Title	[Book Plate of W. C. Macready, "Macbeth]
Date	Undated
Creator	Sherratt
Contributor	John Tallis & Company
Production	Macbeth
Character roles	William Charles Macready (Macbeth)
Artistic roles	William Charles Macready (Actor, Manager)
Genre	Shakespeare tragedy
Theme	Shakespeare
Places	London (United Kingdom)
Item description	Book plate believed to be from 'The Complete Works of Shakspere [sic]' edited by J. O. Halliwell and published by John Tallis & Co. in 1860. The black and white illustration depicts actor W. C. Macready in the role of Macbeth.
Object narrative	William Charles Macready (1793-1873) was a well-known and popular actor in England during the 19th century, having first appeared in one of his father's theatres in 1810 as Romeo. Within ten years, Macready would be playing in one of London's premiere theatres, the Theatre Royal Covent Garden. His prominence beginning with a successful portrayal of Shakespeare's Richard III, he became a regular player at the rival patent theatre, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where his success was cemented as he developed further in his Shakespearean repertoire. Eventually, he would develop such memorable characters as Virginius, William Tell, Werner, Macbeth, King Lear, and Othello. In 1826 he traveled to America for the first time, meeting with success. On a subsequent American tour, his now infamous acting feud with American actor Edwin Forrest fueled nationalistic sentiments on both sides of the Atlantic which erupted in the Astor Place Riot in New York City on May 10, 1849. In this rendering, believed to be a plate from 'The Complete Works of Shakspere' in four volumes edited by J. O. Halliwell and published by John Tallis & Co. in 1860, Mr. Macready is shown depicting the character of Macbeth. A note on the illustration states that the plate was engraved by Sherratt from the original painting by Tracey. A quote from Act 1, Sc. 3 of Macbeth is featured, saying Two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act of the imperial theme. Macready performed Macbeth the first time at a benefit performance on June 9, 1820. The role was a success for him, and he continued to play it for thirty years thereafter. Retiring from the stage in 1851, Macbeth was the role he chose to perform as his farewell. This particular four volume set of Shakespeare was dedicated to Mr. Macready.
Type	Text
Original format	Book Plate
Original publisher	[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified]
Language	en
Contributing institution	Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries
Source collection	MSS255 Robert C. Hansen Performing Arts Collection
Series/grouping	10.1.1: Photographs, Cards, Caricatures/Satire and Other Pictoral Materials -- Photographs -- People
Box	92
Finding aid link	http://library.uncg.edu/info/depts/scua/collections/manuscripts/ead/mss255.xml
Preferred citation	[Identification of item], Robert C. Hansen Performing Arts Collection, 1753-2006 (MSS255), Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.
Rights statement	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Additional rights information	NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. This item has been determined to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. The user is responsible for determing actual copyright status for any reuse of the material.
Object ID	MSS255.092.009
Digital publisher	The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5304
OCLC number	872280809

[Book Plate of W. C. Macready, "Macbeth"]

Page/Item Description