Artwork
H Beard Print Collection
H Beard Print Collection is a print by the Romanticist artist J. H. Jameson. It dates from 12 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
This early nineteenth‑century print presents a theatrical portrait of Thomas Sowerby Hamblin in the role of Edmund from Shakespeare’s King Lear, as performed at London’s Drury Lane Theatre. The image was issued by the publisher Jameson in 1820.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures Hamblin’s interpretation of Edmund, the ambitious and scheming son in Lear’s tragedy. By foregrounding the actor in costume, the print serves both as a record of a specific stage production and as a visual promotion of the play’s contemporary reception.
Technique & Style
Executed as a print, the work employs line engraving to delineate the actor’s features, costume details, and theatrical backdrop. The style reflects the period’s emphasis on clear, narrative illustration, balancing portraiture with elements of stage scenery.
History & Provenance
Published by Jameson, a London printer active in the early 1800s, the image was likely distributed to theatre patrons and collectors. Its date of 1820 situates it within the revival of Shakespearean productions at Drury Lane during that era.
Artist & collection
Artist
J. H. Jameson made early 19th-century prints, likely reproducing portraits or scenes of the day. Their only confirmed work here is H Beard Print Collection (12 May 1820), a single-sheet engraving. That print shows a…
