Object Type
This is a preliminary drawing for the title page of the 1846 edition of Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. The drawing is done in pencil and is sketchy in parts, giving an idea of the finished design rather than detail. The drawings around the edges illustrate the major scenes of the novel.

Design & Designing
The title page of the 1846 edition of Oliver Twist was a woodcut. Woodcuts were a popular form of print for use as book illustrations as they could be printed at the same time as the text. Cruikshank made at least two versions of the design for this title page. The department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings at the V&A has another version of this drawing.

People
Cruikshank and Charles Dickens were friends and Cruikshank illustrated a number of Dickens' books as well as the literary journal Miscellany, which Dickens edited. Cruikshank illustrated Oliver Twist when it appeared in serial form in Miscellany and when it was published in book form in 1838. A quarrel occurred between Dickens and Cruikshank, arising from a claim in John Forster's biography of Dickens that Cruikshank had played a major part in the development of Oliver Twist. Cruikshank had in fact influenced Dickens to alter his original concept for the character Oliver, by showing him sketches, and the setting, by taking him to London's slums.