Samuel Middiman & Joseph Wright of Derby

Shakspeare. Winter's Tale. Act III, Scene III. Publish'd June 4th. 1794. by John & Josiah Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery Pall Mall, & Cheapside. Engraved by S. Middiman. Painted by Jh. Wright.

[Laying down the child, with a scroll]

There lie, and there thy character' there these,
Placing a bundle beside it.
Which may, if Fortune please, both breed thee, pretty,
And still rest thine.

[Thunder]

The storm begins. Poor wretch,
That for thy mother's fault art thus expos'd
To loss, and what may follow! Weep i cannot,
But my heart bleeds' and must accurs'd am I
To be by oath enjoin'd to this. Farewell!
The day frowns more and more; thour'rt like to have
A lullaby too rough. I never saw
The heavens so dim by day. A savage clamor!
Well may I get aboard! This is the chase;
I am gone forever.

[Exit pursued by a bear.]

[Enter Shepherd]

Shepherd. I would there were no age between ten and three-and-twenty, or
that youth would sleep out the rest; for there is nothing in the
between but getting wenches with child, wronging the ancientry;
steeling, fighting-

[Horns]

Hark you now! Would any but these boil'd-brains of nineteen and
two-and twenty hunt this weather? They have scar'd away two of
my best sheep, which I fear the wolf will sooner find than the
master. If any where I have them, 'tis by the sea-side, browsing of
ivy. Good luck, and't be thy will! What have we here? Mercy on 's,
a barne? a very pretty barne! A boy, or a child, I wonder? A pretty
one, a very pretty one: sure some scape. Though I am not
bookish, yet I can read waiting-gentlewoman in the scape. This
has been some stair-work, some trunk-work, some behind-the-door-
work. They were warmer that got this than the poor thing is here.
I'll take it up for pity, yet I'll tarry till my son come; he hallow'd but
even now. Wha-ho-hoa!

[Enter Clown]

Clown. Hilloa, loa!

Shepherd. What? Art so near? If thou'lt see a thing to talk on when thou art
dead and rotten, come hither. What ail'st thou, man?

Clown. I have seen two such sights, by sea and by land! But I am not to
say it is a sea, for it is now the sky, betwixt the firmament and it
you cannot thrust a bdkin's point.

Shepherd. Why, boy how is it?

Clown. I would you did but see how it chases, how it rages,
how it takes up the shore. but that's not to the point: Oh' the most
piteous cry of the poor souls! sometimes to see'em, and not to see'em:
now the ship boring the moon with her main-mast' and anon
swallow'd with yest and froth, as you'd thrust a cork into a hogshead.
And then for land service,__ To see how the bear tore out
his shoulder-bone; how he cry'd to me for help, and said, his name
was Antigonus, a nobleman:__ but to make an end of the ship:__
to see how the sea flap-dragon'd it;__ but, first, how the poor souls
roar'd, and the sea mock'd them; __ and how the poor gentleman
roar'd, and the bear mock'd him, both roaring louder than ... *Shakespeare

This scene depicts William Shakespeare's Winter's Tale: Act Three, Scene Three. A stormy night scene by the seacoast of Bohemia with Antigonus, a Lord in the court of Leontes, pursued by a bear. As instructed by Leontes, the King of Sicily, an insanely jealous husband, Antigonus had just left the newborn babe, who he named, Perdita in the wilderness to die. In an attempt to save the young child's life Antigonus left a bundle with gold and trinkets to indicate the childs noble blood. She was quickly discovered by a shepherd and his son (Clown), who had just witnessed the death of Antigonus. (The text above is Clown's description of this scene.) King Leontes was convinced the baby was not his and accused Queen Hermione of infidelity with his friend Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. Then without hesitation, the king sentenced them to uncertain death. Cleomines, a Sicilian lord in the king's court was sent with Dion, another lord to the Oracle of Delphi to ask Apollo for a verdict on Hermione's case. After their return, (too late), it was reported that Hermione was innocent. Mortified and ashamed by his behavior, the king then lapsed into a deep depression and mourned for the next sixteen years, until it was discovered that Queen Hermione, Perdita and his friend Polixenes were still alive. In the end Perdita falls in love and marries the son of Polixenes and all is forgiven.

An Important Note on Boydell States and Editions: Proof impressions and true first edition impressions are easily identified by their fine lines and strong contrasts of black and white tones. Later more common editions print in a more overall grey tone and contain areas of re-working. Briefly, the publishing history of these great engravings can be categorized into five states or editions:

1. 'Artist's Proofs'. These are the earliest of states and were printed in only a handful of impressions. They are identified not only by their vibrant lines and tones but by the fact that they lack any letters along the lower margin.
2. 'Proofs Before Title'. These impressions usually contain the names of the artist, publisher and engraver along the lower margin. They lack the title of the specific play depicted and usually the heading -- 'Shakspeare' -- is smaller than in the published edition. Once again, this state was printed in a very small numbers.
3. 'Open Letter Proofs'. These impressions bear the title of the play. the heading, 'Shakspeare' (Shakespeare), is yet to be filled in with stippling. These impressions were printed before the publication of the first edition and were probably struck from the plate at a customer's request. Perhaps ten to twenty Open Letter Proofs exist for each engraving.
4. 'First Edition Impressions'. The completed set of Boydell's Shakespeare engravings was published in London in 1803. The full publisher's address appears along the lower margin as well as the text for the play. The heading, 'Shakspeare', is now filled in with stippling. Both first edition impressions and proofs were most often printed on either hand-made, laid paper or wove paper bearing the 'J. Whatman' watermark.
5. 'Posthumous Impressions and Restrikes' As early as 1807, John Stockdale of London issued a second edition of the Shakespeare prints. They continued to be published throughout the first half of the nineteenth century. Finally, in 1852, an enterprising dentist in New York City (with the delightful name of Shearjashub Spooner) acquired the plates, restored them and produced the last edition. These prints are most commonly offered for sale. This impression of Winter's Tale. Act 3, Scene 3. Storm Scene, Antigonus Pursued by a Bear. hails from this last named edition. Yet, unlike many of the Spooner impressions, this original engraving bears little damage or wear.

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