British, (1817-1864)
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The Ghost of Christmas Present
- original draft version
- (1843), watercolor
- intended for Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman and Hall (1843).
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Editor’s Note:
There are two versions of Leech’s work shown here. The first has The Ghost of Christmas Present in a red robe. This is John Leech’s original draft watercolor. Dickens insisted that the painting be redone as his story describes the spirit dressed in a green robe.
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The Ghost Of Christmas Present
- final version
- (1843)
- final illustration used in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman and Hall (1843).
-
Editor’s Note:
Here is a close-up of the pig in the final version:
About the Artist
John Leech (1817-1864), was a British caricaturist and illustrator who also worked in wood engraving and lithography.
His illustrations were regularly published in the magazines Bentley’s Miscellany, Punch and the Illustrated London News. Besides works by Dickens he also illustrated editions of The Comic History of Rome by Gilbert Abbott A’Beckett, Mr. Sponge’s Sporting Tour and the Handley Cross novels by Robert Smith Surtees and Life and Character by William Makepeace Thackeray.
From the Porkopolis Archive:
See the blog entry Blicky Leech and the Christmas Pig.