Compiled by Aymer Vallance

Juvenilia

1. A Carnival. Long procession of many figures in fifteenth and sixteenth century costume. Water-colour drawing. Unpublished. Given by the artist to his grandfather, the late Surgeon-Major William Pitt. c. 1880.

2. The Jackdaw of Rheims, set of illustrations to the poem. Unpublished. c. 1884.

I. Laocoon hurleth his spear against the horse.

II. Laocoon and son crunched up.

III. Little July tries to keep up with Papa. Old Father Anchises sitteth on Papa’s shoulders and keeps a good look-out.

IV. Parvi Iulus.

V. Helen.

VI. Panthus departs, bag and baggage.

VII. Sinon telleth his tale unto King Priam.

VIII. One of the cinders of Illim.

IX. (No title.) The drawing, to illustrate two comic verses written at the top of the paper, represents Æneas being carried up into the air by means of a balloon attached to his helmet.

All the above are drawn in ordinary ink upon plain white paper of the kind used for rough work at the school, and all are of uniform size, 7-1/4 × 5 inches, except No. 9, which is on a double-size sheet, measuring 7-1/4 × 10 inches. Unpublished. (Property of H. A. Payne, Esq.) September to December 1886.

4. Virgil’s “Æneid,” nineteen humorous sketches illustrative of Book II., entitled:——

I. Æneas relateth the tale to Dido.

II. Laocoon hurls the spear.

III. Sinon is brought before Priam.

IV. Calchas will not betray anyone.

V. “All night I lay hid in a weedy lake.”

VI. The Palladium is snatched away.

VII. The Palladium jumpeth.

VIII. Laocoon sacrificeth on the sand.

IX. Sinon opens the bolt.

X. Hector’s ghost.

XI. Æneas heareth the clash of arms.

XII. Panthus fleeth.

XIII. Pyrrhus exulteth.

XIV. Death of Priam.

XV. Æneas debateth whether he shall slay Helen.

XVI. Venus appeareth to Æneas.

XVII. Jupiter hurls the lightning.

XVIII. Æneas and company set out from Troy.

XIX. Æneas seeth Creusa’s ghost.

The above drawings in ordinary ink are contained in a copy-book, 8 × 6-1/2 inches. Unpublished. Exhibited in London at Carfax & Co.’s Galleries, October 1904. (Property of Harold Hartley, Esq.) End of 1886.

5. The Pope weighs heavily on the Church. Pen-drawing contained in the same copy-book with the last-named.

6. John smiles, a comic illustration to the school history book, representing King John in the act of signing Magna Charta. Pen-drawing on paper 7-1/4 × 5 inches. Unpublished. (Property of H. A. Payne, Esq.)

7. Saint Bradlaugh, M.P., a caricature. Pen-drawing on a half sheet of notepaper. Unpublished. (Property of H. A. Payne, Esq.)

8. Autumn Tints. Caricature in black and white of the artist’s schoolmaster, Mr Marshall, expounding to his pupils the beauties of nature. Unpublished. Given to Ernest Lambert, Esq., Brighton, c. 1886-7.

Beside the above-named there must have been numbers of such drawings belonging to this early period; for in his schooldays Aubrey Beardsley was, to quote the words of Mr H. A. Payne, “constantly doing these little, rough, humorous sketches, which he gave away wholesale.” Many have been destroyed or lost, others dispersed abroad. Thus, for instance, one old Brighton Grammar School boy, C. E. Pitt-Schenkel, told Mr Payne that he was in possession of some, which he took out to South Africa.

9. The Jubilee Cricket Analysis. Eleven tiny pen-and-ink sketches, entitled respectively:——

I. A good bowler.

II. Over.

III. Slip.

IV. Square leg.

V. Shooters.

VI. Caught.

VII. A block.

VIII. A demon bowler.

IX. Stumped.

X. Long leg.

XI. Cutting a ball.

All these subjects being represented, in humorous fashion, by literal equivalents. These drawings, though they cannot pretend to any merit, are notable as the earliest specimens to be published of the artist’s work. Together they formed a whole-page photo-lithographic illustration in Past and Present, the Brighton Grammar School Magazine, June 1887.

10. Congreve’s “Double Dealer,” illustration of a scene from, comprising Maskwell and Lady Touchwood. Pen drawing with sepia wash, on a sheet of paper 13-1/2 × 11 inches. Unpublished. (Property of H. A. Payne, Esq.) Signed and dated June 30, 1888.

11. Holywell Street. Wash drawing. First published in The Poster, Aug.-Sept. 1898. Republished in “The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley, with a Prefatory Note by H. C. Marillier.” John Lane, March 1899. (Property of Charles B. Cochran, Esq., 1888.)

