Publication Title: Once a Week Vol.4 1861 (year of production) Wood engraving mounted on grey card
125 x 100 mm. Purchase: Puttick and Simpson Auctioneers, Leicester Square, London 1924
Illustration from 'The Silver Cord: A Story', a novel by Charles William Shirley Brooks (1816-74) that was serialised in 'Once a Week' between 1860 and 1861. It was also published in three volumes by Bradbury & Evans in 1861.
A sitting-room lit by an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling. At the centre are a little girl with long, loose, curly hair and dressed in a light-coloured, knee-length, flounced dress and feathered hat and a boy with longish hair and dressed in dark knickerbockers and belted tunic. They are hugging and kissing each other. An open book lies behind the boy on the carpet. A woman wearing a crinoline dress with pagoda sleeves and lace undersleeves has risen from her chair and is standing behind them. Her hair is parted at the centre, drawn away from her face and pinned at the neck. A sofa and a table covered by a cloth are partly visible behind her. To the right, a man with mutton chops and dressed in a chequered three-piece suit sits in an upholstered armchair with his legs crossed over. He looks at the children and ignores the open book that he is holding in his hand.