Description:

Incredible Shakespeare Wooden Artifact From His Bed! CAG Encapsulated.

Wood relic taken from William Shakespeare's bed. .50" x 1.25". Encapsulated by CAG, measuring 2.375'' x 3.375''.

The larger relic, from which this fragment was taken, was originally offered in the sale of the A.E. Brooks collection of antique guns, pistols, etc., held in 1899, which included a number of relics and artifacts. The relic was listed as lot 1835, as indicated on the card which housed the original relic (see provenance and photo). The provenance includes a photocopy of the original catalog page listing the lot and a photocopy of a letter from Bruce Gimelson, dated July 10th, 1997. It reads, in part, “Here is the Shakespeare relic. It is indeed a piece of his bedstead with contemporary? (1860) authentication”.

Besides serving as inspiration for some of his more amorous scenes, Shakespeare’s bed has interesting significance with regard to the theories of dissent in his marriage to Anne Hathaway. In his last will and testament, Shakespeare only made one bequest to his wife, that being his “second-best bed with the furniture.” While there is no reference to the “best” bed and to whom that should belong, this line sparked many theories – such as it being meant to spite Hathaway, insinuating that Anne was only the “second-best” person in his life, which has led to whispers of a secret paramour. However, a more accepted opinion is that in Elizabethan England it was custom to save the best bed of the house for guests, in which case Shakespeare was bequeathing their marital bed to her, and not insulting her at all.

Accompanied by an additional packet of provenance used to authenticate the relic.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

August 17, 2022 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000