We close the year with a final flourish from the Twigs, with this delightful illustration by Robert Dudley of their New Year’s Eve dance at Ruddock Hall.

Ruddock Manor is fuller than ever, I think,
There is Goldfinch the banker and little Lord Spink,
Tom Titter is here, and Sir Twitterty Tweet
And that gay Captain Lark (oh, isn’t he sweet?)

From The Twigs, or, Christmas at Ruddock Hall, published in 1890.

Happy New Year to one and all. Thank you for showing an interest in our Victorian children’s book illustrations.

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This illustration is from The Twigs, or, Christmas at Ruddock Hall illustrated by Robert Dudley, published in London by Castell Brothers, 1890.

Yesterday we mused on why robins are associated with Christmas, which led to the discovery that Victorian postmen were nicknamed Robins. But why is the nation’s favourite bird called a robin in the first place? Well, it hasn’t always been called a robin. 

Learning about this produced a lightbulb moment – I understood why this charming, whimsical book about a family of robins is called The Twigs, or, Christmas at Ruddock Hall. The robin’s earliest recorded name is ruddock, spelt ruddoke in Middle English, which in turn derived from the Old English rudduc. The first part of the word, rudd, means red, and -ock is a suffix which means small, so ruddock means, in effect, small red one. After several hundred years ruddock gradually morphed into redbreast. 

In the early 15th century it became popular to nickname animals and birds with human names, such as Jenny Wren, Tom Tit, Billy and Nanny Goat and so forth, so the name Robin was added to form Robin Redbreast. Why Robin? It’s difficult to be sure of how a certain usage arose. In this case it is perhaps because the name Robin is a familiar, or diminutive, form of the name Robert, thought to derive from the French, with the suffix -in denoting something small. Small Redbreast sums up a robin quite nicely. 

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Such a wonderful battle you never did see,
As the battle between little Willie and me.
It was perfectly harmless, I wish you to know,
The balls were all made of the softest of snow!

From ‘Oh Dear Oh Look at the Snow’ by Jack Frost, published by Dean & Son,1884.

Let bright holly shine and glow
In winter-time of frost and snow;
Let the smooth green leaves entwine
Around our house at Christmas time.

from Holly Berries: with original illustrations by Ida Waugh published in London by Griffith & Farran, 1883.

Here is Ida Waugh again, the American illustrator already discussed in our Ninth Day of Advent post. This beautiful illustration has the same refinement as that picture, with its dainty roundel depicting a little girl dressed in eye-catching dark green, standing in front of soft green vegetation and a muted landscape stretching away behind her. The elegant design of the title words blending into a holly bough, which forms a canopy above the child, is delightful.  Waugh achieves both clarity and warmth in this charming illustration.

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