Accession No. TRI.2017.0083: Joann Lindsey, 2017 May
[identification of item], "Twelfth Night" Act III, Scene IV Print From Engraving by J. & J. Boydell, SPEC.TRI.0016, Lawrence & Lee Theatre Research Institute, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2025 June; Finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2025 June
J. & J. Boydell was print shop founded under another unknown name by publisher John Boydell in the late 1740s in London, England. John had apprenticed as an artist printmaker before deciding he would be more successful if he focused on printing and publishing engravings by other artists. His print shop was one of the first to focus on the sale of reproductive fine art prints, instead of just books. The second J. Boydell, John’s nephew Josiah, joined the print shop in the early 1770s following his apprenticeship in painting and engraving.
In 1786, John began a project known as his “Shakespeare project,” which consisted of three parts: an illustrated edition of William Shakespeare’s plays, a public Shakespeare Gallery of paintings of different scenes from the plays, and a folio of engraved prints based on the paintings. The prints were done by various artists and in a variety of different print styles. Due to the high cost of producing the illustrated edition and the folio, both projects were sold through a subscription campaign where buyers paid part of the price up front and the remainder upon delivery of the project between 1789 and 1803. As it took time to complete, subscriptions dropped off, and the project was delayed and completed with less quality prints due to lack of funds. By the time John died in 1804, his print shop contents had been sold off via lottery so Josiah would not become bankrupt. Josiah continued printing until his death in 1817.
The "Twelfth Night" Act III, Scene IV Print From Engraving by J. & J. Boydell consists of a print of an engraving by Thomas Ryder based on a painting by Johann Heinrich Ramberg. The painting was commissioned by John Boydell for his Shakespeare Gallery, and prints of Ryder's engraving were included in Boydell's printed folio of the paintings. This print is dated between circa 1794 and 1830.