Thomas Ryder & James Durno

[Re-enter Falstaff in woman's clothes, and Mistress Page]

Mistress Margaret Page. Come, Mother Prat; come, give me your hand.

Mr. Francis Ford. I'll prat her: - Out of my doors, you witch!
[beats him] you hag, you baggage, you polecat, you ronyon!
out! out! I'll conjure you, I'll fortune-tell you.

[Exit Falstaff].

Mistress Margaret Page.. Are you not ashamed? I think you have killed the poor woman

Mrs. Alice Ford. Nay, he will do it 'Tis a goodly credit for you.

Mr. Francis Ford. Hag her, witch!

Sir Hugh Evans. By the yea and no, I think the 'oman is a witch
indeed: I like not when a 'oman has a great peard;
I spy a great peard under his muffler.

Mr. George Page. Let's obey his humor a little further: come, gentleman.

[Exit Ford, Page, Shallow, Doctor Caius, and Sir Hugh Evans]

This original Thomas Ryder engraving was created after a painting created by James Durno as commissioned by Boydell for the Shakespeare Gallery to represent Act 4, Scene 2 from a play entitled, Merry Wives of Windsor. A room at Ford's House with Falstaff, Mrs Ford, Mrs. Page and others. by William Shakespeare. In this scene, the women have set a trap to punish the fat, and aging courtly lover, Sir John Falstaff for his wickedness. At this point, they are startled once again by the unexpected arrival of the jealous Mr. Ford, and his friends, Mr. Page, Doctor Caius, Sir Hugh Evans and Judge Shallow who expect to find Ford's wife in a compromising situation. This time, the women have persuaded Falstaff to dress in women's clothes, and disguise himself as the old woman of Brentford in order to escape the wrath of Mr. Ford. Here we see the old woman (Falstaff) led by Mrs. Page. While escaping, Mr. Page gives Falstaff a good thrashing believing he is an old witch. Much to the delight of the women and the disappointment of Ford, they manage to get Falstaff out of the house again, fooling everyone. Although Sir John Falstaff can be a likable fellow, he is actually quite a scoundrel, and fortunately, for others, he is also easily deceived. In "Merry Wives of Windsor", Falstaff schemes 'unsuccessfully' to swindle and seduce Mistress Margaret Page and Mistress Alice Ford but instead, winds up being outwitted by them. For Act Four, Scene Two, of this play, William Shakespeare includes various interesting characters, and a brief account of each one may explain their role in this play. The first to note is Sir John Falstaff, a corpulent, conceited, cowardly and jovial, old rogue whose only interest in life is to delight himself in such pleasures as sake (drink), women and other fineries. This man is always scheming, and deceiving; he is a seducer, and a thief who has little regard for the property of others. Robin is Falstaff's unfaithful page. Mrs. Margaret Page is the wife of Master George Page, mother of Anne Page and William Page. Mrs. Alice Ford is the wife of the jealous, Master Francis Ford. Mr. Francis Ford is the irrational jealous husband of Mistress Ford who has little faith in women's fidelity. His friends, Mr. George Page is a good natured and trusting man, the husband of Mistress Margaret, father of Anne and William. Doctor Caius is a bad tempered French physician who is courting Anne Page. Sir Hugh Evans is the Welsh parson and schoolmaster of Windsor. Old Justice Shallow is eighty, and is still Justice of the Peace. He is the person in charge of all legal matters in town. He is also Master Abraham Slender's cousin.

This original engraving is a 'First Edition Impression'. 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. The text below the image of this proof impression reads;

"Shakespeare. Merry Wives of Windsor. Act IV, Scene II. A room in Ford's House. Falstaff in women's clothes led by Mrs. Page. Pub, June 4, 1801 by J. & J. Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall, & No. 90, Cheapside, London. Engraved by Thos. Ryder. Painted by Jas. Durno.

Ford. I'll prat her: - Out of my doors, you witch!
[beats him] you hag, you baggage, you polecat, you ronyon!
out! out! I'll conjure you, I'll fortune-tell you.

[Exit Falstaff]."

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.

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