Suffolk and Margaret (Shakespeare, King Henry VI, Part I, Act 5, Scene 3) 1825 - 1840

Charles Heath the elder made this engraving, "Suffolk and Margaret," sometime in the early 19th century. As an engraving, this image belongs to the world of commercial reproduction, of making multiples. Heath would have used a tool called a burin to carve lines into a metal plate, a laborious, skilled process demanding precision. See how those lines create the tonal range of the image, from the bright dress of Margaret to the dark armor of Suffolk. Look closely, and you can almost feel the pressure of the burin, the artist's hand coaxing the scene into being. Consider, too, the social context of Shakespeare in Heath’s time, already a cultural touchstone and ripe for mass consumption. The print makes Shakespeare accessible to a wider audience, allowing people to own a small piece of high culture, mediated and multiplied through skilled labor. So next time you see an engraving, remember the labor, the skill, and the social forces that shaped its creation. It's a reminder that even the most seemingly straightforward image carries with it a wealth of meaning and context.