Samuel Middiman & William Hodges

Shakspeare. As You Like It. Act II, Scene I. Publish'd Sep. 29, 1791, by John & Josiah Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside. Engrav'd by Saml. Middiman. Painted by Willm. Hodges.

Duke: But what said Jaques?
Did he not moralize this spectacle?

Lord: O yes, into a thousand similes.
First, for his weeping into the needless stream;
" Poor dear", quoth he, "thou mak'st a testament
As Worldlings do, giving thy sum of more
To that which had too much." Then being there alone,
Left and abandon'd of his velvet friend;
"' Tis right," quoth he; "thus misery doth part
The flux of company:" Anon, a careless herd,
Full of the pasture, jumps along by him,
And never stays to greet him; "Ay," quoth Jaques,
" Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens;
' Tis just the fashion: Wherefore do you look
Upon that poor and broken bankrupt there?"
Thus most invectively he pierceth through
The body of the country, city, court,
Yea, and this is our life: swearing, that we
Are mere usurpers, tyrants, and what's worse,
To fright the animals, and to kill them up,
In their assign'd and native dwelling-place.

Duke: And did you leave him in this contemplation.

Second Lord: We did, my lord, weeping and commenting
Upon the sobbing deer.

Duke: Show me the place;
I love to cope him in these sullen fits,
For then he's full of matter.

Second Lord: I'll bring you to him straight. [Exeunt.

This engraving was created by Samuel Middiman after a painting entitled, Jaques and the Wounded Stag in the Forest of Arden created by William Hodges in 1789. It was commissioned by Boydell for the Shakespeare Gallery to represent Act 2, Scene 1, lines (29-43) from a play entitled, As You Like It by William Shakespeare. The scene takes place in the Forest of Arden by the river, with Jaques, a lord in Duke Seniors party expressing his sadness upon the fate of a wounded deer, thus vilifying the actions of man in the native habitat of these creatures. Above the hill to the right, are Duke Senior, a kind and nobel lord, and the rightful ruler of the kingdom, exiled to the Forest of Arden by his younger brother, Duke Frederick. The Duke with Amiens and other Lords has come to explain to his melancholic friend, that although pastoral life may seem idyllic, it is no different than life at the palace, they must hunt, kill and meet adversity in the face to survive. The text above relates a part of the conversation.) The play also takes place at Duke Frederick's palace where Rosalind, the witty and beautiful, young daughter of Duke Senior lives with her uncle Frederick, the selfish, and cruel tyrant who usurped the throne, and his daughter, Celia, a loving, sensible girl, and Rosalind's loyal companion and friend. Overcome by anger and jealousy, the Duke has decided to exile Rosalind as well. Much to his surprise, both girls have fled the court together in the company of Touchstone, the court jester, Rosalind (disguised as a youth named of Ganymede) & Celia (disguised as a shepherdess named of Aliena). Sir Rowland de Bois, a good friend of Duke Senior, and an enemy of Duke Frederick has died, leaving behind his estate and three sons. The youngest is Oliver, a handsome youth, noble and valiant with a friendly disposition, and a strong wrestler. He challenges the court's best wrestler, Charles to a match, in order to win Rosalind's heart, Charles whom he defeats, this wins Rosalind's favour, however, the Duke is angered and Orlando is exiled. Sir Rowland de Bois' second son is Jacques de Bois, a quiet, well educated man who intends to follow a religious life in a monastery. Oliver is the oldest son, thus the heir to the estate, however, he is an overbearing, and malicious brute. He has not only reneged on his father's will to educate Orlando, but he has plans to execute one of the most heinous of crimes, to kill his brother. During their time in exile, both the girls and the sons of Sir Rowland de Bois fall madly in love. Rosalind with Orlando and Celia with Oliver.In the end, Oliver is transformed into a better person and is reconciled with his brother who saved his life. Duke Frederick converts and decides to follow a religious path in a monastery, therefore returning the throne to his older brother Duke Senior. Before departing to the palace, there is a celebration in the Forest of Arden, Hymen, the God of Marriage, appears before the two couples, and Duke senior is there to give the brides away in the company of others. Other characters in this play include, lords in Duke Seniors party, Amiens, and Jacques, the courtiers and servants, Le Beau, Adam, and Denis, the shepherds in the Forest of Arden, Silvius, and Corin, and Shepherdesses, Phebe, and Audrey, etc. etc. This is a striking, original example of the British art of Samuel Middiman, William Hodges and the famous Boydell Shakespeare Gallery.

This original engraving is an 'Open Letter Proof Impression'. 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. The text below the image of this open letter proof impression reads;

Shakspeare. As You Like It. Act II, Scene I. Publish'd Sep. 29, 1791, by John & Josiah Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside. Engrav'd by Saml. Middiman. Painted by Willm. Hodges.

Note: As this is an original proof impression, it lacks the following text that appears in later impressions.

1. Lord: Today my lord of Amiens, and myself;
Did steal behind him, as he lay along
Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out
Upon the brook that travels along this wood.

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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