Alteration in the Plan of Publishing "Pickwick"—The Difficulty Respecting a New Illustrator—Buss Elected to Succeed Seymour—Studies Art under G. Clint, A.R.A.—His Painting of "Christmas in the Olden Time"—His Ignorance of the Etcher's Art—Practises Drawing in Pen-and-ink—"The Pickwick Papers"—Buss's First Plate Approved by the Publishers—Failure of Subsequent Attempts—Expert Assistance Obtained—Plates Cancelled—Buss Dismissed—Substituted Designs by "Phiz"—"Pickwick" Drawings by Buss—His Unused Designs for "Pickwick"—His Illustrations for Marryat, Ainsworth, &c.—Accurate Draughtsmanship—"The Library of Fiction"—Buss's Illustrations for "A Little Talk about Spring and the Sweeps"—His Paintings, Humorous and Historical—Some Dickens Pictures—Drawings of Scenes in "Dombey and Son"—An Unfinished Portrait of Dickens—Drawings on Wood for Charles Knight—Exclusion of the Artist Buss's Pictures from the Royal Academy—Endeavours to Obtain Pupils—Lectures on Art—His Wife and Daughter Establish a School for Girls—A Professor of Drawing and a Teacher of Science—Praiseworthy Industry—Death of the Artist.

Charles Dickens's brother-in-law, the late Mr. Henry Burnett, was a frequent visitor at the home of the novelist during the "Pickwick" period, and years afterwards he vividly recalled the consternation, disappointment, and anxiety of the young writer on receipt of the melancholy news concerning the distressing fate of Robert Seymour, the first illustrator of "The Pickwick Papers." Dickens greatly admired the productions of that unfortunate artist, and, realising how successfully he had so far portrayed the characters in the work, apprehended there would be much difficulty in discovering a draughtsman who could interpret him with equal felicity. Indeed, there was quite a dearth of suitable talent, the only artist then living capable of etching his own designs being George Cruikshank. Unfortunately, there was not much time for consideration, as the third number of "Pickwick" had to be provided for without delay.

The crisis brought about by the unexpected death of Seymour compelled Chapman & Hall to promptly carry into effect a resolution they had formed of issuing future numbers of "The Pickwick Papers" on an improved plan, with a view to enhancing the attractiveness and popularity of the work. They determined that each succeeding number should consist of thirty-two pages of letterpress instead of twenty-four, and that there should be two illustrations in lieu of four—an arrangement which held good to the end. The difficulty respecting an illustrator to succeed Seymour had now to be grappled with, whereupon the publishers called to their assistance the eminent wood-engraver, John Jackson, who advised them to approach Robert William Buss, as being the only artist of his acquaintance likely to prove the most suitable for the purpose. Chapman & Hall acted upon this suggestion, and Buss, after much persuasion and at great personal inconvenience, agreed to temporarily relinquish very important engagements in order to assist them in their dilemma.

Plate XXIII

DESIGN FOR THE TITLE-PAGE OF "THE PICKWICK PAPERS"
Facsimile of an Unpublished Drawing by R. W. BUSS

Robert William Buss is referred to in an address issued with the third part of "Pickwick" as "a gentleman already well known to the public as a very humorous and talented artist." He was born on August 29, 1804, in Bull-and-Mouth Street, St. Martin's-le-Grand, and in due course apprenticed to his father, an enameller and engraver on gold and silver. Like Seymour, he was inoculated with the prevailing mania for "High Art," and this inclination becoming too strong to be thwarted, his indulgent father not only permitted the cancelling of his indentures, but even defrayed the cost of a year's study in Art, placing him under his old friend George Clint, A.R.A. (a landscape painter, and subsequently the President of the Society of British Artists), whose son Alfred married the younger Buss's only sister. Having thus, at the age of twenty-one, gained some practical experience in his adopted profession, Robert Buss thought himself competent to start life on his own account by painting portraits and subject-pictures. In this direction he met with fair success, but it was as a painter of humorous incidents that he first made his reputation, these finding eager purchasers among well-known collectors and connoisseurs. Among his earliest achievements was a painting representing "Christmas in the Olden Time," which he exhibited in the gallery of the Society of British Artists in 1838. This work, however, although warmly praised by the critics, proved a most unhappy venture, as the price realised by the artist for what represented the result of a year's labour hardly recouped him for the expenses incurred by its production.[13]

