English forger (1775-1835) of would-be Shakespearean documents and plays. He is less well-known as a poet, writer of gothic novels and histories. A famous Shakespearean forgery by Ireland, an ‘ALS’ in Old English, in which The Bard purports to be sending a portrait. The letter, signed “Wm. Shakespeare,” reads: “Havyng alwaye accountedde the a Pleasaynte ande wittye Personne ande oune whose Companye I doe much esteeme I have sente thee inclosedde a whymsycalle conceyte whyche doe suppose thou wilt easylye dicoverre but shouldst thou notte whye thenne I shalle sette thee onne mye table offe loggerre heades.” Written at the bottom of the page is: “March nynthe Toe Masterre Richard Cowleye, dwellynge atte oune Masterre Hollis a draperre inne, the Wattlynge Streete, lLundoune.” In very good condition, with several intersecting folds, scattered toning and soiling (heaviest along right edge), small tear to lower edge, and a chip to right edge.
Born in London in 1777, Ireland’s claim to fame were his nefarious forgeries of the Bard of Avon. The deception is said to have started in 1794 when he gave his father a document ‘signed’ by Shakespeare—a loving act by a son to fulfill a lifelong dream of his father. A year later, Ireland created the portrait referenced here to again appease his father, but the drawing was rebuked as being childish. Only when Ireland presented this very letter as ‘evidence’ of its ‘authenticity’ was the creation deemed worthy of praise. Ireland continued to produce countless such documents, and when uncovered, succeeded in bringing shame to his family—and centuries worth of notoriety in the hobby. This is a rarely-encountered example of the most famous ‘Shakespearean’ literary forger. RRAuction COA.
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