根据他的自白自传, 威廉·亨利·爱尔兰(1777-1835)不遗余力地取悦父亲, 撒母耳, who (as later in the case of Dowse) had an unbounded obsession with all things related to Shakespeare. 当我还是青少年的时候, William Henry taught himself forgery and fabricated multiple documents “in Shakespeare’s hand” 那。 he presented to his father, 优雅的出版商, 插图的书. 撒母耳 Ireland innocently published his son’s creations including a supposed letter from Queen Elizabeth to the Bard thanking him for “prettye Verses.塞缪尔·爱尔兰为豪华版的 杂项文件及法律文书 . . . 威廉·莎士比亚 还有年轻的爱尔兰“发现”的文件的复制品.“很短的一段时间, 撒母耳 Ireland’s collection of Shakespeare manuscripts was the talk of London and there were scheduled hours during which enthusiasts could view the “original” manuscripts.

Vortigern

威廉·亨利·爱尔兰的大胆骗局很快崩溃了, 然而, 当时塞缪尔·爱尔兰说服理查德·布林斯利·谢里丹登台演出 Vortigern，莎士比亚的“新发现”戏剧.e. 威廉·亨利·爱尔兰)于1796年在德鲁里巷的谢里丹皇家剧院演出. 第一次也是唯一一次演出开场时的掌声 Vortigern quickly turned to laughter and catcalls from the audience and the play would not be performed again for more than 200 years. 约翰·菲利普·肯布尔, 谁在剧中扮演主角, 不羞于表达他对其真实性的怀疑吗, 但塞缪尔·爱尔兰四年后去世了, still convinced 那。 his Shakespeare documents were authentic because his son was simply incapable of producing such forgeries.

威廉·亨利爱尔兰 later described his misdeeds—and provided generations of forgers with nothing short of a detailed instruction manual—in 威廉·亨利·爱尔兰的忏悔录 (伦敦:1805). 的 《利记手机官网》 是一个活泼的人, 详细的描述, but must be used with caution; Ireland appears to have lied systematically about just about everything 那。 happened in his life, 大大小小的. He also seemed to believe 那。 the people whom he deceived would celebrate his inventive genius. 直到1835年去世，他一直是一位多产的作家，但不再是一位成功的作家. He was reduced to making facsimiles of the Shakespeare documents 那。 he had created and passing them off as his “original” forgeries—forging his forgeries.

托马斯探寻水源

托马斯·道斯，他的 摩西·赖特的肖像是在1856年受MHS委托创作的他于1772年出生在马萨诸塞州的查尔斯顿. 根据家庭习俗, 道斯从小就因为从苹果树上摔下来和害羞而跛脚, 隐居的男孩转向书本, 正如他所描述的, 为了“职业和娱乐”.” He read voraciously and purchased even more voraciously—he spent more than sixty years assembling an extraordinary personal library, 这是一个基本上是自学成才的人的作品, 他最初以制革匠和皮革服装师为生.

道斯一直未婚，直到1846年一直从事皮革贸易, 积累了一笔可观的财富，他把这笔钱花在了越来越多的藏书上. 他的藏书增至4本,665卷和他在剑桥的家, 麻萨诸塞州, 成为一种“公共吸引力”，吸引了尊贵的游客, 尤其是图书爱好者, 凝视着他的书, 几乎都优雅的反弹在fine, gold-stamped绑定, 通常是19世纪早期波士顿装订工的作品. 道斯的书的估价是40美元,这是一笔巨大的数目，而当时该协会用于购买的资金余额为527美元.40.

道斯图书馆:捐赠者关系的个案研究

19世纪50年代, 托马斯探寻水源, 那时他已经八十多岁了, began to search for a home for the books 那。 were “the dearest earthly objects of his affections . . . 年轻时是他的向导，成年时是他的扶持，年老时是他的安慰.” Harvard University courted him; President Josiah Quincy had offered to build a separate building to house the collection, but Dowse was ultimately unable to reach an agreement with Harvard—a story has come down 那。 college students had vandalized a fence around his property. MHS成员乔治·利弗莫尔——一位藏书家, and later the executor of Dowse’s estate—served as an intermediary between Dowse and the Society. 1856年7月, Dowse donated his library to the Society and with a single stroke increased the MHS library collection by a half—from about 8,000 to 13,000卷. It was a timely gift; Dowse died in November of 那。 year.

的 “official story” was 那。 托马斯探寻水源 “had long been familiar with the character of the Society, 他还亲自认识了很多成员, 他确信, 那。, 由他们保管, 他的书多年来一直是他的选择和珍爱的朋友, 会被妥善保存和使用吗.国土安全部主席罗伯特·C. 温斯洛普对这份礼物有一个更个人的解释:晚年隐居的道斯, 虽然不是MHS的成员, 被邀请参加协会一年一度的春季会员活动, 草莓节, 尽管他拒绝了邀请, 他对MHS成员的善良和尊重保持着温暖的感情.

爱德华·埃弗雷特和托马斯·道斯

托马斯·道斯, the active participation of Edward 埃弗雷特 in MHS affairs probably was the ultimate seal of approval. 他的藏书反映了这一点, 以及美国独立战争的英雄们, 英国内战, 和莎士比亚, 道斯非常钦佩爱德华·埃弗雷特, 马萨诸塞州国会议员, 州长, 哈佛大学校长, 圣公会的牧师. 詹姆斯，国务卿，参议员，以及他那个时代最伟大的演说家. A compilation of Edward 埃弗雷特’s separately printed early speeches were a gift from 埃弗雷特 to Dowse, 由道斯精心装订成两册，供他收藏. 埃弗雷特, 反过来, 将道斯图书馆描述为“最优秀的英语图书图书馆”, 因为它的大小, 我所熟悉的.道斯也留给了国安局 吉尔伯特·斯图尔特于1820年画的未完成的埃弗雷特肖像. 埃弗雷特 then was a 26-year-old Harvard professor and already a member of the Historical Society.

道斯图书馆的房间 是在1857年4月9日的马萨诸塞州历史学会年会上发表的. It is not a room 那。 托马斯探寻水源 would have known; the furniture and bookcases were built for the MHS with funds provided by Dowse’s estate. In 1899, 当时协会搬到了现在位于博伊尔斯顿街的大楼, the Dowse Library was dismantled in its previous home on Tremont Street in downtown Boston and moved to the new building. 在博伊尔斯顿街, the Dowse Library may have created a certain amount of familiar comfort for members moving out to the “wilds” of the newly-in-filled Back Bay. 直到1960年, 那是阅览室——那时的会员人数还不多, 协会的会议室——它将继续为许多董事会发挥作用, 委员会, 小型的公共会议.