Description
Ridley, William 1764 – 1838. Mr. Cooke in the Character of Iago. London: Vernor & Hood, 31 Poultry, Dec. 31, 1800. Stipple with etching, a portrait print on Whatman paper, sheet: 27.5 cm x 21 cm; image impression: 16.3 cm x 11 cm. This is an oval image of George Frederick Cooke (1756-1812) as Shakespeare’s Iago in Othello, gathering his cloak to his throat with his left hand. This plate is from the Monthly Mirror. The sheet has soiling, marginal damp-staining and light foxing, with the vertical “Whatman 1804” watermark on the right-hand edge. William Ridley was the engraver, who took the image from J. Corbett. O’Donoghue, F. 1908. Engraved British Portraits Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. Royal Collection Trust, RCIN652871. Described by R.W. Lowe as, “An actor of real genius, who for some time was the rival of John Kemble; but his dissipated habits ruined his reputation and ultimately killed him.” English Theatrical Literature, N.Y., 1888, p. 67.
Fanny Kemble Butler as Isabella in Shakespeare Measure for Measure 1859
