Study for Bow Street Office, from Microcosm of London c. 1808

"Study for Bow Street Office, from Microcosm of London" is a pencil drawing on paper by Augustus Charles Pugin, dated c. 1808. This study depicts the interior of the Bow Street Office, a well-known magistrate's court in London, filled with figures in various poses and positions. The drawing, which is now housed in the Art Institute of Chicago, serves as a preliminary study for a larger work that was part of the "Microcosm of London" series, a collection of illustrations exploring London's society and daily life. Pugin's work is notable for its meticulous detail and insightful observation of the social dynamics of the time, making it a valuable document of early 19th-century London.