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ALKEN, Henry. The Seven Ages of the Horse. 'The Foal'; 'The Colt'; 'The Race Horse'; 'The Hunter'; 'The Harness Horse'; 'The Post Horse'; 'The Death'. London: S. & J. Fuller, 1825. Oblong 4° (264 x 306mm visible plate image, 353 x 396mm mount size). 7 hand-coloured etched plates. (Occasional light marginal browning.) Modern green half morocco over light green cloth, gilt label on upper cover (extremities faintly rubbed).
In this re-working of The High Mettled Racer, Alken extends the stages of a horse's life from six to seven, making an explicit connection with Shakespeare's 'Seven Ages of Man'. The horse 'in his time plays many parts' from that of a fiery and competitive racer to a poor but blameless hack. 'Contemplation of the horse's life was ... inseparable from the retrospect of one's own happy youth, the gratification and moments of triumph experienced in the prime of life, often bitterly contrasted with the disappointments and ills of later years' (Diana Donald, Picturing Animals in Britain, 2007, p. 219). Dixon 80; Mellon/Snelgrove 62; Tooley 48.
In this re-working of The High Mettled Racer, Alken extends the stages of a horse's life from six to seven, making an explicit connection with Shakespeare's 'Seven Ages of Man'. The horse 'in his time plays many parts' from that of a fiery and competitive racer to a poor but blameless hack. 'Contemplation of the horse's life was ... inseparable from the retrospect of one's own happy youth, the gratification and moments of triumph experienced in the prime of life, often bitterly contrasted with the disappointments and ills of later years' (Diana Donald, Picturing Animals in Britain, 2007, p. 219). Dixon 80; Mellon/Snelgrove 62; Tooley 48.