The copper engraving of William Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout was published on the title page of the First Folio in 1623. The First Folio was produced by Hemminge and Condell, fellow actors of Shakespeare, as a dedication to the plays of William Shakespeare. Martin Droeshout was only 15 when Shakespeare died and it is doubtful whether he ever met the Bard. It has been assumed that descriptions of the man were provided by his fellow actors including  Hemminge and Condell, who were beneficiaries in Shakespeare's will. Since the discovery of the Sanders Portrait it would seem possible that due to the similarity of the collars and some features of the image that Droeshout could have used this as a basis for the engraving, applying artistic licence and contemporary descriptions to both age Shakespeare and show him in appropriate clothing. The Publishers of the First Folio altered it twice while it went through press. The image was darkened and a shadow was also added. 

WILLIAM MARSHALL ENGRAVING 1640 - PICTURE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

In 1640 an authorised edition of Shakespeare's poems included an engraving of Shakespeare by William Marshall. This image was similar to the Droeshout copper engraving but was reversed and the features altered. The verses by Ben Jonson, in the First Folio, apparently identify the portrait as Shakespeare but when the words were re-used in the 1640 second edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets they cast some doubt on the authenticity of the likeness by the addition of several question marks.

"This Shadowe is renowned Shakespear's? Soule of th'age
The applause? delight? the wonder of the Stage."

THE STRATFORD PORTRAIT - PICTURE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

The Stratford portrait so called as it housed at Stratford was owned by a Mr Hunt who was a town-clerk of Stratford. In 1861 a picture restorer called Mr Collins, who was employed in Stratford to clean and restore the effigies in the Holy Trinity Church noticed the portrait hanging in Mr. Hall's lobby. He offered to clean it and during its restoration he removed a full beard and moustache, which had been added to the original. The portrait showed a strong resemblance to the memorial bust of Shakespeare with the same style of dress and the curls in the hair. 

THE CHANDOS PORTRAIT - PICTURE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

This portrait has been attributed to Joseph Taylor but the exact date of the portrait is unknown. The full beard and moustache was favoured by Rubens after his arrival in England in 1630.It is believed to have been commissioned by the playwright and theatre manager William Davenant (1606–1668). The portrait receives its name as it was once in the possession of the Duke of Chandos. The Chandos portrait is by far the most attractive of the pictures of Shakespeare and is typical of English portraits and costumes of the period. The Chandros portrait has, however, been altered by Ozias Humphrey and Sir Joshua Reynolds. In 1856 it became the property of Britain's National Portrait Gallery. 

THE SANDERS PICTURE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE