Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales 1796

R. Clamp made this print of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, sometime around the late 18th century. It’s an engraving, meaning the artist would have used a tool called a burin to incise lines into a metal plate, likely copper, and then applied ink to create the image. The very nature of this process is tied to labor and reproduction. Engravings like this were a key means of disseminating images widely, acting as a kind of pre-photographic printing press. Consider the labor involved: from the engraver’s skilled hand meticulously carving the lines, to the pressmen who would have cranked out numerous impressions. The stark contrast between light and shadow results from the density and depth of the engraved lines, giving the image a graphic quality. The scene depicts the Prince in a hunting tableau, a popular subject for the aristocracy. This print allowed a broader audience to access and consume imagery of the elite, blurring the lines between high art and popular culture.