Certified True Rubbing from Shakespear’s Grave
Certified True Rubbing from Shakespear’s Grave
Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Powdered ink rubbing
Gift of Evelyn Oppenheimer, 1990
1990.026
This rubbing bearing the epitaph carved into William Shakespeare’s tombstone in the chancel wall of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-Upon-Avon, was prepared as a fundraiser for the parish.
GOOD FRIEND FOR JESUS SAKE FORBEAR
TO DIG THE DUST ENCLOSED HERE
BLESS BE THE MAN THAT SPARES THESE STONES
AND CURSED BE HE THAT MOVES MY BONES
The rubbing has been authenticated in pencil below: Certified true rubbing from Shakspear's Grave, William Bennett Parish Clerk, from Canon Melville Vicar 1924. Shakespearean lore suggests that the curse is the bard’s own composition, and that the verse can be reassembled as an anagram that makes reference to Christopher Marlowe, English playwright and Shakespeare’s contemporary.
Evelyn Oppenheimer (1907–1998), active in the life of Bridwell Library for decades, found an occasion to add the “Certified true rubbing” to the Bridwell Collection in 1990. She was a noted book reviewer, author, radio personality, teacher, and literary representative. She gave the substantial archives of her career to Bridwell Library in 1988, as well as a collection of mid-twentieth century first edition books, many of which are signed by the authors. The release of her autobiography, A Book Lover in Texas, was celebrated with a signing at Bridwell in 1995.
