A new online resource which contains all the original illustrations to Charles Dickens's novels and Sketches by Boz has launched. Users can download and use all the images for free.
The Charles Dickens Illustrated Gallery is the work of independent researcher, writer and educator Michael John Goodman who has already carried out a similar project, The Victorian Illustrated Shakespeare Archive which contains more than 3,000 illustrations from the most significant illustrated Shakespeare editions in the Victorian period.
The Dickens gallery is searchable by title and Goodman likens it "to the print-shops and galleries of the nineteenth-century, where illustrated prints would often be placed in the windows of these establishments, tempting potential customers to buy the latest instalment of a novel."
The catalyst for the project came during the pandemic lockdowns while reading a copy of Oliver Twist and being frustrated with the poor quality reproduction of prints in the book. He tracked down what he regards as the best editions featuring the original illustrations printed to a decent quality, then digitized them by hand to a high resolution and tidied them up in Photoshop to eradicate foxing and improve their appearance on modern screens of all sizes.
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The Charles Dickens Illustrated Gallery
The Out-and-out Young Gentleman, coloured frontispiece by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne)
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The Charles Dickens Illustrated Gallery
Mr. Fezziwig's Ball from A Christmas Carol, illustrated by John Leech
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The Charles Dickens Illustrate Gallery
I am Hospitably Received by Mr. Peggotty, from David Copperfield, illustrated by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne)
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The Charles Dickens Illustrated Gallery
The Dancing School, from Bleak House, illustrated by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne)
"The quality of the images are very high, and free to use," says Goodman. "A lot of care and time is spent on the curatorial aspect, ensuring that the illustrations look great on modern screens. Alongside this, I’m really pleased that the site looks attractive and is very user-friendly. People can just dive right in from the home page, and navigate intuitively and easily from there.
"There is so much happening in Phiz’s illustrations. They are packed with character, incident, and symbols and I hope by presenting them in this gallery form it allows us to study them more closely and comprehensively so that we can identify qualities or elements that may have been overlooked. Ultimately, I’m just delighted to be able to share these amazing illustrations with the world which form such an important and exciting part of book history."
