The Medical And Surgical Knowledge Of William Shakspere

Author : John William Wainwright
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781332592616
Total Pages : 108 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (926 download)

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Download or read book The Medical and Surgical Knowledge of William Shakspere written by John William Wainwright and published by . This book was released on 2016-06-16 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Medical and Surgical Knowledge of William Shakspere: With Explanatory Notes The first folio edition of Shakspere's plays was edited and issued by two of Shakspere's theatrical colleagues, Heming and Condell, in 1623, in which was included an engraving of the author by a young artist, Martin Droeshout. Ben Jonson, who was Shakspere's intimate friend and companion, declared the engraving to be an accurate likeness - in fact, praised it highly. It was at that time accepted as a good portrait. The original painting from which this engraving was made disappeared and remained in obscurity until 1892, when Mr. Edgar Flower, of Stratford-on-Avon, discovered in the possession of a Mr. H. C. Clements, at Peckham Rye, a portrait which so much resembles that of the engraving mentioned as having appeared in the folio edition, as to leave no doubt but that it was the original. The portrait was faded and worm eaten, but, without question, dated from the beginning of the seventeenth century. It had been painted on a panel, made by joining two pieces of elm wood, and in the upper left-hand corner was the inscription, William Shakspere, 1609. Mr. Clements had purchased the portrait from an obscure dealer in 1840, but, knowing nothing of its history except what was noted on a slip of paper when he made the purchase, he pasted on the box in which the portrait was shipped the following: "The original portrait of Shakspere from which the Droeshout engraving was made and inserted in the first collected edition of his works, published in 1623, being seven years after his death. The picture was painted seven years before the death of Shakspere and consequently fourteen years before the engraving was published." This portrait was publicly exhibited in London, where thousands inspected it. In all the details, the portrait is identical with the engraving. There seems good grounds for believing this portrait, therefore, one of Shakspere, painted during his lifetime, when about fifty-five years of age, and the only one painted during his lifetime known to exist. Upon the death of Mr. Clements in 1895, the portrait was purchased by Mrs. Charles Flower and presented to the Memorial Picture Gallery at Stratford, where it now hangs. The photogravure contained in this volume is from a photograph of the original: no attempt has been made to restore it, but it has been left as it now appears. The natural decay of the wood upon which it was painted is clearly shown. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.