Charles Gauthier Playter & John Francis Rigaud

Shakspeare. Comedy of Errors. Act V, Scene I. A street before the Priory. Merchant, Angelo, Lady Abbess, Adriana, etc. Pub: Jany. 1, 1794, by J. & J. Boydell, Cheapside & Shakspeare Gallery Pall Mall. Etch'd by C. G. Playter. Painted by J. F. Rigaud.

Lady Aemilia Abbess. Most mighty duke, behold a man much wrong’d

[All gather to see him.]

Adriana, wife of Antipholus of Ephesus. I see two husbands, or mine eyes deceive me.

Duke of Solinus. One of these men is genius to the other;
And so of these: Which is the natural man,
And which the spirit? Who deciphers them?

Dromio of Syracuse. I, sir, am Dromio; command him away.

Dromio of Ephesus. I, sir, am Dromio; pray, let me stay.

Antipholus of Syracuse. Aegeon, art thou not? or else his ghost?

Dromio of Syracuse. O, my old master, who hath bound him here?

Lady Aemilia Abbess. Whoever bound him, I will loose his bonds,
And gain a husband by his liberty:
Speak, old Aegeon, if thou be'st the man
That hadst a wife once call'd Aemilia
That bore thee at a burden two fair sons:
O, if thou be'st the same Aegeon, speak,
And speak unto the same Aemilia!

Aegeon. If I dream not, thou art Aemilia:
If thou art she, tell me where is that son
That floated with thee on the fatal raft?

Lady Aemilia Abbess. By men of Epidamnum he and I
And the twin Dromioall were taken up;
But by and by rude fishermen of Corinth
By force took Dromio and myt son from them
And me they left with those of Epidamnum.
What then became of them I cannot tell
I to this fortune that you see me in.

Duke of Solinus. Why, here begins his morning story right;
These two Antipholuses, these two so liek,
And these two Dromios, one in semblance,-
Besides her urging of her wreck at sea,-
These are the parents to these children,
Which accidentally are met together.
Antipholus, thou camest from Cornith first?
ANTIPHOLIUS... * Shakespeare

Charles Gauthier Playter's original stipple engraving is based upon a humorous play about mistaken identity written by William Shakespeare, "Comedy of Errors: Act Five, Scene One". Here we see merchant, Angelo, the goldsmith who made a gold chain for Antipholus of Ephesus and wishes to be paid. Adriana is the jealous wife of Antipholus of Ephesus; upset because she believes he is having an affair with the Courtesan which of course, her husband denies. The Courtesan wants her ring or the gold chain Antipholus promised returned. Aegeon (Egeon), is the old merchant of Syracuse who has come to Ephesus in search of his twin sons (Antipholus of Ephesus), and (Antipholus of Syracuse who has also just arrived in Ephesus in search of his lost brother). As it turns out, both of Aegeon's twin sons own a slave. Their names are Dromio of Syracuse, and Dromio of Ephesus, and by chance, they are not only brothers, but identical twins like their masters. Lady Abbess Aemilia (Emilia of Babylon), was shipwrecked years earlier, and lost her twin sons and her husband (Aegeon). She is now the respected Abbess of Ephesus where the twins have gone in search of sanctuary. Aemilia discovers their identity, and that of her husband. Here, she is portrayed at the abbey steps, with arms outstretched, speaking out in defense of her husband, Aegeon who is bound and kneeling before the crowd. Her twin sons, dressed alike, are standing to her right. The man portrayed to the far left of this engraving is Solinus, the duke of Ephesus, and the ruler of the town responsible for keeping order, thus in all of the confusion caused by mistaken identity, the people seek his wisdom. When the Duke sees the resemblance of the two pairs of twins, he understands what has happened, then explains the madness that has taken place. Other characters in this play include Doctor Pinch, Luciana, Luce, various merchants of Ephesus and others.

This original engraving is a 'Proof Impression Before Title'. 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. The text below the image of this proof impression reads;

"Pub: Jany. 1, 1794, by J. & J. Boydell, Cheapside & Shakspeare Gallery Pall Mall. Etch'd by C. G. Playter. Painted by J. F. Rigaud."

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

"Shakspeare. Comedy of Errors. Act V, Scene I. A street before the Priory. Merchant, Angelo, Lady Abbess, Adriana, etc. Pub, June 4. 1800, by J. & J. Boydell, No. 90, Cheapside; & at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall, London. Engraved by C. G. Playter. Painted by I. F. Rigaud R. A.

Abb. Most mighty duke, behold a man much wrong’d
[All gather to see him.]
Adr. I see two husbands, or mine eyes deceive me.
Duke. One of these men is genius to the other;
And so of these: Which is the natural man,
And which the spirit? Who deciphers them?
Dro. S. I sir, am Dromio; command him away.
Dro. E.. I, sir, am Dromio; pray, let me stay.
Ant. S. Aegeon, art thou not? or else his ghost?
Dro. S. O, my old master, who hath bound him here?"

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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