Permanent URI for this collection
The collector of the prints in this collection was William Appleton Drown (1836-1890) of Philadelphia, PA. He was a manufacturer of umbrellas and parasols and spent part of each year in Europe buying silks in France and ivory, porcelain and carved wood in Switzerland. His love of Shakespeare's words and great thoughts grew into a study of Shakespearian actors. During his travels in Europe, he acquired an extensive collection of prints from engravings relating to Shakespeare and his plays. The prints were inherited by his granddaughter, Elizabeth Phelps Farnsworth, wife of Rhodes College Board of Trustee, Sidney W. Farnsworth, of Memphis, TN. In 1953, Mrs. Farnsworth gave the prints as a gift to the College and they have been stored in the College Special Collections since that time. The first 360 images were scanned by John Yackulics, Class of 2010, as part of a History internship Fall semester 2009 and mentored by Bill Short, Coordinator of Public Services at the Barret Library, Rhodes College. The digital project has been continued by Barret Library staff, under the direction of Elizabeth E. Gates, College Archivist.