Pickwick Clubs were established around the world in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, inspired by the first novel of Charles Dickens. A Kew branch was formed in 1897 and lasted until c.1912. Its membership was drawn from a number of notable Kew families. The club published two booklets, the first in 1904 and the second in 1912. In addition to holding meetings, club members performed in productions of Shakespearian plays in the Recreation Hall in Wellington Street Kew. Members of the club adopted pseudonyms based on characters in Dickens' novels.Literary publication of of artistic (literary) significance recording the social and cultural activities of a group of residents of Kew and its environs that operated from 1897 to c.1912. Copies of volume 1 are held by the State Libraries of Queensland and New South Wales.Contents of The Pickwick Portfolio, Vol.1, No.1 - Frontispiece [Illustration] Pickwick Portfolio / Mark Tapley (Alice Bale); Foreword / Mantalini (Mr A. Barlow); D. Copperfield (Mr H. Brown); Sonnet to celebrate Pickwick Club's birthday's eight and to congratulate it on its happy fate / John Jarndyce (Mr G. Bell); A new planet / Mikawber (Mr H. Mollard); The melancholy heart / Samuel Weller (Mr P. Vines); Time / Florence Dombey (Miss C. Turner); A day in Japan / Miss Moucher (Dr G. Halley); His yellow affability / Mark Tapley (Alice Bale); A tragedy / N. Nickleby (Mrs J.T. Dill, nee Miss Pullar); Bill Sykes [Illustration] / (Micawber (Mr H. Mollard); The norseman's song / Pickwick (Rev W. Slack); The maker of the soul / Squeers (Mr N. Brown); Glory / Jingle (Mr H.M. King); My first conquest / Agnes Wickfield (Miss A. Vines); The mosquito / D. Copperfield (Mr H. Brown); The blind baggage / Mantlini (Mr A. Barlow); The Pickwick Tree [Illustration] / Mark Tapley (Alice Bale); The freedom of life / Toots (Mr W. Shum)fictionthe pickwick club - kew, literary clubs, pickwick clubs, charles dickens

Pickwick Clubs were established around the world in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, inspired by the first novel of Charles Dickens. A Kew branch was formed in 1897 and lasted until c.1912. Its membership was drawn from a number of notable Kew families. The club published two booklets, the first in 1904 and the second in 1912. In addition to holding meetings, club members performed in productions of Shakespearian plays in the Recreation Hall in Wellington Street Kew. Members of the club adopted pseudonyms based on characters in Dickens' novels.Literary publication of of artistic (literary) significance recording the social and cultural activities of a group of residents of Kew and its environs that operated from 1897 to c.1912. Another copy is held by the State Library of New South WalesContents of The Pickwick Portfolio, Vol.1, No.2 - Frontispiece / Mark Tapley (Alice Bale); Editorial; To Pickwick / John Jarndyce (Mr G. Bell); A sonnet / BarkisThe Pickwick Portfolio being the magazine of The Pickwick Club, Kew, Vol.1, No.2 January 1, 1912 (Mr McCowan); Nikko / Barnaby Rudge (Mr H. Gaze); The lady or the tiger? / Nathaniel Winkle (Mr J.A. Richardson); Why? / Alfred Jingle (Mr H.M. King); The autobiography of Richard Pitt Cobden Slugger / Sam Weller (Mr P Vines); A new natural history; A kerosene tin / Wardle (Mr Veitch); Peter, or butt me no butts / Henrietta Boffin (Mrs J.A. Richardson); Laughter: can it be cured? / Cap'n Cuttle (Mr E. Vines)fictionthe pickwick club - kew, literary clubs, pickwick clubs, charles dickens