The Bellman

The comparison shows Henry Holiday's illustration (1876) to the front cover of Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark compared to a reproduction of the Ditchley Portrait (a gift from Sir Henry Lee to Queen Elizabeth I, c. 1592) by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger. 2013-02-05: The allusions in Henry Holiday's Snark illustration to the Ditchley Portrait are not as easy to detect as in some other Snark illustrations by Holiday, yet this comparison holds the third rank in my set of Flickr Members' Snark Favorites . Watch the sail of the ship and the queen's "sail". "While I concede Tufail 's thesis (2003) that Holiday received his instructions from Carroll and created his illustrations to reflect Carroll's cryptic messages and allusions, I contend that the interpretations given to the words we know so well by so many illustrators over a period in excess of 130 years continue to keep the Snark alive. Furthermore, it is my personal belief that Holiday managed to slip in a few interpretations of his own even though Carroll approved of the end result." (Doug Howick: The Hiihijig of the Bijtcheb, Knight Letter #28, Summer 2009) Perhaps Tufail and Howick both are right. As Henry Holiday frequently alluded to works of father&son Gheeraerts, John Tufail's Illuminated Snark (2004) gave me the idea to search for a Gheeraerts painting in which a map is shown . John reckoned, that the clouds in Holiday's front cover illustration may be part of a map. I think that this possibility cannot be excluded. John's assumption then drew my attention to the Ditchley portrait. (The Ditchley portrait again helped me to find sources for Holiday's illustration to the back cover of Carroll's book as well.)

The image shows Henry Holiday's illustration (1876) to the front cover of Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark compared to a grey shaded reproduction of the Ditchley Portrait (a gift from Sir Henry Lee to Queen Elizabeth I, c. 1592) by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger. "While I concede Tufail 's thesis (2003) that Holiday received his instructions from Carroll and created his illustrations to reflect Carroll's cryptic messages and allusions, I contend that the interpretations given to the words we know so well by so many illustrators over a period in excess of 130 years continue to keep the Snark alive. Furthermore, it is my personal belief that Holiday managed to slip in a few interpretations of his own even though Carroll approved of the end result." (Doug Howick: The Hiihijig of the Bijtcheb, Knight Letter #28, Summer 2009) Perhaps Tufail and Howick both are right. There is more: "The 'clouds' - or what at first glance appear to be clouds, are another item of considerable interest. If these are indeed supposed to represent clouds, then they are remarkably poor renditions (and Holiday was by no means either a poor, nor slipshod artist). Rather any close examination of this aspect of the illustration leads the observer to think that this background to the Bellman is actually a map, complete with rivers. contrast to the map Bellman presents to his admiring crew." (John Tufail, The Illuminated Snark , 2004) As Henry Holiday in his Snark illustrations frequently alluded to works of father&son Gheeraerts, John Tufail's Illuminated Snark gave me the idea to search for a Gheeraerts painting in which a map is shown . John reckoned, that the clouds in Holiday's front cover illustration may be part of a map. I think that this possibility cannot be excluded. John's assumption then drew my attention to the Ditchley portrait. (The Ditchley portrait again helped me to find sources for Holiday's illustration to the back cover of Carroll's book as well.) 2013-12: Evidence supporting of John Tufail's thesis: www.doylenewyork.com/asp/fullcatalogue.asp?salelot=13BP04+++553+&refno=++953647&image=0 (see also: groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/carrolliana/conversations/topics/358 )

[left]: Henry Holiday's back cover illustration (1876) to Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark . [right]: Allegorical English School painting (ca. 1610, redrawn, color desaturated and rearranged 2013) of Queen Elizabeth I at Old Age with allegory of Death and Father Time . (Location of original painting: Corsham Court, EAN-Number: 4050356835081) www.corsham-court.co.uk/Pictures/Commentary.html : "This portrait of Elizabeth I illustrates the difficulties she encountered during her troubled reign. For example, conflict between Protestants and Catholics was rife and the re-drafting of the Book of Common Prayer (held in her left hand) was a sensitive issue of the time." Changes of lower segment: Shifted mirror view [inset]: The Bellman , detail from Henry Holiday's front cover illustration (1876) to Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark .

Henry Holiday's depiction of the Bellman in fhe front cover illustration to Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark and Father Time from an allegorical English School painting (ca. 1610) depicting Queen Elizabeth I at Old Age . That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman, Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it: The doors are open; and the surfeited grooms Do mock their charge with snores: I have drugg'd their possets, That death and nature do contend about them, Whether they live or die.

The Bellman (segment of an illustration by Henry Holliday to Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark ) and a mirrored view of an unfinished portrait of Sir Henry Lee by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger

The Bellman (segment of an illustration by Henry Holliday to Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark ) and a mirrored view of an unfinished portrait of Sir Henry Lee by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger Yes, the noses and the eyes are different. This is not a face comparison. In this case, Holiday's pictorial allusions refer to the surroundings of Lee's face, not to the face itself. As in several other cases, Holiday maintained the topological relation between the quoted shapes. Here the shapes are the nodes in two quite similar graphs. Holiday even "copied" the cracks in the varnish of Gheerert's painting.

· · · · 001 · · "Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried, · · · · 002· · · · As he landed his crew with care; · · · · 003· · Supporting each man on the top of the tide · · · · 004· · · · By a finger entwined in his hair. Henry Holiday's illustration to the first "fit" in Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark (1876)

Assembled scans from original 19th century sources: • Illustration by H. Holiday to The Hunting of the Snark, 1876 • Inlay: Print based on a drawing (1834-04-16) by Conrad Martens , etching published in: Francis Darwin, Life and Letters of Charles Darwin , p. 160, 1888. Conrad Martens' drawing has been engraved by T. Landseer and published in the year 1838 by H. Colburn in The Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of HMS Adventure and Beagle .

From Henry Holiday's illustrations to Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark (1876) Illustration (1876) by Henry Holiday (engraved by Joseph Swain) to Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark depicting the Bellman (a cartoonish version with bigger nose), the Baker, the Barrister, the Billard marker (dipicted only in this illustration), the Banker (looks different in some other illustrations), the Bonnet maker (half hidden face; only in this illustration, perhaps an "Assistenzselbstbildnis" of Henry Holiday) and the Broker. Whatsoever, on board of that snarked vessel you probably can forget about playing billards anyway.