Lot 45
45
Sir John Martin-Harvey Richard III Hamlet Irving
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Sir John Martin-Harvey Richard III Hamlet Irving

Details
Sir John Martin-Harvey Richard III Hamlet Irving
A left-hand dagger in the 16th century style, with russet steel hilt set with imitation jewels and steel-mounted leather-covered scabbard, the blade inscribed To My Richard, April 13th, 1910 and The Readiness Is All -- 15½in. (39.4cm.) long; accompanied by a two-page letter on Lady Martin-Harvey headed stationery, written on her behalf to John Clements and signed Lady Nell, May 17th - 1948 telling him ..This is a dagger I had made for Sir John as a first night gift when he played Richard III...The design is after a very famous Tudor dagger...Sir John always used the dagger in "Richard"...2pp.; and a card tie-on label, printed in black Sir John Martin-Harvey and inscribed in blue ink Worn By Phelps As Hamlet. Given Me by Henry Plowman F.S.A....; and a commemorative silk cushion cover the centre comprising a selection of panels, each embroidered in multi-coloured silks with a symbolic motif and then signed individually by various theatrical luminaries including: Henry Irving, Charles Wyndham, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Forbes-Robertson, Squire Bancroft, Edward Terry and five others -- 25x29in. (63.5x73.7cm.) framed (4)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

There appears to be some confusion as to the provenance of the dagger in this lot. Sir Martin-Harvey's label being rather at odds with his wife's letter, although both documents apparently refer to the same dagger.
The Readiness Is All is a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet - Act V, Scene II, spoken by Hamlet prior to his fatal duel with Laertes.
Samuel Phelps (1804-78), the English actor whose name became synonymous with Shakespeare at Sadler's Wells Theatre where he produced all but four of Shakespeare's plays, between 1843 and 1862.

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