Dickens Illustrations

Illustrations of the Works of Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was fortunate to have a number of renowned artists illustrate his works. Their drawings helped form the public's image of what Dickens' characters were like, and also helped sell copies of his works. The illustrations are recognized as miniature works of art in their own right.

Advances in printing technology during the Victorian Era made it possible to print books and magazines with high quality drawings and illustrations. The public came to expect vivid depictions of the scenes and characters in the story and many artists such as George Cruikshank, Kohn Leech and others became popular in their own right. The authors benefited from the mass market appeal of the illustrations, which helped promote and sell the books and magazine articles. In an era before motion pictures in which photography was still rare, these book illustrations were the multimedia of the day, and contributed to the creation of a popular culture and shared experience. For example, the reading public had a mental image of what Oliver Twist or David Copperfield looked like, not only because of Dickens' written descriptions, but because of how they were depicted in drawings and illustrations that accompanied the book.

The most important illustrators of Dickens' works were:

The Main Dickens Illustrators: George Cruikshank, John Leech and Hablot K. Browne (Phiz)

	George Cruikshank George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator. He drew many illustrations for books by Charles Dickens as well as other major Victorian authors.
	Phiz Phiz was the pseudonym of Hablot Knight Browne (Lambeth, July 12, 1815 - London, July 8 1882). Phiz was a friend and collaborator of Dickens, He illustrated many of Dickens' best known works including David Copperfield. More ...
	Robert Seymour Robert Seymour was a renowned illustrator and caricaturist. He died tragically after a dispute with Dickens over creative control of the Pickwick Club. Seymour claimed to have come up with the idea for the Picwick Club, but Dickens denied that Seymour had contributed anything except drafting some of the illustrations on Dickens's request. More ...
	John Leech John Leech (August 29th 1817 - London, October 29 1864) was an illustrator and caricaturist. He drew the illustrations for Dicken's "A Christmas Carol". More ...
	Fred Barnard Fred Barnard (1846 London - September 1896) was a prolific Dickens illustrator, producing over 450 drawings for the collected works of Charles Dickens. He is noted for his encyclopedic knowledge of Dickens. More ...
	John Doyle John Doyle (September 18, 1824 – December 10, 1883) was a noted illustrator during the Victorian era who contributed several drawings to Dickens' Christmas books More ...
	John Tenniel The noted political satirist and illustrator Sir John Tenniel(February 28, 1820 – February 25, 1914) provided several drawings for Dickens Haunted Man More ...