Работая над «Лавкой древностей», писатель не мог спокойно ни есть, ни спать: маленькая Нелл постоянно вертелась под ногами, требовала к себе внимания, взывала к сочувствию и ревновала, когда автор отвлекался от нее на разговор с кем-то из посторонних.

английский иллюстратор художник-акварелист Джордж Каттермоул (1800-1868), известен своими иллюстрациями к Чарльзу Диккенсу

The Old Curiosity Shop - Published in weekly parts Apr 1840 - Feb 1841

Charles Dickens s The Old Curiosity Shop . First published 1841 . Nell Trent and her grandfather in the old curiosity shop Chapter I . Illustration by George Cattermole ( 1800 1868 )

["The door being opened, the child addressed the old man as her grandfather, and told him the little story of our companionship" (II, 40).] by George Cattermole. Wood engraving, 3 3/8 x 4 ¼ inches (vignetted image). Chapter 1, The Old Curiosity Shop. Original serial publication: 25 April 1840 (first plate in the series).

Kip in jail

Nell and Daniel Quilp

face of Quilp

In Browne’s woodcut below, the grandfather is drawn into a card game using Nell’s hard-earned money: a turning point that strikes the underlying note of doom that characterises their flight from Quilp. Dickens frames the scene with two sentences that skilfully demonstrate the interplay between language and image:

As he spoke he drew a chair to the table; and the other three closing round it at the same time, the game commenced.The child sat by, and watched its progress with a troubled mind.

Mr. Dickens himself localised this house as the home of little Nell, pointing out an inner room—divided from the shop by a glass partition—as her bedroom.

George Cattermole

3 3/8x 2 7/8 inches  Wood-engraving

Chapter 73, The Old Curiosity Shop. 30 January 1841 in serial publication (seventy-fourth plate in the series).

Like the plate depicting the dead Little Nell at peace, this illustration continues Cattermole's representation of the young girl as a holy figure by borrowing the iconography and composition of the Ascension of Mary.

The Balcony audience at Astley's Ampitheatre] by George Cattermole. Wood engraving, 3 3/8 x 4 5/8 inches. — Chapter 38, The Old Curiosity Shop. For passage illustrated see below] Date of original serial publication: 25 April 1840

Little Nell as Comforter] by George Cattermole. "Mr. Daniel Quilp, having entered unseen, was looking on with his accustomed grin." — Chapter 9, The Old Curiosity Shop. Original date of serial publication: 20 June 1840 (tenth plate in the series).

["Nell's New Home"] by George Cattermole. 3 ½ x 4 ½ inches. Wood-engraving. Chapter 52, The Old Curiosity Shop. 21 November 1840 in serial publication (fifty-fourth 54 plate in the series).

[The Child in Her Gentle Slumber] by George Cattermole. "Alone in the midst of all this lumber and decay and ugly age, the beautiful child lay asleep, smiling through her light and sunny dreams." Wood engraving, 3 1/8 x 4 ½ inches. — Chapter 1, The Old Curiosity Shop. Date of original serial publication: 25 April 1840 (second plate in the series).

[Quilp's Wharf] by George Cattermole. "Directly Quilp had shut himself in, the boy stood on his head before the door, then walked about on his hands" — Chapter 5, The Old Curiosity Shop. Wood engraving, 3 ½ x 4 ½ inches. Date of original serial publication: 30 May 1840 (sixth plate in the series).

["The Journey's End"] by George Cattermole. 3 ½ x 4 ½ inches. Wood-engraving. Chapter 70, The Old Curiosity Shop. 20 June 1841 in serial publication (seventy-second plate in the series). The picture ilustrates "Kit darted off, the birdcage in his hand, towards the spot where the light was shining in the parsonage."