Object Description
A Victorian carved walnut figure of Mark Tapley from the novel ‘The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit’ by Charles Dickens’, wearing a soft top hat, a tailcoat and a buttoned waistcoat, striking a nonchalant pose with one hand on his hip, propping himself up on his tasselled cane, all raised on an octagonal plinth. English, circa 1890.
Footnote: Martin Chuzzlewit was serialised between 1842 and 1844. Several characters in this novel gained fame, including Pecksniff and Mrs Gamp. A third, the eternally cheerful Martin Tapley was an employee of the Blue Dragon Inn and suitor of the landlady Mrs Lupin. He eventually joined young Martin Chuzzlewit on his trip to the United States.