Charles Dickens was known for his moral principles and his commitment to social justice in his literary works. As an illustrator, he used his art to reflect these same values and themes in his drawings and cartoons. He often criticized the economic and social inequality of his time, and denounced the exploitation of workers and the poor. He was also an advocate for education and equal opportunities for all.
But Dickens was not only a writer, he also illustrated. The first works of Charles Dickens as an illustrator were for newspapers and magazines in which he also collaborated as a writer. In 1833, he began working as a reporter for the newspaper «Morning Chronicle», where he also published the first caricatures and drawings of him. He also worked as an illustrator for Bentley’s Miscellany from 1837, where he published some of his early novels, including The Pickwick Papers. During this time, he also illustrated various children’s books and poetry publications.
It was around this time that he met Robert Seymour, an English illustrator and cartoonist known for being the first illustrator of «The Pickwick Papers“, the first novel published by Charles Dickens. The two worked together on creating the illustrations for the book, with Seymour providing the drawings and Dickens writing the text.
However, the relationship between the two men was strained. Seymour committed suicide in 1836, after she broke off her relationship with Dickens, who had started working with another illustrator, Hablot Knight Browne, known as “Phiz”. The exact reasons for Seymour’s death are unknown, but it is believed that it may have been due to his frustration with the direction he was taking in “The Pickwick Papers” and his relationship with Dickens.
The point is, it’s now possible to see all of Phiz’s work for Dickens in the Charles Dickens Illustrated Gallery, a project of Michael John Goodman, with a compilation of the best editions featuring the original illustrations in decent print quality.
In addition to Phiz, there is George Cruikshank with Oliver Twist, John Leech with A Christmas Carol and many other works of art now immortalized on the Internet.
