Benjamin Smith & George Romney

Shakspeare. Tempest. Act I, Scene I. The inchanted Island: Before the Cell of Prospero. Prospero & Miranda. Pubd, Septr. 29. 1797, by J. & J. Boydell, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; and No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by B. Smith. Painted by G. Romney.

Prospero. Hast thou, spirit,
Perform'd to point the tempest that I bade thee?

Ariel. To every article.
I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak,
Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,
I flam'd amazement: Sometime I'd divide
And burn in many places; on the topmast,
The yards and bowsprit, would I flame distinctly,
Then meet, and join: Jove's lightnings, the precursors
O' the dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary
And sight-outrunning were not. The fire, and cracks
Of sulphurous roaring, the most might Neptune
Seem'd to besiege, and make his bold waves tremble,
Yea, his dread trident shake.

Prospero. My brave spirit!
Who was so firm, so constant, that this coil
Would not infect his reason?

Ariel. Not a soul
But felt a fever of the mad, and play'd
Some tricks of desperation: All but mariners
Plung'd in the foaming brine, and quit the vessel,
Then all a-fire with me: the king's son, Ferdinand,
With hair up staring, (then like reeds, not hair,)
Was the first man that leap'd; cried, "Hell is empty,
And all the devils are here."

This large, original engraving depicts a scene from William Shakspeare’s, Act I, Scene I. of the Tempest. The inchanted Island. (The Enchanted Island). Here the artists depicts a ship caught in a violent storm. The people on board the doomed ship include Alonso, the king of Naples, Trinculo, his jester, Stephano, his butler, and the king's son, Ferdiand. Antonio, Prospero's brother, the man who betrayed him and usurped the throne of Milan is also on board with others. In the upper right of this engraving, we see the Duke of Milan, Prospero and his daughter, Miranda looking down upon the failing ship. When Prospero and Miranda were banished, they landed on a magical island, where they received help from a spirit known as Ariel. In the upper left corner the artist depicts three spirits above the angry clouds. They are causing the tempest and appear to be placing everyone aboard ship in mortal danger. Below them, the artist depicts a ship tossing in the raging waves while frightened mariners hold on in an attempt to avoid a watery grave. In the text above, Prospero asks Ariel if the tempest is proceeding as requested and the spirit replies with a full description of the affair at hand. In Shakespeare's next scene, Prospero and Miranda stand at the shore of the enchanted island discussing the fate of the nobles who are now dispersed around the island. And, as requested by Prospero, Ariel safely brought the ship to harbour, having charmed the crew into a deep sleep. The word 'inchanted' that actually appears in the title of this original engraving is old English for 'Enchanted'.

This original engraving is a 'First Edition Impressions'. 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. The text below the image of this first edition impression reads;

"Shakspeare. Tempest. Act I, Scene I. The inchanted Island: Before the Cell of Prospero. Prospero & Miranda. Pubd, Septr. 29. 1797, by J. & J. Boydell, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; and No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by B. Smith. Painted by G. Romney.

Ariel. Not a soul
But felt a fever of the mad, and play'd
Some tricks of desperation: All but mariners
Plung'd in the foaming brine, and quit the vessel,
Then all a-fire with me: the king's son, Ferdinand,
With hair up staring, (then like reeds, not hair,)
Was the first man that leap'd; cried, "Hell is empty,
And all the devils are 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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