The Shakespeare Centre Library's Picture Collection includes thousands of miscellaneous prints, photographs, etchings, drawings and other pictorial representations dating from the eighteenth century onwards.

The three witches from Macbeth, by Friedrich von Retzsch, c. 1830

The main areas covered are images of performance, representations of individual Shakespeare plays and portraits of associated actors from around the world as well as artists' work inspired by Shakespeare.

It also contains depictions of Shakespeare festivals, including the Garrick Jubilee of 1769, theatre architecture, costume designs and miscellaneous portraits of associated persons. Also included are photographs illustrating the history of the Royal Shakespeare Company's theatres in Stratford from 1879. Portraits of Shakespeare form a separate but related collection.

The First Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1897

Most of these images are black and white, and all are unframed. Access to the picture collection is via a card index which covers loose items as well as selected illustrations in scrapbooks.

There is also a section of the Library's catalogue giving details of heavily-illustrated books. Framed pictures are cared for by either the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust's Museums Department or the RSC Collection depending on ownership.

For photographs of RSC productions see Photographic Collections and RSC Archive.

Out of copyright images can be copied and, with permission, used for publication: Copying Services