William Shakespeare's
Last Will & Testament
25th March 1616
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The perfect gift for the Shakespeare fan who has almost everything...
Never before offered for sale the signed last will and testament of William Shakespeare is presented in a beautiful burgundy gift box containing a colour facsimile of the three-page will along with a booklet that has the transcript, bequest details, how much Shakespeare was worth, insights into life in Elizabethan England, extracts from the wills of knights, yeomen, servants, British currency, weapons, crimes, illegal games, trades and occupations...plus a great deal more!
Conservation of the Will
William Shakespeare's will is nearly 400 years old and has survived the ravages of time and man. The will was written on hand made paper with three sheets being originally fastened together by a narrow strip of parchment along the top margin.
Due to wear and tear created by centuries of scholars hungry for information, the will became very fragile and consequently has been repaired several times. The most recent repair was carried out by the staff at the Public Record Office in 1996.
The original 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%. More information is contained in our Shakespeare's Will booklet.
The three page last will and testament of William Shakespeare has been faithfully reproduced and is folded along the original crease lines, ribbon-tied and beautifully presented in a satin-lined, leather-grained card finished burgundy gift box. Only a limited number of the wills can be printed before 31st March 2002. Each set has been produced under a license issued by the British National Archives. The box measures 13.5 inches x 5.5 inches (340 x 140 mm) and contains the will plus a 34 page companion booklet providing translation and understanding of the will plus insights into life in Elizabethan England.
The Shakespeare Booklet contains:
The Shakespeare family tree, bequest information explaining the will's contents, transcript of the will, conservation and repair of the will and how they were carried out, how much Shakespeare was worth when he died, British currency from 13th century to present day, how to read 17th century handwriting, entertaining facts from Did You Knows? of England - the origins of 'frog in the throat' 'humble pie' 'tips' 'posh' etc, information about home life, work, crime and weapons in Elizabethan England, extracts from the wills of Elizabethan knights, yeomen, servants, widows and gentlemen, lists of popular Elizabethan names, trades and occupations ... plus much more!
Special Limited Edition Price: Within the UK GB£19.99. Overseas USD $39.99
Gift Box Set
We also have No-Frills-Wills – which consist of the will and the booklet without the satin-lined gift box. The price for these are: Within the UK GB£14.99 Overseas USD $34.99 or a foreign cheque equivalent to GB£25
Basic WIll Set
To receive your own 'Limited Edition' copy of the will,
please send a cheque inclusive of postage and packing payable to Douglas Castle & Co.
We also accept payment by Visa and MasterCard
Or, if you wish, please use the post/fax form on our Orders Page
For personal cheques in foreign currency please allow the equivalent of GB£30 (extra £5 to cover bank fees)
Not applicable to crdit card orders.
Delivery: Please allow 21 days for UK — 28 days overseas
Refunds: Full money-back guarantee on products returned in perfect condition within 40 days of delivery date.
Douglas Castle & Co
PO Box 9, Grays, Essex RM17 5BJ
Tel: +44 (0)1375 371549 Fax: +44 (0)1375 378958
or
2019 Featherston Drive
Ottawa, ONtario
Canada
K1H 6P7