The Pickwick Papers, 1836-37.It was doubtless this painting with which Buss was occupied when Mr. Hall (of Chapman & Hall) called upon him respecting the illustrations for "Pickwick." "Taken quite by surprise," relates the artist, when recalling his association with Dickens's famous work, "I told him [Mr. Hall] I had never in the whole course of my life had an etching-needle in my hand, and that I was entirely ignorant of the process of etching, as far as practice was concerned. He assured me it was very easy to do, and that with my talent I was sure to succeed." After some hesitation, overcome by Mr. Hall's promise that consideration would be shown towards his want of experience, Buss yielded to the pressure thus put upon him, and consented to put aside his picture (although most anxious to complete it for exhibition at the Royal Academy), with a view to embarking upon his new undertaking.

In preparing studies for his pictures, Buss had accustomed himself to the use of bold effects, obtained by means of chalk or black-lead pencils of various degrees of hardness, blackness, and breadth of point. He therefore deemed it necessary to undergo a course of training which would enable him to impart to his work that delicacy of touch so essential in the art of etching upon copper or steel, and devoted himself almost day and night (as there was really no time to lose) to practice in drawing with pen-and-ink,—a fact (he observes) "of which Mr. Hall was utterly and entirely ignorant." There are still extant a few of these experimental efforts (chiefly figures and faces copied [Pg 49]
[Pg 50]from line engravings), including a sheet containing a dozen sketches of heads—studies of characters in "Pickwick," apparently based upon Seymour's etchings—which testify not only to his energy, but also to his rapidly-acquired skill in the adoption of what was to him a novel medium. In these drawings, by the way, he used ordinary ink for the general design, diluting it for the delicate shades and distant objects, thus assimilating the effect of his pen-and-ink work with the variations resulting from the "biting-in" and "re-biting" of etchings.

Plate XXIV

"THE BREAK-DOWN"
Facsimile of an Unpublished Drawing by R. W. BUSS
Illustrating an incident in the ninth chapter of "The Pickwick Papers."

After labouring incessantly for a period of three weeks, the artist felt prepared to make his first attempt in etching, taking for his subject "Mr. Pickwick at the Review." Referring to this plate, he says: "Of course it was full of faults, inevitable to any one in the early stage of practice in etching. But it was shown to Messrs. Chapman & Hall, and approved by them, though not as one of the illustrations to be published.[14] All this occupied much time, which was every hour becoming more and more valuable, as the date of publication was close at hand. I had barely time to prepare my two subjects for the next number of 'Pickwick' in pencil and submit them for approval to the publishers, who returned them, being much pleased with my efforts. The subjects I selected were the Fat Boy watching Mr. Tupman and Miss Wardle in the arbour, and the Cricket-Match." Buss now essayed to reproduce his designs upon the plates; but the result proved disastrous, the too violent action of the improperly diluted acid tearing up the etching-ground, which also broke up under the needle, creating sad havoc. Dreading the possible consequences of delay, he placed his original drawings in the hands of an expert engraver, to be copied on the plate and "bitten-in." "This work," remarks the artist, "he did very well indeed, but, as might have been expected, had I had time for thought, the free touch of an original was entirely wanting. The etching itself failed, but the 'biting-in' was admirably done. Time was up. The plates must be placed at once in the printer's hands, and so (there being no help for it) the plates were printed, the numbers stitched and duly published. Thus my name appeared to designs of which not one touch of mine was on the plates." Had opportunities been given, Buss would have cancelled these plates, and prepared fresh ones of his own etching. The immediate effect of this fiasco was the termination of his connection with "The Pickwick Papers," the artist being actually engaged in preparing designs for the succeeding number when he received a note informing him that the work had been placed in other hands. Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that Buss felt this curt dismissal very keenly, for it must be remembered that he ventured upon the undertaking mainly to oblige the publishers, who, it appears, had promised him every consideration on account of his inexperience with the etching-needle.

