Title

What's O'Clock? What's O'Clock? - drawn by Godwin, 1860. Creator: W Thomas.

Caption

What's O'Clock? What's O'Clock? - drawn by Godwin, 1860. 'In this little Sketch, so unpretending in character, yet so charming for its very simplicity, Mr. Godwin embodies an allegory of the fleet course of time and the changes wrought in its progress. The scene is an ancient thickly-wooded churchyard. The principal group is that of two children blowing the downy petals from off the dandelion, according to the old accredited fashion with youth, to ascertain the hour of the day, each atom as it falls serving but to illustrate the never-ceasing ravages of time amongst our fellows. On the opposite side an infant at its gambols typifies life in its earliest dawn, whilst in front the aged gravedigger, with one foot in the yawning pit, tells of life's decay and that "bourne from which no traveller returns" - suggestive theme oft told, but never yet told out'. From "Illustrated London News", 1860.

Credit line

Photo12/Heritage Images/The Print Collector

Reference

HRM23B09_009

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

License type

Rights managed

Available size

64,9Mb (6,1Mb) / 16,5in x 15,2in / 4960 x 4574 (300dpi)

Keywords

nature leisure season female people male boy boys child children girl girls job man men age summer religious flower flowers plant plants arts youth religion game art guy occupation British tools tool church color dandelion dandelions seed seeds death Christianity blowing century cemetery grave graves graveyard Britain profession newspapers press print spade concept churchyard pastime B&W pickaxe engraved engraving Colour dandelion clock elderly man 19th century seed head black & white black and white B W white and black Taraxacum nineteenth century The Print Collector grave digger Illustrated London News pick axe ILN old age newspaper old man old men W Thomas Thomas W 19th-century W. Thomas Thomas W. La jeunesse gravedigger Godwin