Hamilton, William Plate 90. “Cymbeline, Act I, Scene ii. Cymbeline’s Palace in Britain. Imogen, Posthumus, Cymbeline, Queen..."

William Hamilton.  Plate 90.   “Cymbeline, Act I, Scene ii.  Cymbeline’s Palace in Britain.  Imogen, Posthumus, Cymbeline, Queen...”  From The American Edition of Boydell’s Illustrations of Shakespeare, Restored to all the Pristine Beauty of the First Proofs.  New York: S. Spooner, 106 Liberty St., 1852.  ca. 17 1/2 x 23 ½ (image).  Engraving by Thomas Burke.  Repaired tear in bottom margin.  Very good condition. A print from a magnificent series of British based works of William Shakespeare published by the great John Boydell.  Boydell, a land surveyor in the employment of his father, was inspired by an engraving by W.H. Toms to leave his home in Shropshire about 1750 and walk to London to apprentice himself to Toms.  After six years, Boydell set up his own shop and began his career as a print publisher.  He was much concerned with the French dominance of the European print market at mid-century, and mostly by his efforts in the 1780s Britain became a print exporting country. As part