Can restore Shakespeare's signature?

The question of who is the owner of the scribbles

The question of who is the owner of the 'Wm Shakespeare' scribbles on the title pages of Archaionomia, published under Queen Elizabeth I's reign is still an unanswered question.

Picture 1 of Can restore Shakespeare's signature?

The title page of Archaionomia book

Gregory Heyworth, a professor of language at the University of Mississippi, joined his students to use new technology to restore nearly lost glyphs. This work is part of Project Lazarus, to revive damaged texts using a technique called multispectral imaging. However, Professor Heyworth said that this signature is not a signature of William Shakespeare, it is still not a definite affirmation.

Picture 2 of Can restore Shakespeare's signature?

This recovery technique uses up to 12 different wavelengths of light, from ultraviolet rays to infrared rays, to help improve the resolution of images of old documents. Later, scientists will use a software to combine these images into the clearest possible image of text. In this way, they were able to reproduce the documents that were completely erased, the documents were scratched or scorched, or were damaged by water.

Last year, project Lazarus used high-tech photography to discover William Faulker's new poems from a collection that was damaged by fire. This year, Heyworth led a group of students to the Shakespeare Library in Washington to investigate a signature believed to be the Bard's.

Picture 3 of Can restore Shakespeare's signature?

The group has not yet begun the process of confirming whether this is Shakespeare's signature, but they have restored it. Heyworth also planned to compare this signature with Shakespeare's other handwriting, including an essay published in 1603.

If it is possible to confirm the signature on the book Archaionomia is that of the playwright, this can provide new insights in the legal approach in his plays.

Update 18 December 2018
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