_Lent by Mr. Augustin Daly._ [Illustration] In 1887 Messrs. Chapman & Hall appropriately celebrated the Jubilee of "The Pickwick Papers" by publishing an _Edition de luxe_, with _facsimiles_ of the original drawings made for the work, or, rather, of as many of these as were then available. In the editor's preface it is stated that four out of the seven drawings etched by Seymour for "Pickwick" had disappeared, but it afterwards transpired that two of the missing designs remained in the possession of the artist's family, until they were sold to a private purchaser, who, in 1889, disposed of them by auction. Of these drawings, therefore, only one, viz., "The Sagacious Dog," is undiscoverable. The album in which the missing designs were found also contained other original drawings for "Pickwick," as well as the Dickens letter to Seymour and an excellent portrait of the artist; this important collection included the three published designs (viz., "Mr. Pickwick Addresses the Club," "The Pugnacious Cabman," and "Dr. Slammer's Defiance of Jingle,"--the latter differing slightly from the etching), together with the first sketch for "The Dying Clown," and two unpublished drawings (evidently alternative subjects, illustrating incidents in the fifth chapter), respectively representing "The Runaway Chaise" and "The Pickwickians in Mr. Wardle's Kitchen." All these drawings, except that of "The Dying Clown," are outlined with pen-and-ink, and the effects washed in with a brownish tint. Perhaps the most astonishing circumstance in connection with this collection is the extravagant sum it realised in the auction-room, for, as might be anticipated, many were anxious to secure so valuable a memento. The bidding was brisk until £200 was reached, when competition was confined to the representative of Mr. Augustin Daly (of New York) and another whose name is unrecorded, the result being that the prize fell to Mr. Daly for £500--probably a record figure for such an item. No one experienced greater surprise at this enormous price than the purchaser himself, who assures me that, although he imposed no limit, it was never his intention to offer so fabulous an amount; indeed, the sum he had in his mind was not so much as a quarter of that at which this attractive album eventually fell to the hammer. Owing to the generosity of Mr. Daly, I am enabled to reproduce in _facsimile_ the whole of these extremely interesting designs, which he brought to England expressly for this purpose.