[Sheet of sketches for the illustrated 1852 London edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin showing Simon Legree and some of the other central characters]

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Pencil and ink studies like this one were preparatory work for an illustrated London edition of *Uncle Tom's Cabin* issued in 1852, the same year Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel appeared in book form and became a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic. The sheet gathers several sketches of Simon Legree, the plantation overseer who is the novel's most menacing figure, along with other central characters, so it shows how an artist worked out the faces and poses that would represent the story's cast to English readers. Its graphite underdrawing and ink lines reveal the revisions made before the plates were finalized. The drawing is also a reminder of how widely the novel's depiction of slavery was read, and how visual images helped shape public feeling about it.

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