Charles Dickens 'Lost Portrait' Rediscovered

One of Dickens' portraits has been found again --scratched up and faded a bit, but intact. Although its existence has been known for ages -- it was copied as a frontispiece for one of Dickens' novels -- no one knew where this little miniature had disappeared to.






Turns out it was jumbled in with misc. trinkets at a South African garage sale. Go figure.

The curators at the Dickens Museum in London are understandably thrilled. (Here's their blogpost on the subject.)

So is Philip Mould, the dealer/auctioneer who authenticated it, had it restored, and now owns the portrait.

The Dickens Museum people want to buy it. Bad.

The miniature portrait was painted in 1843, during the time Dickens was penning A Christmas Carol.

But how did it get to South Africa? According to Philip Mould:

...research undertaken by Philip Mould & Company strongly suggests that it arrived via one of two sons of George Henry Lewes (partner to George Eliot), both of whom emigrated to South Africa in the 1860s. Both Gillies and Dickens were close to the Lewes family and Gillies' adopted daughter was married to another of Lewes' sons. The portrait was found at a general sale in a tray containing a number of antiques and everyday objects, including an old recorder, a brass dish and a metal lobster. Suspecting the portrait might be of note, its purchaser contacted Philip Mould & Company.

I love the part about the lobster. So would Dickens, whose writing desk always had figurines of a man with puppies pouring out of his pockets...and two frogs fencing together. He valued them so much that he had them shipped to his next location. He even said he couldn't write without them sitting there.

(If you're thinking, 'Ooh, George Lewes and George Eliot, those names sound familiar...' Yes, it's George Eliot, the female novelist who wrote Silas Marner and Mill on the Floss. Her work, though not as popular now, was used to torture generations of American schoolchildren during English class. Dickens was one of the few who guessed that 'he' was really a 'she.' He soon became friends with Mary Ann -- her real name -- and her partner George Lewes. Who was already married to someone else.)

For those, like yours truly, who admire Charley and his amazing novels, this is a poignant connection with the young novelist. He was in his mid-thirties when this portrait was painted, just starting to gain recognition. He was trying desperately to write another bestseller, while dealing with his own debts and those of his father.** He had a houseful of kids, a growing reputation...and his last novel had largely been a failure.

Would he succeed? Or would he go bankrupt and fade into obscurity, like so many others he had known? I don't think even he knew what would happen at that point.

But he kept on.

Another portrait of Dickens, older and a little worn-down.

**as well as other begging-letter writers. Dickens dealt with them -- and probably let off some steam about his dad, in the process --  in this very funny article.