Forster disposes of the subject of Buss's association with "Pickwick" in a very few words, merely observing that "there was at first a little difficulty in replacing Seymour, and for a single number Mr. Buss was interposed," thus intimating that the engagement was a temporary one. In commenting upon this, the artist's son, the Rev. Alfred J. Buss, expresses a belief that his father could not certainly have regarded it in this light. "Is it reasonable to suppose," he asks, in Notes and Queries, April 24, 1875, "that he would have consented to devote three weeks of his time, at the most valuable season to an artist, to the practice of an entirely new department of art, if it had been clearly stated that his engagement was of the transitory nature Mr. Forster would imply, and the more especially when we bear in mind that the price to be paid for the etchings was only fifteen shillings each?" It was Forster's scanty and misleading reference to Buss's engagement as illustrator of "Pickwick" which induced the artist to draw up for his children a concise and clear account of everything that transpired.

It is not recorded whether Buss and Dickens became personally acquainted, nor, indeed, that they ever met. We may therefore[Pg 51]
[Pg 52] surmise that all business transactions were carried on through the publishers, who probably forwarded to the artist proofs of the letterpress in order that he might select therefrom the subjects for illustration. The third number of "Pickwick" contains the only two published etchings by Buss for that work, viz., "The Cricket-Match" and "The Fat Boy Awake on this Occasion only." These plates, the effect of which was poor and thin, contrasted unfavourably with the Seymour etchings immediately preceding them, and were therefore suppressed as speedily as possible, others by "Phiz" (HablÔt K. Browne) being substituted before many copies had been issued.[15] In one of the latter an entirely different design is given,—that is to say, instead of "The Cricket-Match," we have "Mr. Wardle and his Friends under the Influence of 'the Salmon,'" depicting an incident described in the succeeding chapter.

The drawings by Buss for "Pickwick" have fortunately been preserved. Besides the original designs for the published etchings, there are still in existence several tentative sketches prepared by the artist in anticipation of future numbers,—those, indeed, upon which he was at work when he received his congÉ. Some of these sketches are vigorously limned with pen-and-ink outlines and the effects laid in with a brush, while others are rendered in pencil supplemented by washes of indian-ink. The following is a complete list of Buss's original drawings for "Pickwick":—

Mr. Pickwick at the Review.[16]—Unused design.—This subject was etched by the artist as a specimen of his work to be submitted to Chapman & Hall. Only two impressions are known to exist, while the plate itself was irretrievably injured through the surface being scratched with a piece of coarse emery paper.

The Cricket-Match.[16]—Published design.

Plate XXV

"A SOUVENIR OF DICKENS"
From an Unfinished Painting by R. W. BUSS
Size of Original Picture, 36 in. by 27 in.

Lent by the Rev. F. Fleetwood Buss.

The Cricket-Match.—First sketch, varying entirely from the etching. The wicket-keeper is seen behind the fat man, receiving the ball full in his face.

The Fat Boy Awake on this Occasion only.[1]—Published design.

The Fat Boy Awake on this Occasion only.—First sketch, varying from the etching. Tupman is represented on his knees by the side of Miss Wardle, who is holding a watering-pot, while the Fat Boy is seen behind, facing the spectator.

The Fat Boy Awake on this Occasion only.—Second sketch, varying from the etching. Here Tupman is standing, with his left arm around Miss Wardle's waist, and the Fat Boy is in front, in much the same attitude as represented in the published design; indeed, there are very slight differences between this sketch and the accepted drawing.

Mr. Wardle and his Friends under the Influence of "the Salmon."[17]—Unused design.

