Images Dated

The Compleat Gentleman by Henry Peacham, 1622

The Compleat Gentleman fashioning him absolute in the most necessary & commendable qualities concerning minde or bodie that may be required in a noble gentlema[n]. By Henry Peacham. Mr. of Arts sometime of Trinity Coll: in Cambridge. [London] : Anno 1622 Imprinted at London [by John Legat] for Francis Constable, and are to bee sold at his shop at the white lio[n] in Paules churchyard, [1622].
Title page is engraved and signed "Fr [Francis] Delaram. sculp. Anno 1622". Entered on Stationer's Register 3 July [1622].
Title Page.
Dimensions: Binding, 180mm (H) x 128mm (W) x 20mm (Spine). Leaves, 172mm (H) x 125mm (W)

© The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton by John L Riley

Henry Wriothesley (1573-1624), 3rd Earl of Southampton (copy of an earlier painting, the Tower portrait) by John L. Riley. Henry Wriothesley was one of Shakespeare's patrons. He would find him work and support some of his living needs. Henry was a popular but controversial figure. He came from a Catholic dynasty - a major sticking point in post-reformation England. Since Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church and formed the Church of England, being a Catholic in England had become dangerous, and Henry's father had been discovered helping the Jesuit Edmund Campion evade capture for heresy. From a young age, Henry had been raised by Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I's chief minister, to save him from the corrupting influence of his father. By 19, Henry was well established as a wealthy member of the court and was well known for his enthusiasm for literature; Shakespeare capitalised on this and sought to curry favour with him by including a foreword in his work Venus and Adonis, first printed in 1593

© The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

`Boke of Scraps relating to Shakespere his House'

ER1/129. `Boke of Scraps relating to Shakespere his House : a collection made by Theodosius Purland, Ph.D, 1847-1864. The volume consists of newspaper cuttings, printed matter, letters, conditions of sale, advertisements, circulars, playbills etc. relating to the sale by auction of Shakespeare's Birthplace and to the funds raised for its purchase in 1847; contains material up to 1864. Folio 45 recto, Playbill: Henry V and Rob Roy. Performed at Tghe Royalo Olympic Theatre, Friday August 26th, 1847. Fundraising performance. Dimensions (H, W): Playbill 510 x 260mm.
Binding 320 x 260 x 90mm

© The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust