YANKEE DOODLE COMES TO TOWN. An original drawing illustrating The Virginians.

An original pencil drawing on blue paper by William Makepeace Thackeray for his novel 'The Virginians', accompanied by the engraving as it appeared in the first edition. The drawing shows Captain Hal on horseback wielding a musket beneath the moon and thirteen stars, representing the Thirteen Colonies. There are instructions for the engraver written in pencil (in the hand of the artist / author) below the the drawing, "Make 13 stars not quite so near the moon / but so as to be easily counted". The drawing and engraving are window mounted side by side and framed under glass. Each window measures 9 x 11.7 cm, while the frame measures 36 x 27. In near fine condition, the drawing and engraving clean with slight toning towards the edges. The frame's gilt is slightly rubbed in a few areas, remaining otherwise bright and sound. To the rear there is a circa 1940s-1950s Rowley Gallery Frame Maker's label and a previous owner's provenance label stating that the piece was bought in Cecil Court in 1959. An excellent original artwork by a quintessential Victorian author.

An illustration made for chapter XL of William Makepeace Thackeray's 'The Virginians', entitled 'Yankee Doodle Comes to Town'. Each chapter begins with an illustration by Thackeray that incorporates the initial of the first word of the chapter, in this case the circle of the moon forms the 'O' of "One of the uses [...]", the first line of chapter XL. The novel was originally serialised in 24 monthly instalments between 1857 and 1859 by Bradbury and Evans and was first published in book form in two volumes in 1958 and 1959, also by Bradbury and Evans. 'The Virginians' is a historical novel about twin brothers living in Virginia in the period preceding the American Revolution. throughout their tumultuous lives each brother becomes loyal to opposing sides of the conflict, nevertheless maintaining their fraternal bond.