Boydell, Josiah (1752–1817). A British painter, one of the two publishers (together with his uncle, John Boydell) of the Shakespeare Gallery.
John Ogborne (1755 – 1837). An English engraver worked for Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery.
Title: Shakespeare. Henry VI, Part 1. Act II. Sc. IV. Richard Plantagenet and Somerset, having quarreled over a case at law, withdraw into a garden, where the supporters of Plantagenet signal their commitment to him by plucking and wearing white roses, the supporters of Somerset red roses.
Lettered below the image with title: "Shakspeare. First part of King Henry 6th. Act II. Scene IV.", with nine lines of quotation in English: 'Plant. Since you are tongue ty'd, & so loth to speak [...] From of this briar pluck a white rose with me. / Som. Let him that is no coward, nor no flatterer [...] Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me.' and "Painted by Josiah Boydell. / Publish'd Jany. 1, 1795, by John & Josiah Boydell, at the Shakspeare Gallery Pall Mall, & No. 90, Cheapside. / Enrgrav'd by J. Ogborne".
Materials and Techniques: Stipple engraving, hand-colored. Printed on thick cream-colored paper.
Dimensions: Image 19 6/8" x 25'' (50 x 63 cm). Sheet 23 6/8" x 29 6/8" (60 x 76 cm).
Publication: First published by J&J Boydell, London, 1795. Reissued by Shearjashub Spooner in "The American edition of Boydell's Illustrations of the dramatic works of Shakespeare, by the most eminent artists of Great Britain." #68. New York, 1852.
Condition: Loss of paper from l.l. corner. A detailed condition report is available on demand.
Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accession Number: 42.119.547.
Art Movements, Periods and Schools: British School XVIII C.
Note: More about Shakespeare Gallery, John Boydell, and Sh. Spooner's edition read in our blog posts Shakespeare Gallery and John Boydell: The Enlightenment man.