Untitled image, Romola, Chapter 1 (Leighton)
Title
Untitled image, Romola, Chapter 1 (Leighton)
Alt Text Description
Grayscale illustration of a man fallen in the street and a peddler with a sales tray standing over him.
Description
Beneath the Loggia de’ Cerchi, a peddler stands over a young man who has collapsed in the street, his wares spread out as he studies the stranger’s appearance and valuables. The image captures Bratti warning the hungry traveler—Tito Melema—about the danger of flaunting his ring, establishing their first encounter as one shaped by vulnerability, caution, and social awareness in Florence.
"He had deposited a large well- filled bag, made of skins, on the pavement, and before him hung a pedlar's basket, garnished partly with small woman's-ware, such as thread and pins, and partly with fragments of glass, which had probably been taken in exchange for those commodities. ‘Young man,’ he said, pointing to a ring on the finger of the reclining figure, ‘when your chin has got a stiffer crop on it, you'll know better than to take your nap in street corners with a ring like that on your forefinger" ("The Shipwrecked Stranger", Chapter 1).
"He had deposited a large well- filled bag, made of skins, on the pavement, and before him hung a pedlar's basket, garnished partly with small woman's-ware, such as thread and pins, and partly with fragments of glass, which had probably been taken in exchange for those commodities. ‘Young man,’ he said, pointing to a ring on the finger of the reclining figure, ‘when your chin has got a stiffer crop on it, you'll know better than to take your nap in street corners with a ring like that on your forefinger" ("The Shipwrecked Stranger", Chapter 1).
Illustrator
Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896)
Contributor
Swain, Joseph (1820-1909), engraver
Publisher
George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org
Date
1863, 1880
Rights
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Work Illustrated
Romola
Citation
Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896), Untitled image, Romola, Chapter 1 (Leighton), George Eliot Illustrations Gallery, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/83656
Illustration