The Break-down.—Unused design. Pickwick, in an attitude of despair, stands facing the spectator; behind him Wardle is seen in the act of shaking his fist at the eloping party in the retreating chaise; while a postboy on the left holds the head of one of the horses belonging to the vehicle which has come to grief.

Mr. Winkle's First Shot.—Unused design. The central figure is Winkle, holding his gun; close by stands Snodgrass in an attitude of fear, while Pickwick and Wardle are sheltering behind a tree.

Study for the Title-Page.—Unused design. In this rough sketch Pickwick is the prominent personage, as he stands facing the spectator, with his right hand in the pocket of his smalls, and his left arm resting on what appears to be a mound of earth. Separately displayed upon the face of this mound are medallion portraits, in emblematical frames, of Pickwick, Snodgrass, Winkle, and Tupman, while above all is suspended a female figure typical of Fame, blowing a miniature trumpet and holding a laurel wreath over the head of Pickwick. The letters forming the words "Pickwick Club" are made up of various articles suggestive of conviviality and sport—such as corkscrews, bottles, wine-glasses, pistol, stirrup, &c.

These drawings sufficiently indicate that the artist possessed a decided power with the pencil, which he turned to good account shortly after the abrupt termination of his connection with "The Pickwick Papers." For example, in 1839 he successfully illustrated, by means of etching, Mrs. Trollope's diverting story, "The Widow Married," then appearing as a serial in the New Monthly Magazine, and among the more remarkable of his later efforts with the etching-needle are his designs for novels by Marryat, Ainsworth, and other well-known writers of the day, many of the plates being equal, in the matter of technique, to those by "Phiz," thus denoting that, had an opportunity been afforded him, he might have made his mark with "Pickwick." It may be said of Buss (as is asserted concerning Cruikshank) that his works, whether in colour or black-and-white, are regarded as affording authentic information respecting costumes and other accessories; for he was exceedingly conscientious in matters of detail, preferring to incur infinite trouble to secure accuracy rather than rely upon his imagination.

The Library of Fiction, 1836.Like Seymour, Buss was associated with Dickens in connection with that ephemeral work, "The Library of Fiction." Besides "The Tuggses at Ramsgate," the novelist wrote for its pages a paper called "A Little Talk about Spring and the Sweeps," containing an illustration drawn by Buss and engraved on wood by John Jackson, who, it will be remembered, introduced the artist to Chapman & Hall. This short tale was reprinted in the first complete edition of "Sketches by Boz," 1839, under the title of "The First of May," with an etching by Cruikshank depicting an incident differing entirely from that which forms the subject of Buss's woodcut.

Plate XXVI

DOLLY VARDEN
From an Original Water-colour Drawing by R. W. BUSS

Lent by the Rev. A. J. Buss.

As a painter of humorous scenes and historical events, Buss gained considerable popularity. From 1826 to 1859 he contributed nearly every year subject-pictures and portraits to the Exhibitions of the Royal Academy, Suffolk Street Gallery, and British Institution, and among his numerous canvases (many of which have been engraved) may be mentioned:—Humorous—"The Biter Bit," "The March of Intellect," "The Monopolist," "An Unexpected Reception," "Soliciting a Vote," "Chairing the Member," "Mob Tyranny," "The Mock Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme." Historical—"The Introduction of Tobacco by Sir Walter Raleigh," "James Watt's First Experience with Steam," "Hogarth at School," "Chantrey's First Essay in Modelling," "Nelson's First Victory over the French Fleet." The artist was also occasionally inspired by Shakespeare and Dickens, and it is specially interesting to note that he painted at least three pictures of scenes in the novelist's works, viz., "Joe Willet Taking Leave of Dolly Varden" (from "Barnaby Rudge"), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1844, and now in a South Australian public picture-gallery; "The Cricket's Chirp" (Peerybingle, Dot, and Tilly Slowboy, from "The Cricket on the Hearth," Chirp the First), exhibited at Suffolk Street, 1846; and a representation of Trotty Veck peeping into the basket containing his dinner of tripe which his daughter brings him. In an album of studies and notes for his pictures (arranged by the artist for preservation as an heirloom) may be found several sketches for the first-named subject, and in addition to these are two small water-colour drawings, oval in form, of scenes in "Dombey and Son," representing "Mr. Dombey more Magnificent than Usual," and "Captain Cuttle visited by Florence Dombey," the latter being especially well rendered. Whether these have ever been engraved I am unable to say, but the probability is they have not. Curiously enough, the last picture on Buss's easel purported to repre[Pg 55]
[Pg 56]sent "A Dream of Dickens." This unfinished canvas (still in the possession of a member of the artist's family) contains a portrait of the novelist seated in his study, with visions of scenes from his various works around him. The portrait is adapted from the well-known photograph by Watkins, while the incidents depicted are taken from the original illustrations.

