Jean Baptiste Michel & James Northcote

Shakspeare. Third Part of King Henry 6th. Act V. Scene VII. Publish'd Sepr. 29. 1794. by John & Josiah Boydell, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall. & No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by J. B. Michel. Painted by J. Northcote R. A.

Scene VII - King Edward is discovered sitting on his throne; Queen Elizabeth, with the infant Prince, Clarence, Gloster, Hastings, and others, near him. King Edward states, "Come Hither, Bess, and let me Kiss my boy ..."

King Edward. Once more we sit in England's royal throne,
Re-purchas'd with the blood of enemies.
What valiant foemen, like autumn's corn,
Have we mow'd down, in tops of all their pride!
Three dukes of Somerset, threefold renown'd
For hardy and undoubted champions:
Two Cliffords, as the father and the son;
And two Northumberlands: two braver men
Ne'er spurr'd their coursers at the trumpet's sound:
With them, the two brave bears, Warwick and Montague,
That in their chains fetter'd the kingly lion,
And made the forest tremble when they roar’d.
Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat,
And made our footstool of security.
Come hither Bess, and let me kiss my boy:
Young Ned, for thee, thine uncles and myself
Have in our armours watch'd the winter's night;
Went all afoot in summer's scalding heat,
That thou might'st repossess the crown in peace;
And of our labours thou shalt reap the gain.

This original engraving is an 'Open Letter Proof Impression'. 3. 'Open Letter Proofs'. These impressions bear the title of the play. The heading, 'Shakspeare', 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. The text below the image of this proof impression reads; "Shakspeare. Third Part of King Henry 6th. Act V. Scene VII. Publish'd Sepr. 29. 1794. by John & Josiah Boydell, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall. & No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by J. B. Michel. Painted by J. Northcote R. A." Note: As this is an original proof impression, it lacks the following text which appears in later impressions.

"Shakspeare. Third Part of King Henry 6th. Act V. Scene VII. Publish'd June 4. 1795. by John & Josiah Boydell, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall. & No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by J. B. Michel. Painted by J. Northcote R. A.

K.E.dw. Come hither, Bess, & let me kiss my boy.__
[Taking the Child.
Young Ned, for thee, thine uncles, and myself
Have in our armours watch'd the winter's night;
Went all afoot in summer's scalding heat,
That thou might'st repossess the crown in peace;
And of our labours thou shalt reap the gain.

Glow. I'll blast his harvest, if your head were laid;
For yet I am not look'd on in the world.
This shoulder was ordain'd so thick, to heave;
And Heave it shall some weight, or break my back:_
Work thou the way,_ and thou shalt execute. [Afide."

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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