An illustration from an 1860 issue of Cornhill magazine.

The context here is that the matronly year 1866 is on her way out, with Father Time pulling her offstage like a kite as he pirouettes a segue; the new year 1867 enters downstage as a comely danseuse, ready to pas de deux with Punchinello.  But what caught our eye is the middle-ground action — two clowns maintain a tension/equilibrium (a precursor to Bosonic — er, Bozo-nic — string theory?).  One is bald and stout, the other bearded and gaunt, but they joke around (literally in circles) as a concerted comedic constant.  These clowns may be our favorite Yin/Yang symbol to date!

Father Time conjures the new year as the old year slinks into the shadows.  An illustration from an 1889 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from a 1900 issue of Punch magazine.  The caption reads: "Watchman: What of the Night?"

Is Time linear or cyclical?  An illustration from an 1863 issue of Punch magazine.

Father Time learns about the quantum cups and balls 116 years before physicists Billangeon and Nakamura publish their quantum cups and balls in the journal Nature.  An illustration from an 1896 issue of Punch magazine.

Father Time stands at the finish line for the seasons' quadricycle race: an illustration from an 1897 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from a 1903 issue of Punch magazine.  The caption reads: "Peace crowns the old year."

Twenty years before George Vernon Hudson proposed daylight saving time, Father Time advanced the clock in Father Time's Story Book by Kathleen Knox (1873).

Cups and balls: an illustration from a 1901 issue of The Idler magazine.

We were, of course, reminded of our Divination by Punctuation project when we encountered this percent sign in The Saturday Evening Post, 1909.

An illustration from an 1875 issue of Harper's magazine.  The caption reads: "Time smoking a picture: as Statues moulder into Worth."

An illustration from an 1892 issue of Harper's magazine.  The caption reads, simply: "Question."

Older and older men are starting families, and when we see white-haired grandfatherly types out and about with their newborns, we can't help but to see classic archetypes at play: Father Time and Baby New Year.  Here they are as depicted in Life magazine, 1902: