Charles Gauthier Playter, Thomas Ryder & James Northcote

Shakspeare. Third Part of King Henry the Sixth. Act I, Scene III. A field of Battle betwixt Sandal Castle and Wakefield. Rutland and his Tutor, Clifford and Soldiers. Published Septr. 29. 1796 by J. & J. Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & at No. 90. Cheapside, London. Engraved by G. C. Playter. Finished by Thos. Ryder. Painted by J. Northcote. R. A.

A Field of Battle, betwixt Sandal, Castle and Wakefield. Rutland and his Tutor, Clifford and Soldiers.

Rutland. Ah, whither shall I fly to scape their hands?
Ah, tutor, look where bloody Clifford comes!

[Enter Clifford and Soldiers]

Clifford. Chaplain, away, thy priesthood saves thy life.
As for the brat of this accursed duke,
Whose father slew my father, he shall die.
Tutor. And I, my lord, will bear him company.

Clifford. Soldiers, away with him!

Tutor. Ah, Clifford! murder not this innocent child.
Lest thou be hated both of God and man.

[Exit dragged of by Soldiers.]

Clifford. How now! is he dead already? Or, is it fear,
That makes him close his eyes? - I'll open them.

Rutland. So looks the pent-up lion o'er the wretch
That trembles under his devouring paws;
And so he walks, insulting o'er his prey,
and so he comes, to rend his limps asunder.
Ah, gentle Clifford, kill me with thy sword
And not with such a cruel threat'ning look.
Sweet Clifford, hear me speak before I die:
I am too mean a subject for thy wrath,
Be thou reveng'd on men, and let me live.

This original Charles Gauthier Playter & Thomas Ryder engraving was created after a painting created by James Northcote as commissioned by Boydell for the Shakespeare Gallery to represent Act 1, Scene 3 from a play entitled, Third Part of King Henry the Sixth. Act I, Scene III. A field of Battle betwixt Sandal Castle and Wakefield. Rutland and his Tutor, Clifford and Soldiers a work written by William Shakespeare. The scene takes place at the field of battle between Sandal Castle and Wakefield with the child, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, youngest son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, and head of the Yorkist party. The boy, Rutland is fleeing from the castle with his Tutor (of the Yorkist party), but they are captured by Young Clifford of the Lancastrian party and his Soldiers. The Tutor pleads for the boy's life in return for his own, but is dismissed by Clifford. Then the young boy, Rutland pleads for mercy, none the less, he is murdered by Clifford in revenge for the death of his father, Lord Clifford, of the Lancastrian party (loyal to King Henry). In this scene, there are soldiers scaling the walls and entering the castle. Rutland is on his knees, eyes closed, pleading for his life. The Tutor embraces Rutland and grasps Clifford's sword by the blade, which is pointed directly at the boy pleads for mercy. This scene is clearly one of James Northcote's most riveting scenes

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. Third Part of King Henry the Sixth. Act I, Scene III. A field of Battle betwixt Sandal Castle and Wakefield. Rutland and his Tutor, Clifford and Soldiers. Published Septr. 29. 1796 by J. & J. Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & at No. 90. Cheapside, London. Engraved by G. C. Playter. Finished by Thos. Ryder. Painted by J. Northcote. R. A.

Tutor. Ah, Clifford! murder not this innocent child,
Lest thou be hated both of God and man.
Clif. How now! is he dead already? Or, is it fear,
That makes him close his eyes?_ I'll open them."

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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