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Hamlet: Prince of Denmark

[1922]
Not on view
Influenced by the innovative graphic artist Aubrey Beardsley, Austen devised striking black-and-white illustrations for this luxury edition of Hamlet. These two images, placed at the start of act 5, encapsulate the tragedy’s dramatic conclusion. At left, Hamlet stands in a trance by the grave of his rejected lover, Ophelia, with disembodied heads of the departed floating above near the skull he famously contemplates in the play. At right, the bodies of the prince and Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, lie limply together after their fatal duel.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hamlet: Prince of Denmark
  • Illustrator: John Archibald Austen (British, Kent 1886–1948 Kent)
  • Author: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Publisher: Selwyn & Blount, Ltd. (London)
  • Printer: Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ltd. (British, London and Aylesbury)
  • Date: [1922]
  • Medium: Illustrations: process prints
  • Dimensions: 11 7/8 x 9 1/2 x 1 1/16 in. (30.2 x 24.1 x 2.7 cm)
  • Classification: Books
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1966
  • Object Number: 66.540.37
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Emma from "Madame Bovary", John Archibald Austen British, Pen and black ink, brush and wash, over graphite
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"A Spirited Epiphonema -- raised a third and sometimes a full fifth above the key of the discourse" (for "Tristram Shandy"), John Archibald Austen British, Pen and black ink, brush and wash, over graphite
"A Spirited Epiphonema -- raised a third and sometimes a full fifth above the key of the discourse" (for "Tristram Shandy")
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Haidée and Juan (for "Don Juan"), John Archibald Austen British, Pen and black ink, brush and wash, over graphite
Haidée and Juan (for "Don Juan")
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The Eight, Cyril E. Power British, Color linocut on Japanese paper
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