Georg Sigmund Facius, Johann Gottlieb Facius & Francis Wheatley

Shakspeare. All's Well that Ends Well, Act V, Scene III. King, Countess, Lafeu, Lords, Attendants etc. Bertram guarded, Helena, Diana & a Widow. Publish'd June, 4, 1794 by John & Josiah. Boydell, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by S. & F. G. Facius. Painted by F. Wheatley R. Westall R. A.

[Re-enter Widow, with Helena]

King. Is there no exorcist
Beguiles the truer office of mine eyes?
Is’t real that I see?

Helena. No, my good lord;
‘Tis but the shadow of a wife you see,
The name, and not the thing.

Bertram. Both, both; O, pardon!

Helena. O, my good lord, when I was like this maid,
I found you wondrous kind. There is your ring,
And, look you, here’s your letter; This it says,
‘When from my finger you can get this ring,
And are by me with child,’ etc. - This is done:
Will you be mine, now you are doubly won?

Bertram. If she, my liege, can make me know this clearly,
I’ll love her dearly, ever, ever dearly.

Helena. If it appear not plain and prove untrue,
Deadly divorce step between me and you!
O my dear mother, do I see you living?

Lafeu. Mine eyes smell onions; I shall weep anon" ... *Shakespeare

This engraving was created by Georg Sigmund Facius & Johann Gottlieb Facius after a painting created by Francis Wheatley as commissioned by Boydell for the Shakespeare Gallery to represent Act V, Scene III. from a play entitled, All's Well that Ends Well by William Shakespeare. The scene takes place at the Count's palace with Bertram, the young and proud Count of Roussillion, who has been promised to wed Helena by the King of France. Helena is the daughter of the great doctor, Gerard de Narbon, a bright and talented girl, who has her father's medical gift, and the recipes for cures her father has left. After his death, Helena was brought up by Countess Roussillion, Bertram's mother. Lafeu (Lefew), is a lord in the King's court sent to bring young Bertram into the King's ward after his father's death. This old lord was also responsible for helping Helena persuading the King to give her an opportunity to cure his illness. She succeeds, and as a reward, Helena was given her choice of husbands, having fallen in love with Bertram, he was her choice. Bertram's feelings were not reciprocal, thus her offer was rejected, nevertheless, after realizing this would cause disfavor with the King, he agreed to marry her, then went off to war, leaving her with a letter containing an impossible ultimatum to fulfill, in order to win his heart. This particular scene portrays Helena, who was believed to be dead, appearing before the King, Countess, Bertram and others, with the letter containing his parting instructions which she has fulfilled (ring in hand & carrying his child). Other characters include Parolles, a soldier in the king's army, a braggart and a bad influence on the young Bertram. The Old widow of Florence, the innkeeper on the road to Copostella, mother of the young lady Diana Capillet, the girl Bertram intended to seduce. Both women agree to help Helena with her scheme to deceive Bertram when needed. The Duke of Florence, Lord Dumaine, Astringer, various other Lords, & attendants.

This original engraving is a 'Spooner Edition". 5. 'Posthumous Impressions and Restrikes'. Shearjashub Spooner acquired the plates, 'restored' them and published the last edition in New York In 1852. The text below the image of this impression reads; "Shakspeare. All's Well that Ends Well, Act V, Scene III. King, Countess, Lafeu, Lords, Attendants etc. Bertram guarded, Helena, Diana & a Widow. Publish'd June, 4, 1794 by John & Josiah. Boydell, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by S. & F. G. Facius. Painted by F. Wheatley R. Westall R. A.

Hel. Oh, my good lord, when I was like this maid,
I found you wond'rous kind.___ There is your ring;
And, look you, here's your letter"___ This it says,
___ This is done:
Will you be mine now you are doubly won?"

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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