Although Buss's large picture of "Christmas in the Olden Time" proved, for the artist, a financial failure, it benefited him in being the means of introducing him to Charles Knight (perhaps the most enterprising publisher of that day), who, recognising in the young painter a diligent student of manners and customs, engaged his services on the Pictorial Edition of Shakespeare's Works, "Old England," the Penny Magazine, and Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," all of which were issued under Knight's auspices. The Rev. A. J. Buss well remembers his father making these drawings on wood blocks, which were engraved by Jackson, Sly, and others, and recalls that, some years after, he obtained a commission from Mr. Hogarth, a printseller, to execute some Christmas subjects for reproduction by line-engraving.

After 1854 Buss's pictures were for some reason excluded from the Royal Academy Exhibitions, and this so seriously affected the sale of his work that he was compelled to have recourse to teaching drawing as a means of supplementing a precarious income. As early as 1843 he had issued circulars announcing a course of lessons in drawing on Dupin's method, having previously purchased many expensive models, and rented a room in Duke Street, Grosvenor Square; but all in vain, for not a single pupil was forthcoming! He then prepared a series of lectures on English Comic and Satiric Art, which he delivered in London and the chief provincial towns in England, these being illustrated by large diagrams.

Plate XXVII

FLORENCE DOMBEY AND CAPTAIN CUTTLE
From an Original Water-colour Drawing by R. W. BUSS

Lent by the Rev. A. J. Buss.

During the period of struggle for a livelihood, the artist's wife and daughter came nobly to his assistance by establishing, in 1850, the North London Collegiate School for Ladies (as it was then designated), which developed into the leading school in the cause of Female Education. In order to give it a higher grade than other similar seminaries had then attained, Buss not only became its professor of drawing, but teacher of science too, first devoting himself to the study of Chemistry, Botany, Human Physiology, Mechanics, Hydraulics, &c., and he soon became qualified for his self-imposed responsibilities. His artistic capabilities here stood him in good stead, for they enabled him to prepare large diagrams with which to illustrate his lectures; in addition to this, he made his own models for demonstrating the science of Mechanics—thus proving the power he possessed of adapting himself to circumstances, in the earnest desire to obtain a living and in his love for wife and children. "I do not think," observes the Rev. A. J. Buss, when corresponding with me on this subject, "I ever knew a man so industrious as my father. I have a clear remembrance almost from my childhood of his industry,—early morning in his painting-room—up to late hours drawing on wood and etching. He deserved better fortune than he secured; and I have only learnt to admire him the more, the more I think of his career."

At the death of his wife, the artist led a very retired life, in a studio most picturesquely fitted up with ancient furniture, and here it was that he devoted the latter years of his life in preparing for publication his lectures on Art, being aided and encouraged in his congenial task by his affectionate daughter, the late Frances Mary Buss, who subsequently gained high distinction in connection with Education. This profusely-illustrated volume, printed for private circulation, was issued in 1874, and bore the following title: "English Graphic Satire, and its relation to Different Styles of Painting, Sculpture, and Engraving. A Contribution to the History of the English School of Art."

Robert William Buss died at his residence in Camden Street, Camden Town, on February 26, 1875, in his seventy-first year. The end came very quietly and painlessly to him who had fought the battle of life so honestly and so fearlessly.

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