A tile from a most excellent and quite rare
series and one of few pictorial series by Boote
(which are surprisingly good). The theme for the
series is The Seven Ages of Man by William
Shakespeare and the tiles are nicely printed in
warm brown on light buff clay. The tile filled
out with gothic/aesthetic designs to the corners
and the ever present sun, moon and star to
remind of the passge of time.
The Seven Ages of Man are taken from one of
Shakepeare's most quoted poems, from the play As
You Like It which starts with the famous phrase,
"All the world's a stage".........
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their
entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the
infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his
satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like
snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the
lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful
ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a
soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the
pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in
quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the
justice,
In fair round belly with good capon
lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age
shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on
side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too
wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly
voice,
Turning again toward childish treble,
pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of
all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans
everything.
Verso fairly clean, printed registration
lozenge mark.
