Tony WELLER (-)

Tony Weller is mentioned in George Sladden’s letter of 20^th November 1916, in which he refers to the use of the word “circumscribing” – this is a literary allusion to a character in a book with which all the Sladdens would have been familiar.

Tony Weller is a fictional character in The Pickwick Papers, the first novel by Charles Dickens.  Tony, a loquacious coachman, is the father of Sam Weller whom Mr Pickwick takes on as a personal servant and companion on his travels; Sam is a source of idiosyncratic proverbs and advice.

Sketch reproduced by courtesy of Hablot Knight Browne.