Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 56.djvu/109

Thackeray passes for heroic. But to him the really valuable element of life was in the simple and tender affections which do not flourish in the world. During his gallant struggle against difficulties he emphasised the satirical vein which is embodied with his greatest power in 'Barry Lyndon' and 'Vanity Fair.' As success came he could give freer play to the gentler emotions which animate 'Esmpnd,' 'The Newcomes,' and the 'Roundabout Papers,' and in which he found the chief happiness of his own career.

Thackeray was 6 feet 3 inches in height. His head was very massive, and it is stated that the brain weighed 58½ ounces. His appearance was made familiar by many caricatures introduced by himself as illustrations of his own works and in 'Punch.' Portraits with names of proprietors are: plaster bust from a cast taken from life about 1825, by J. Devile (Mrs. Ritchie: replica in National Portrait Gallery). Two drawings by Maclise dated 1832 and 1833 (Garrick Club). Another drawing by Maclise of about 1840 was engraved from a copy made by Thackeray himself for the 'Orphan of Pimlico.' Painting by Frank Stone about 1836 (Mrs. Ritchie). Two chalk drawings by Samuel Laurence, the first in 1853, a full face, engraved in 1854 by Francis Hall, and a profile, reading. Laurence made several replicas of the last after Thackeray's death, one of which is in the National Portrait Gallery. Laurence also painted a posthumous portrait for the Reform Club. Portrait of Thackeray, in his study at Onslow Square in 1854, by E. M. Ward (Mr. R. Hurst). Portrait by Sir John Gilbert, posthumous, of Thackeray in the smoking-room of the Garrick Club (Garrick Club; this is engraved in 'Maclise's Portrait Gallery'), where is also the portrait of Thackeray among the 'Frasereans.' A sketch from memory by Millais and a drawing by F. Walker—a back view of Thackeray, done to show the capacity of the then unknown artist to illustrate for the 'Cornhill—belong to Mrs. Ritchie. The bust by Marochetti in Westminster Abbey is not thought to be satisfactory as a likeness. A statuette by Edgar Boehm was begun in 1860 from two short sittings. It was finished after Thackeray's death, and is considered to be an excellent likeness. Many copies were sold, and two were presented to the Garrick Club and the Athenaeum. A bust by Joseph Durham was presented to the Garrick Club by the artist in 1864; and a terra-cotta replica from the original plaster mould is in the National Portrait Gallery. A bust by J. B. Williamson was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1864; and another, by Nevill Northey Burnard [q. v.], is in the National Portrait Gallery. For further details see article by F. G. Kitton in the 'Magazine of Art' for July 1891.

Thackeray's works as independently published are: 1. 'Floreet Zephyr: Ballet Mythologique par Théophile Wagstaff' (eight plates lithographed by E. Morton from sketches by Thackeray), fol. 1836. 2. 'The Paris Sketchbook,' by Mr. Titmarsh, 2 vols. 12mo, 1840, includes 'The Devil's Wager' from the 'National Standard,' 'Mary Ancel' from the 'New Monthly' (1838), the 'French Plutarch' and 'French School of Painting' from 'Fraser,' 1839, and three articles from the 'Corsair,' a New York paper, 1839. 'The Student's Quarter,' by J. C. Hotten, professes to be from 'papers not included in the collected writings,' but is made up of this and one other letter in the 'Corsair' (see Athenæum, 7, 14 Aug. 1886). 3. 'Essay on the Genius of George Cruikshank, with numerous illustrations of his works,' 1840 (reprinted from the 'Westminster Review'). 4. Sketches by Spec. No. 1. 'Britannia protecting the drama' [1840]. Facsimile by Autotype Company from unique copy belonging to Mr. C. P. Johnson. 5. 'Comic Tales and Sketches, edited and illustrated by Mr. Michael Angelo Titmarsh,' 2 vols. 8vo, 1841, contains the 'Yellowplush Papers' from 'Fraser,' 1838 and 1840; 'Some Passages in the Life of Major Gahagan' from 'New Monthly,' 1838-9; the 'Professor' from 'Bentley's Miscellany,' 1837; the 'Bedford Row Conspiracy' from the 'New Monthly,' 1840; and the 'Fatal Boots' from Cruikshank's 'Comic Almanack' for 1839. 6. 'The Second Funeral of Napoleon, in three letters to Miss Smith of London' (reprinted in 'Cornhill Magazine' for January 1866), and the 'Chronicle of the Drum,' 16mo, 1841. 7. 'The Irish Sketchbook,' 2 vols. 12mo, 1843. 8. 'Notes of a Journey from Cornhill to Cairo by way of Lisbon, Athens, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, by Mr. M. A. Titmarsh,' 12mo, 1846. 9. 'Mrs. Perkins's Ball, by M. A. Titmarsh,' 4to, 1847 (Christmas, 1846). 10. 'Vanity Fair: a Novel without a Hero, with Illustrations by the Author,' 1 vol. 8vo, 1848 (monthly numbers from January 1847 to July 1848; last number double). 11. 'The Book of Snobs,' 8vo, 1848; reprinted from 'The Snobs of England, by One of Themselves,' in 'Punch,' 1846-7 (omitting 7 numbers). 12. 'Our Street, by Mr. M. A. Titmarsh,' 4to, 1848 (Christmas, 1847). 13. 'The History of Pendennis, his Fortunes and Misfortunes, his Friends and his Greatest Enemy, with Illustrations by the Author,' 2 vols. 8vo, 1849-50 (in monthly numbers from 