Inscription, by Clarence Bicknell

An image of Recto: Inscription with floral illustration: Sempervivum hirtum L. Bicknell, Clarence (British, 1842-1918). RECTO: hold on to us: and off they went / singing merrily / "Never say 'did', / Or think about 'I', / Live for the others / Never mind bothers, / Sempervivum, Sempervivum, / All alivum, all alivum!" / And people thought the show was / over, but there was one more, and / when he was seen coming, voices / said. Shy, it's Mr. Dandelion! / Who ever would have expected him / to come. We've seen him millions / of times, the common Dandelion! / and some called out "Halloa! / Dandy", and others "Beware of the lion." But though his real name was / Taraxacum, he didn't mind their nicknames, and he cer- / -tainly looked very bright and beautiful with his round shining / face. When he came up he said very modestly, / I'm such a common thing you know, / I hardly liked to come. / Nor can I speak out well; this show / Of beauty strikes me dumb. VERSO: I only try by smiling face / To gladden every one, / And have no merit, save the grace / Of being like the sun. / My work brings me but little wealth, / Tho' all work blessing gains, / I just grow salad for your health / And med'cine for your pains. / I have great teeth and fearful claws / Quite like a savage beast; / But never kill or wound, because / I would not hurt the least / And when in stormy days, few choose / To travel up above / I send my aeroplanes with news / And messages of love. / And everywhere I gladly live; / In Babylon or Sion! / And all I have quite freely give, / Though but a Dandelion." / And so the procession ended, and the judges conferred together, while the / crowd collected. Then Mr. Rhododendron said "We are very grateful to you / all who have taken part in our most successful festival, and hope that next / year many of those who have not competed this time will do so: Some of / you we consider to be more beautiful, more original, or perhaps more useful, / but no one seems to us to combine so many me

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Recto: Inscription with floral illustration: Sempervivum hirtum L. Bicknell, Clarence (British, 1842-1918). RECTO: hold on to us: and off they went / singing merrily / "Never say 'did', / Or think about 'I', / Live for the others / Never mind bothers, / Sempervivum, Sempervivum, / All alivum, all alivum!" / And people thought the show was / over, but there was one more, and / when he was seen coming, voices / said. Shy, it's Mr. Dandelion! / Who ever would have expected him / to come. We've seen him millions / of times, the common Dandelion! / and some called out "Halloa! / Dandy", and others "Beware of the lion." But though his real name was / Taraxacum, he didn't mind their nicknames, and he cer- / -tainly looked very bright and beautiful with his round shining / face. When he came up he said very modestly, / I'm such a common thing you know, / I hardly liked to come. / Nor can I speak out well; this show / Of beauty strikes me dumb. VERSO: I only try by smiling face / To gladden every one, / And have no merit, save the grace / Of being like the sun. / My work brings me but little wealth, / Tho' all work blessing gains, / I just grow salad for your health / And med'cine for your pains. / I have great teeth and fearful claws / Quite like a savage beast; / But never kill or wound, because / I would not hurt the least / And when in stormy days, few choose / To travel up above / I send my aeroplanes with news / And messages of love. / And everywhere I gladly live; / In Babylon or Sion! / And all I have quite freely give, / Though but a Dandelion." / And so the procession ended, and the judges conferred together, while the / crowd collected. Then Mr. Rhododendron said "We are very grateful to you / all who have taken part in our most successful festival, and hope that next / year many of those who have not competed this time will do so: Some of / you we consider to be more beautiful, more original, or perhaps more useful, / but no one seems to us to combine so many me

Image data

Accession Number: PD.11-1980.f.57
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/19.0
Focal length: 80
Camera: Hasselblad H4D-31
Photographer name: Sam Cole
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 699 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)
Filesize: 593.67kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 19/1

Key words

20th Century Bicknell British School Clarence Bicknell drawing Fitz_PDP handwriting handwritten illustrated illustration inscriptions sketch sketchbook writing

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
            "Inscription, by Clarence Bicknell"
            Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-1315866275 Accessed: 2024-11-17 15:38:23

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            {{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-1315866275
            |title=Inscription, by Clarence Bicknell
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-17 15:38:23|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp78/PD_11_1980_f_57_verso_201704_sjc288_dc2.jpg"
        alt="Inscription with floral illustration: Sempervivum hirtum L."
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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Inscription, by Clarence Bicknell</figcaption>
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