2-645-984 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Portrait of Shakespeare', 1790s, (1910). Forgery, purporting to be a self-portrait of Shakespeare by William Henry Ireland. Absence of historical records has, at certain times, provided an irresistable opportunity for literary forgers. One of the most infamous incidents occuring in London in the 1790s. William Henry Ireland, (1775-1835), son of publisher and avid Shakespeare collector Samuel Ireland made forgeries in order to impress his father, an avid Shakespeare collector. From The Connoisseur Vol XXVIII. [Otto Limited, London, 1910]