 |
 |
> the Shakespearans among us will be interested in the > following report of what may very well be an authentic portrait from > 1603: <http://www.globeandmail.com/gam/National/20010511/USHAKN.html>. >I read it with bated breath waiting to see what Toronto-area >palaeographer had been consulted about the hand-written note on the >back (instead of us!), and it appears they haven't had anyone look at >the handwriting -- what a disappointment! Interesting article, but the author makes a number of extremely dubious factual claims: "It shows a Shakespeare with fluffy red hair and blue-green eyes, an appearance that matches descriptions of him in the journals of his contemporaries Christopher Marlowe and Francis Bacon." There exist no journals by Christopher Marlowe, or any samples of his handwriting except for a single signature written in 1585. Quite a few of Francis Bacon's papers survive, and some might be considered journals, but none of these make any mention of Shakespeare, let alone describe his physical appearance. (There is the famous Northumberland MS, used as a wrapper for some of Bacon's papers -- this does contain Shakespeare's name several times among a lot of scribbling, but this is in a hand other than Bacon's.) "The painting is reputed to be by one John Sanders, born in Worcester, England, and christened in March, 1575. The Canadian owner can trace his genealogy back to Mr. Sanders, who appears on the list of players in playbills of the era for various theatrical companies, including that of the King's Players, the same troupe as William Shakespeare. He performed in small roles, and sometimes painted backdrops." I have no idea where they got these claims. There is no record of a John Sanders acting with the King's Men or any other company at the appropriate time. No such person is indexed in my Biographical Index of Elizabethan Theatre (http://www.clark.net/pub/tross/ws/bd/kathman.htm). There was a William Sanders who was a musician with the King's Men in the 1620s; there was also a John Sands who was a provincial puppet showman in the 1620s. James Sands was a minor actor with the King's Men in the first decade of the 17th century, and his sister Cecily married the actor Robert Browne, who for a time was a sharer in the Globe. I see that the online IGI does list a John Sanders christened in Worcester in March 1575, but I know of no evidence that this person had any connection with the theater. For all I know this portrait could be authentic, but the dubious genealogy claimed by the owner is no help in that regard. Dave Kathman [log in to unmask]