The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1870-08-06
RELICS OF CHARLES DICKENS

One of the Most Remarkable Sales
ON Record-NearIy Fifty Thousand
Dollars Obtained.
From the London Daily News.
The prices given at this sale on
Saturday exceeded oil expectation.
| Every one knew that men would
| bid high, and that some Of the
i most popular lots would give rise
to keen competition, but the reali-
ty far surpassed expectation, and
the statistics of the Charles Dicks
ems sale will long remain among
the most inter esting traditions of
Messrs Christie and Manson's ia
nous rooms. The great room was
fall before one o'clock, and pnnc-
tually at the latter hour the first
lot. little water color drawing of
Rochester by Norman, was put up.
1t went for ten guineas. and three
small Stanfields followed, which
brought one hundred and Eve,
ninety five. and seventy FIVE guin-
eas respectively. The room grew
more and more crowded, and
though the great majority of those
present belonged to the general
public, faces were recognized here
and there among the bidders which
spoke of their owners special in
terest in the lots offered for sale.
Mr.. John Forster, Mr.. Dickens
intimate friend and executor, and
the man who is by common con-
sent spoken of as his biographer,
sat behind the auctioneer. and was
the purchaser of Stanfeld's Logan
Rock" for seventy-five guineas.
The late Mr.. Dickens eldest son,
Mr. Charles Dickens, jr., stood in
the crowd, and bought an exquisite
little water color by w. Hunt, of
roses in blue and white jug, for
three hundred and twenty guineas;
while Mr. Geo Scharf, F. S. A.,
Mr.. Dion Boucicault. Mr.. Hawk
ins, Q. c., Mr.. Jno. Hollingshead,
Mr.. Edmund Yates, Miss Braddon,
Mr.. j. G. Parkinson, Mr.. Bancroft,
Mr.. Rudolph Gustavus Glover, Mr..
Andrew Halliday, Mr.. H. G. Bohn
and Mr.. George Augustus Sala.
were bidders for some other Of the
lots. The really special interest
began when the two water colors
by Topham were put up. Mr..
Forster's picture, 'sThe Logan
Rock" has portraits Of Mr. Mac
lise. Mr.. Dickens and Mr.. Stan
field in its foreground, but the
figures are small. and the outsider
heard of this for the first time
from Mr.. Woods, the auctioneer.
But every one knew the story OF
"Barnaby Rudge and his Mother"
and of "Little Nell and her Grand
father in the Tent" and the one
realized 10 and the other 275 gui-
meas. An admirable water color
by Prout Beauvais Cathedta al
brought l55 guineas, and the "Lit-
tie Nell's Home" by Cattermole,
l60 guineas, and Little Nells
Crave" $50 guineas. A series of
small pencil sketches by John
Leech, inclosed in a single frame.
and bought by Mr.. Dickens at the
late artists sale, realized sixteen
guineas and q half; while a small
design in pen and ink. by Mr.. E.
NJ. Ward, r. A., of Wilson and
Defoe, sold for sixty seven guineas
The cabinet picture, by Frank
Stone, of "Tilda Price," from
"Nicholas Nickleby," painted at
Mr.. Dickens desire, and represent
ing the baxom lass fixing a flower
in the curls which made poor Miss
Squeers so jealous, went for only
forty guineas; while Mr.. Gales ex-
ceedingly comic Mr. F.'s Aunt"
a miniature in oils, Of the size of q
playing card. brought sixty gum
cas-. The birthstone and treac.e
scene from Doiheboy's Hall,
rightly described in the cata-
iogue as an exquisite specimen,
had been we'll talked over during
the three days the pictures were on
view. On the one hand. it's treat
ment of the scene portrayed is
simply perfect. The brawny vira-
60, Squeers, stands at one Of the
desks, presiding over an immense
basin Of birthstone and treacle. Of
which delicious compound she ad-
ministered large dose to each
boy in succession. using for the
purpose q common wooden spoon,
which might have been originally
manufactured for some gigantic
top, and which widened every
young gentleman's mouth consid-
erably, they being all obliged. un-
der heavycorporal penalties. to take
in the whole bowl at grasp. In
another corner, huddled together
for companionship, were the little
boys who had arrived on the pre-
ceding night, three of them in very
large leather breeches. and two in
Old trowsers, . something tighter
at than drawers are generally worn