Bacon is Shake-Speare: Together with a Reprint of Bacon's Promus of Formularies and EleganciesDurning-Lawrence, Edwin, Sir
History
Bacon is Shake-Speare: Together with a Reprint of Bacon's Promus of Formularies and Elegancies
Durning-Lawrence, Edwin, Sir
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Authorship -- Baconian theory
[Illustration: Plate. XIX. The Original Stratford Monument, from Rowe's
Life of Shakespeare, 1709]
As a matter of fact, the real Stratford monument of 1623 was first
engraved in Dugdale's "Warwickshire" of 1656, where it appears opposite
to page 523. We can, however, pardon Mr. Sidney Lee for his ignorance of
the existence of that engraving; but how shall we pardon him for citing
Rowe as a witness to the early existence of the present bust? To anyone
not wilfully blinded by passion and prejudice, Rowe's engraving [see
Plate 19, Page 77] clearly shews a figure absolutely different from the
Bust in the present monument. Rowe's figure is in the same attitude as
the Bust of the original monument engraved by Dugdale, and does not hold
a pen in its hand, but its two hands are supported on a wool-sack or
cushion, in the same manner as in the Bust from Dugdale which I have
shewn in Plate 5, on Page 14.
What are we to say respecting the frontispiece to the 1898 edition of
what he is pleased to describe as the "Life of William Shakespeare,"
which Mr. Sidney Lee tells us is "from the 'Droeshout' painting now in
the Shakespeare Memorial Gallery at Stratford-on-Avon"?
As a matter of fact there is no "Droeshout" painting. The picture
falsely so called is a manifest forgery and a palpable fraud, for in it
all the revealing marks of the engraving by Martin Droeshout which
appeared in the 1623 folio are purposely omitted. A full size photo
facsimile of Martin Droeshout's engraving is shewn in Plate 8, pp.
20-21. In the false and fraudulent painting we find no double line to
shew the mask, and the coat is really a coat and not a garment cunningly
composed of two left arms.
Still it does seem singularly appropriate and peculiarly fitting that
Mr. Sidney Lee should have selected as the frontispiece of the romance
which he calls the "Life" of Shakespeare, an engraving of the false and
fraudulent painting now in the Stratford-on-Avon Gallery for his first
edition of 1898; and should also have selected an engraving of the false
and fraudulent monument now in Stratford-on-Avon Church as the
frontispiece for his first Illustrated Library Edition of 1899.
Mr. Sidney Lee is aware of the fact that Martin Droeshout was only
fifteen years old when the Stratford actor died. But it is possible that
he may not know that (in addition to the Shakespeare Mask which
Droeshout drew for the frontispiece of the 1623 folio edition of the
Plays of Shakespeare, in order to reveal, to those who were able to
understand, the true facts of the Authorship of those plays), Martin
Droeshout also drew frontispieces for other books, which may be
similarly correctly characterised as cunningly composed, in order to
reveal the true facts of the authorship of such works, unto those who
were capable of grasping the hidden meaning of his engravings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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