Charles Dickens: 200 Years of Commerce and Controversy

Dickens was a firm believer in the need to cultivate a child’s imagination and to allow children time for play at a time when child labor and corporal punishment in schools were still normal. A toy theatre for an adaptation of Oliver Twist and the scrap figures of characters from his works would be used by children and adults alike to bring his works to life.

Toy theatre sets were created for Dickens' plays, including one of Oliver Twist, shown below. The set included characters, sets, and scenery.

Source: Pollock’s Juvenile Drama: Oliver Twist, or the Parish Boy’s Progress. London: Benjamin Pollock, [1870s?]

Below are illustrations from one of Charles Dickens' novels, sold as what was commonly called "scraps".

Source: Characters from Dickens. Series I and II. S. Hildesheimer & Co., [1890s?]