[William Shakespere] 1685
Engraving | 31.1 x 16.2 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 661421
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An engraving of William Shakespeare. Bust length with a lace collar and embroidered doublet. With To the Reader by Benjamin Jonson printed in letterpress below.
The plate was originally engraved for the first complete publication of Shakespeare's plays, the First Folio (1623), and was subsequently reproduced in later editions for the next sixty years. This print dates from the Fourth Folio, published in 1685, and it is one of the impressions removed from the text.
Alongside the Stratford Church Bust, this portrait is one of the two likenesses of Shakespeare executed within living memory of the playwright, and as such has one of the best claims to authenticity. Below the portrait is printed Ben Jonson's To the Reader, which endorses the print as a true likeness of Shakespeare. The accuracy of the print was vouched for by Shakespeare's friends and benefactors John Heminges and Henry Condell, actors in the company of the King's Men, who prepared the publication of the First Folio.Provenance
Perhaps the print purchased by George IV from Colnaghi & Co. for his illustrated History of the Stage, 11 July 1820 (Royal Archives GEO/MAIN/28276, '[Shakespeare] by Drouhest [sic], £4 4s')
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Medium and techniques
Engraving
Measurements
31.1 x 16.2 cm (sheet of paper)
19.1 x 16.1 cm (image)
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