found it (y)
he is "The Merchant" from Canterbury Tales
1880 Chatterbox (magazine?) set of pictures inspired by Chaucer's characters! https://chaucereditions.wordpress.com/1880s/1880-chatterbox/
symbol is still a mystery, but from a late 19thC illustrator could be a made up symbol, or maybe Erskine Clarke was involved in some occult things, and that's where the symbol is from (and therefore, presumably, Page's interest/ desire to include the image..)..