"The Philanthropists" by Sol Eytinge, Jr.,: third woodcut for "A Christmas Carol" (1869)

[Victorian Web Home —> Visual Arts —> Illustration —> Dickens's A Christmas Carol —> Next]

The Philanthropists

Sol Eytinge

Wood engraving

12.6 high x 9.4 cm

Third full-page Illustration for Dickens's A Christmas Carol in Prose: being a ghost story of Christmas, Ticknor and Fields (Boston), 1869.

Just as the second illustration, "Scrooge and Marley's," the vignette for "Stave I. Marley's Ghost," emphasizes the corporate nature of the business relationship of the twins of capitalism, so the fourth illustration emphasizes the charitable partnership of the "doubles," whom Eytinge designates "The Philanthropists" (facing p. 18).

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

[You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

As, seven years ago, Scrooge and Marley laboured together in their counting-house for their own advancement and the worship of Mammon, so on this Christmas Eve two middle-class altruists of similar age, aspect, and dimensions (good men of business, in contrast to Scrooge and Marley, good businessmen) are soliciting for donations to relieve the distresses of the poor, so grievous during the Hungry Forties. Since the gentleman centre is about to jot down the benefactor's name on his note-pad, which presumably contains the list of those local businessmen prepared to make donations, we may assume that the passage realized is this:

They were portly gentlemen, pleasant to behold, and now stood, with their hats off, in Scrooge's office. They had books and papers in their hands, and bowed to him.

"Scrooge and Marley's, I believe," said one of the gentlemen, referring to his list. "Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or Mr. Marley?"

Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years," Scrooge replied. "He died seven years ago, this very night."

We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner," said the gentleman, presenting his credentials.

It certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits. At the ominous word "liberality," Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back. [Stave One, "Marley's Ghost," pages 17-18]

Their manner of address at once implies that they are confusing the business with its proprietor. Already the central figure has taken up his pen, and Scrooge appears to be thinking that those useful social institutions to whose maintenance he pays through parish rates, the prisons and workhouses, should be commended in a stinging rebuke.

Although at first glance, the floor-boards of Scrooge's office appear to be carpeted with some of the discarded bills which overflow his waste basket, closer examination reveals a thin carpet under the area of the desk and chair. To show his discomfort at the philanthropists' request, Scrooge gnaws the end of his quill and glances upward to study the central figure, thinking of a suitable reply. Behind and above Scrooge hang his hat and a map of the world, the real world of commerce and far-flung mercantile empire of Great Britain. In contrast to the corpulent bourgeois left, Scrooge is thick-haired and thin. The plump gentleman in tailcoat and cravat, is dressed respectably, his fob depending from a watch in the pocket of his trousers, which feature the stirrup underneath his boot, a style common in the 1840s. The opposition that makes the picture effective is the contrast between the seated Scrooge, closed in upon himself, his hands bony and his facial expression dour, and the standing philanthropists, whose posture is open and their faces unobscured. The left-hand philanthropist's gesturing with his top hat implies solicitation for funds.

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol in Prose: being a Ghost Story of Christmas. Il. Sol Eytinge, Jr. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1868.

Hearne, Michael Patrick, ed. The Annotated Christmas Carol. New York: Avenel, 1989.

Last modified 28 August 2011