When Is a Book Not a Book? Oliver Twist in Context

The New York Public Library, Berg Collection of English and American Literature

Cruikshank sketched on any available piece of paper. Here, in pencil on a scrap measuring 6¼ inches by 1¾ inches, he depicts two different moments in the second chapter of Oliver Twist. On the right, Oliver sits with the other workhouse inmates at a table while they cast lots to determine who will ask for more; in the center, Cruikshank portrays the astonishment of the workhouse master in his cook's uniform when Oliver makes his famous request.

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