1837 Composition From William Shakespeare’s Seven Ages Pen & Ink Drawing
An 1837 pen and ink drawing of a composition from William Shakespeare’s Seven Ages. On the back of this pen and ink drawing page is the 1837 Watercolour Painting of Indian & European Soldiers. Although unsigned both artworks were believed to be done by the talented Major A. C. Hutchinson, from the Bengal Artillery. “All the world’s a stage” is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
The speech compares the world to a stage and life to a play, and records the seven stages of a man’s life, also referred to as the seven ages of man: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon, and second childhood, “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything”. It is one of Shakespeare’s most frequently quoted passages. Below the circled drawing is an extract likely from the same Shakespeare’s passage, and in all probability written by Major Hutchinson himself. Click the image to enlarge.
Did you know – that the Bengal Artillery was part of the Bengal Army that belonged to the East India Company.
Past posts – Ooty In The 19th Century, 1880 Photo., Higginbothams Bookstore Mount Road Madras, 1944 Postcard., Crawford Market In 19th Century Bombay, 1874 Print., European Lady In Wolseley Car Chandernagore, 2 Photos 1913.