12. The Pay of the Pied Piper: A Legend of Hamelin Town. Eleven line drawings in illustration of, as follows:——

I. Entrance of Councillors, headed by Beadle carrying a mace. Reproduced in The Westminster Budget, March 25, 1898.

II. Rats feeding upon a cheese in a dish. Reproduced in Westminster Budget, March 25, 1898.

III. Child climbing into an armchair to escape from the rats. Reproduced in The Poster, Aug.-Sept. 1898.

IV. The Sitting of the Council, under the presidency of the Burgomaster.

V. Deputation of Ladies.

VI. Two rats on their hind legs, carrying off the Beadle’s mace: behind them are three rats running. Reproduced in Westminster Budget, March 25, 1898.

VII. Meeting between the Beadle and the Piper.

VIII. The rats follow the Piper out of the town. Republished in Westminster Budget, March 25, 1898, and in The Poster, Aug.-Sept. 1898.

IX. Citizens rejoice at the departure of the rats.

X. The Piper is dismissed by the Beadle. Republished in Westminster Budget, March 25, 1898, and also in Magazine of Art, May 1898.

XI. The Piper entices away the children.

The above illustrations vary in size from 3-1/4 × 2-1/2 to 6-1/2 × 4-1/2 inches. They are unsigned, but a prefatory note describes them as being “the perfectly original designs and drawings of a boy now in the school, A. V. Beardsley”; and adds: “Our regret is that, lacking experience in the preparation of drawings for the photo-engraver, the reproductions should fall so far short of the original sketches.” Published in the programme and book of words of the Brighton Grammar School Annual Entertainment at the Dome, on Wednesday, Dec, 19, 1888; bound up afterwards with Past and Present, February 1889. Latter part of 1888.

13. A Scrap-Book, size 9-1/2 × 7 inches, the fly-leaf inscribed, in his own writing, A. Beardsley, 6/5/90, presented by the artist’s mother to Robert Ross, Esq. Contains the following drawings, mounted as scraps:——

I. Manon Lescaut, three drawings to illustrate different scenes from. Executed with very fine pen and ink, the latter having, as compared with maturer works, a brownish tinge. One of them first appeared in “A Second Book of Fifty Drawings by Aubrey Beardsley” (Leonard Smithers, December 1898), and all three were included in “The Later Work of Aubrey Beardsley” (John Lane, 1901).

II. La Dame aux Camélias. 4-3/8 inches square, pen and brownish ink with wash. First published in “Second Book,” and afterwards in “Later Work.” This is a totally different design from that which afterwards appeared, with the same title, in “The Yellow Book.” See below.

III. Tartarin, two illustrations of, in pencil and colours, size 4-1/8 × 2-3/4 and 4-1/2 × 3-1/2 inches respectively.

IV. La Leçon (Madame Bovary). 5-1/4 × 6-3/4. Chinese white and dark sepia wash. First published in “Second Book,” and again in “Later Work.”

V. L’Abbé Birotteau (Curé de Tours). 3 × 2 inches. Pen-and-ink with wash, on pale greenish paper.

VI. L’Abbé Troubert (Curé de Tours). 5 × 2-3/4 inches. Dark sepia wash.

VII. Madame Bovary. 5-5/8 × 3-1/8 inches. Pencil. First published in “Second Book,” and again in “Later Work.”

VIII. Sapho (Daudet). Wanting. Over its place has been gummed another drawing, also wanting, its title written at the foot, L’homme qui rit.

IX. Le Cousin Pons. 5-1/8 × 2-3/8 inches. Indian ink.

X. Portrait of Alphonse Daudet. 2-3/4 × 2-3/16 inches. Indian ink on pale blue paper.

XI. Watteau, Ma Cousine (Cousin Pons). 5-1/2 × 2-3/4 inches. Pen-and-ink with wash on pale grey toned paper.

XII. Mademoiselle Gamard (Curé de Tours). 3-1/8 × 2-1/8 inches. Indian ink wash.

XIII. Madame Cibot (Cousin Pons). 4 × 2-7/8 inches. Indian ink wash.

XIV. (Jack) Attendons! 3-5/8 inches high, irregular silhouette. Dark sepia wash.

XV. Jeanne D’Arc, the childhood of. 9 × 3-3/8 inches. Sepia and madder wash on toned paper. First published in “Second Book,” again in “Later Work.”

XVI. Frontispiece to Balzac’s “Contes Drôlatiques.” 6-3/4 × 4-1/8 inches. Drawn after the manner of Richard Doyle. First published in “Second Book,” again in “Later Work.”

XVII. Phèdre (Act ii. scene 5). 3-7/8 × 3-1/2 inches. Pencil and colours. First published in “Second Book,” again in “Later Work.”

XVIII. Manon Lescaut, three-quarter length, woman to left, with fan. 5-1/4 × 3-1/2 inches. Water-colour on grey paper. First published in “Second Book,” again in “Later Work.”

XIX. Beatrice Cenci. 6-1/8 × 2-3/4 inches. Pencil and sepia wash. First published in “Second Book,” again in “Later Work.”

Unless otherwise stated as above, the works in this collection are unpublished; all were executed 1889-90.

← Back to Aubrey Beardsley