Mulberry picture frame and postcard

Description

A carved mulberry wood picture frame. The frame contains a postcard showing 12 photographic views of Stratford-upon-Avon that was produced in 1864 for the Tercentenary Shakespeare Festival. On the back of the frame there is a stamped inscription that reads: 'SHAKESPEARES MULBERRY WOOD./ STRATFORD ON AVON. 1873. // A PRESENT FROM. J. T. M. TO E. K./ ON HER 21ST. BIRTHDAY.' The views of Stratford are (from top left to bottom right): Shakespeare's Birthplace; a portrait of William Shakespeare; Anne Hathaway's Cottage; three interior view of Shakespeare's Birthplace; Shakespeare's School, and Guild Chapel; Shakespeare's Birthplace from the Garden; Church (Holy Trinity), from the meadows; Church of the Holy Trinity, north view; Shakespeare's Bust (monument in Holy Trinity Church); Church of the Holy Trinity, interior. The frame has a hinged wooden stand fixed to the back.

The initials are those of John Theobald Marshall and Eliza Kitchen. John T. Marshall was a local artist and teacher of drawing. He was the son of John Marshall, a local wood carver who produced several artefacts made from wood associated with Shakespeare, including mulberry wood. The frame may have been made by either man as John T Marshall is described as a carver in the 1871 census and so may have had some training from his father before he became an artist and teacher. John T Marshall and Eliza Kitchen were married at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, on 2nd December 1874.