Isaac Taylor & Thomas Stothard

Shakspeare. King Henry The Eighth. Act I, Scene IV. York Place. Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Sands, Ann Bullen, King Henry, etc. Published April 23. 1798, by J. & J. Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall mall; No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by Isaac Taylor; Painted by T. Stothard R. A.

[Hautboys. Enter the King, and others, as maskers habited like shepherds; ushered by the Lord Chamberlain. They pass directly before the Cardinal, and gracefully salute him.]

Cardinal Wolsey. A noble company! what are their pleasures!

Lord Chamberlain. Because they speak no English, thus they pray'd
To tell your grace; - That, having heard by fame
Of this so noble and so fair assembly
This night to meet here, they could do no less,
Out of the great respect they bear to beauty,
But leave their flocks; and under your fair conduct,
Crave leave to view these ladies, and entreat
An hour of revels with them.

Cardinal Wolsey. Say, lord chamberlain,
They have done my poor house grace; for which I pay them
A thousand thanks, and pray them take their pleasures.

[Ladies chosen for the dance. The King chooses Anne Bullen.]

King Henry VIII. The fairest hand I ever touch'd! O, beauty,
Till now I never knew thee!

This original engraving depicts William Shakespeare's "King Henry the Eighth": Act One, Scene Four. It takes place at York Place with Ann Bullen (Anne Boleyn), the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and Lady Elizabeth Howard, fashionably dressed for the ball. She is accompanied by King Henry the eighth, Lord Chamberlain, Lord William Sands & Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. The two central figures in this scene are King Henry and Anne Boleyn; many eyes are upon the couple as the King Henry attempts to kiss Anne, who was Queen Katharine's maid of honour. At this time King Henry the VIII was still married to Queen Katharine.

Ann Bullen 'Anne Boleyn' (c. 1501/07-1536) was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and Lady Elizabeth Howard. She was the sister of George Boleyn, Viscount of Rochford and Mary Boleyn, who is believed to have been a mistress of King Henry VIII until he met Anne. Anne had been the maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon. When Anne Boleyn married Henry VIII in 1533, she became his second wife and the Queen of England until 1536 when she was arrested and executed on the dubious charges of high treason. Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), was the daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII.

King Henry VIII of England (1491 - 1547), was the son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. During his life he had six wives, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr and many mistresses. Of great importance is his role in the separation from the Roman Catholic Church, leaving King Henry VIII as the Supreme head of the Church of England. This was due to disagreements with the Pope based upon power and control. Henry's insistence to legitimize his divorce from his first wife, Katharine before the church of Rome only helped to accelerate the inevitable. He fathered several children; Edward VI of England was his only legitimate male heir, son of Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward was crowned King of England at the age of nine, after King Henry's death, but died six years later. Queen Mary I, the Catholic Queen, known as (Bloody Mary), was the next heir to the throne. She was the daughter of Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. His last heir to the throne was Elizabeth I, known as (the Virgin Queen, or Good Queen Bess). She was a moderate, tolerant, and strong leader, whose reign is known as the Elizabethan era. She was the daughter of Ann Boleyn, Henry's second wife. And lastly, King Henry acknowledged only one illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy. Although King Henry the Eighth has been described as one of the most charismatic English rulers of his time, He was actually a tyrant who either imprisoned or executed his opponents without a fair trail, leaving little room for criticism.

Queen Katharine (1485-1536), also known as ('Catalina', Katherine, & Catherine of Aragon), was a Spanish princess, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. She was married for a very short time (months), to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Seven years after Arthur's death, Katharine became the first wife of Arthur's younger brother, King Henry VIII. She was the mother of Mary I of England (Queen Mary). Katharine was the Queen of England from 1509 until the marriage was officially declared invalid around 1533, just before King Henry VIII married Ann Bullen (Anne Boleyn), thereafter, Katharine was acknowledged as the Dowager Princess of Wales, until her death.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (c. 1473 - 1529), was a brilliant, but corrupt representative of the church with great religious and political influence in high places, in fact, he was King Henry the Eighth's Lord Chancellor and chief advisor. Although Wolsey came from humble origins, he amassed a great fortune by the end of his life and is said to have been a very charitable man. His demise was apparent when he failed to negotiate the annulment of King Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, (Queen Katharine), as well, there was incriminating correspondence sent from Wolsey to the Pope that was discovered and made known to the king. The Cardinal was then accused of treason, and ordered to appear in London by Sir Henry Percy, the sixth Earl of Northumberland (who was originally betrothed to Anne Boleyn, the future Queen of England). However, on his way to London Cardinal Wolsey fell ill and died at Leicester, thus escaping execution at the Tower.

Lord William Sands was a country lord who wants little to do with the French and enjoys the favours of Cardinal Wolsey. The position of Lord Chamberlain of the Household, the senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom responsible for overseeing the departments which provide advise the Sovereign of the United Kingdom during King Henry VIII's reign was held by Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, in office from (c. 1509-1526), William FitzAlan, the 18th Earl of Arundel, in office from (1526-1530), and William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys of the Vyne, in office from (1530-1535). This is a fine, original example of the engraved art by the British artists, Isaac Taylor and Thomas Stothard.

According to the information obtained from, "Shakespeare's History of King Henry the Eighth", edited by William J. Rolfe, Litt. D., New York, Harper & Brothers, Publishers, Franklin Square, 1891, page 165. The author states; "Act I, Scene III. - Enter the Lord Chamberlain, etc, The dramatist has placed this scene in 1521. Charles [Somerset], Earl of Worcester was then Lord Chamberlain.; but when the king in fact went in masquerade to Wolsey's house (1526), Lord Sands, who is here introduced companying the chamberlain, held that office. This Lord Sands was Sir William Sands, created a peer in 1524, and made Chamberlain on the death of the Earl of Worcester in 1526."

This is an original 'Artist Proof Impression'. 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. Note: This original artist proof impression lacks the following text which appears in later impressions.

Shakspeare. King Henry The Eighth. Act I, Scene IV. York Place. Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Sands, Ann Bullen, King Henry, etc. Published April 23. 1798, by J. & J. Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall mall; No. 90, Cheapside. Engraved by Isaac Taylor; Painted by T. Stothard R. A.

King Henry. I were unmannerly, to take you out.
And not to kiss you.___

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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