Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith

Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith

Original - Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith, an 1876 play by W. S. Gilbert, was perhaps Gilbert's most critically-successful serious play and was revived repeatedly throughout the Victorian period. The lead was played by one of Gilbert's favourite actors, Hermann Vezin, and, in the words of the review that accompanied this image in the Illustrated London News, "electrified the house" with his performance. The first act was loosely based on the opening parts of Silas Marner, though moved to the time of the English Civil War instead of Silas Marner's setting on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution. Dan'l Druce has seemingly lost his capacity to love after one too many tragedies and betrayals, and has turned into a miser, treating his gold as his child. However, his gold is stolen by soldiers fleeing Cromwell's forces, who are forced to leave a child behind in its place after Dan'l tricks them and calls the guards, and Dan'l, a broken, half-insane old man, declares his gold transformed into the child, and, regaining some of his faith, claims the child as his own, against the others who would take her from him. The second act takes place fourteen years later, with Dan'l having returned to society and, through that, having recovered his sanity, but, the war being over, and the soldiers from the first act on the winning side, their return to the village threatens his family.

Reason

A fine image depicting an important actor, in an important (if now forgotten) play, by an important playwright, based on one of my favourite (and no doubt also important) books. Who needs more reason?

Articles this image appears in

Silas Marner, Hermann Vezin, Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith

Creator

Francis Sylvestre Walker (1848-1916) - Engraved by the Dalziel Brothers.

• Support as nominator Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 23:54, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
• Comment. That's not a caption, it's an article! --jjron (talk) 16:30, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
  • Eh, the rules say it must give enough context. They say nothing about giving to much context. =P Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 21:00, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support crassic!^[talk] 18:27, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
• Oppose Why is this Featured Picture quality? The nomination talks about the actor and the playwright, but really says nothing about the artist nor the quality of the picture. A photo might have some additional value, but this is a rather non-notable 19th century drawing and just doesn't make the grade as an FP. Oscar (talk) 14:59, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
  • Encyclopaedic value, my good fellow =) Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 23:31, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support Highly detailed and encyclopedic.Jellocube27 (talk) 00:13, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Not promoted --jjron (talk) 05:43, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
Minimum supports not met.