Shakespeare's Will

In 1999 William Shakespeare was voted “Man of the Millennium” and the “Greatest Briton of All Time”.   As Sir Derek Jacobi said  “The glory of Shakespeare’s texts lie in their literary richness, profundity, universal truth and huge emotional range – an everlasting banquet for both actor and author.  He is for all times, all ages and all peoples” The desire to understand Shakespeare and to somehow touch his mind remains as strong or perhaps even stronger than ever.   A multitude of Scholars have tried for many years to separate the fact from the fiction and the man from the myth and the one document that has aroused great interest has been this last will an testament.  It is one of the few items that can connect us to him.  It contains evidence of the thoughts that pre-occupied him in the weeks leading up to his death and it also contains his final threes signatures. Shakespeare’s Will is nearly 400 years old and has survived the ravages of time and man.  The will was written on handmade paper with the three sheets being originally fastened together by a narrow strip of parchment along the top margin. Due wear and tear created by centuries of scholars hungry for information, the will became very fragile and consequently repaired several times.  The most recent was carried out by the conservation staff at the Public Record Office in 1966. The Will is kept in a secure area at the Public Record Office with environmental conditions maintained at 17 degrees centigrade and a relative humidity of 55% +/-5%. This Will is an excellent and unique reproduction o one of the world’s most famous documents.

William Shakespeare’s Last Will and Testament.    26th March 1616   Only 5,000 Copies WILL ever be printed