " Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, containing a faithful record of the Perambulations, Perils, Travels, Adventures, and Sporting Transactions of the corresponding members. Edited by.'Boz.'" The words "Sporting Transactions" were printed in a line by themselves and in bold type—an indication of the intention to produce a series of sporting plates—and this was further emphasised by the decorations surrounding the title—a fisherman in a punt at the foot, a sportsman blazing away at a small bird on a twig at the top, and crossed guns and fishing rods at either side. Ihe fisherman is obviously Mr Pickwick himself, and the sportsman could easily be Mr Winkle. . The venture was well received, but it seemed as though it would be doomed to an untimely end for, before the publication of the second number, Seymour committed suicide. Dickens had/only met the artist once, and that was barely 24 hours before the tragedy when Seymour called at the Inn and left an illustration for " The Stroller's Tale," told by Mr Jingle, a personality who, the author flattered himself, would make " a decided hit" The publishers were faced with the problem of obtaining another artist, but after a short interval " Phiz " (Mr Hablot Browne) undertook the work, and thus was commenced a long and profitable association for both. It is interesting to know that Thackeray, then a young man with artistic rather than literary ambitions, approached Dickens at this tune and offered to do the illustrations. He submitted, as proof of his qualifications, several sketches, but these did not meet witn approval. , , . Dickens's friends tried to persuade him against continuing with such a ' low, cheap form of publication " on the grounds that it would .ruin his rising reputation, but he regarded it as a mere job which circumstances made necessary, and carried on. All was grist that came to his mill; he borrowed freely from life for his materials, for he had no artistic purpose in mind. His instinctive gift for selection saved him from the obvious dangers .ot this course, and his rapidly _ developing powers soon brought about a widening and deepening of the original, conception. From a figure of fun Pickwick became a lovable old gentleman of wisdom and dignity, and the author defended tins radical change—which, however, came about only gradually—by pointing out that, on first acquaintance, eccentricities impressed the observer, but afterwards the virtues of character were discovered and ones original opinion altered. He claimed, therefore, that he was quite justified in introducing Mr Pickwick in this manner. Whether bv accident of inspiration' or with the design of substituting a broadly comic figure to compensate for the loss of the old Pickwick, a new character was introduced—Mr Samuel Weller—and his reception by the public put the final seal of success on the undertaking. The fame of Pickwick swept through the land. For the first number the printer bound 400 copies, and for the fifteenth issue more than 40,000 copies were ordered. Pickwick received the flattery of imitation and the honour of having innumerable brands of merchandise named after him. Carlyle tells the "dreadful" story narrated by an archdeacon of an invalid, who was heard to murmur at the conclusion of a visit from his spiritual guardian, "Well, thank flod Pickwick will be out in 10 days, anyway! Hut more important than this epidemic was the fact that Dickens had found himself. Before he had concluded the monthly numbers he had entered into further contracts and had already commenced working on "Oliver Twist," and " Nicholas N'ieklcby " was soon to make it<? appear anee.