Caroline Watson & Francis Wheatley

Shakspeare. Tempest. Act V, Scene I. Ferdinand & Miranda playing at Chess. Publish'd Dec. 1, 1795 by John & Josiah boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside, London. Engraved by Caroline Watson. Painted by Fran. Wheatley R. A.

[The entrance of the Cell opens, and discovers Ferdinand and Miranda playing at chess.]

Miranda. Sweet lord, you play me false.

Ferdinand. No, my dearest love,
I would not for the world.

Miranda. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle,
And I would call it fair play.

Alonso. A vision of the island, one dear son
shall I twice lose.

Sebastian. A most high miracle!

Ferdinand. Though the seas threaten, they are merciful;
I have curs'd them without cause.
[Kneels]

Alonso. Of a glad father copass thee about!
Arise, and say hou thou cam'st here.

Miranda. How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world
that has such people in't!

Prospero. 'Tis new to thee.

Alonso. What is this maid with whom thou wast at play?
Your eld'st acquantance cannot be three hours.
Is she the goddess that hath server'd us,
And brought us thus together? ... * William Shakespeare

This original engraving was inspired by a William Shakspeare play, "Tempest. Act V, Scene I." This scene takes place on the Enchanted Island. Here the artists depicts Ferdinand & Miranda playing at Chess within the cave. The characters in this play include, Alonso, the King of Naples, Trinculo, his jester, Stephano, his butler, and the king's son, Ferdiand (who is here playing chess). Others include Antonio, Prospero's brother, the man who betrayed him and usurped the throne of Milan, banishing both Prospero and his daughter, Miranda (the young woman playing chess). They (father and daughter ) landed on a magical island, where they received help from the spirit, Ariel. The play includes many other characters, and several other plots, however, in this scene, we can see the beginning of a promising romance. etc. etc. This is a scarce, original example of the art by the British artists, Caroline Watson & Francis Wheatley, and the important Boydell Shakespeare Gallery. In the last scene, the spirit, Ariel safely created a tempest that brought the ship to harbour, charmed the crew into a deep sleep and dispersed Alonso, Ferdiand, and their entourage around the island.

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 first edition impression reads;

Mira. Sweet lord, you play me false.
Fer. No, my dearest love,
I would not for the world!
Mir. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle;
And I would call it fair play."

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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