Bonner Cutting — Edward de Vere’s Tin Letters

Tin was big business in early modern England. It was used in English pewter and was a lucrative commodity that English merchants exported throughout Europe. Several series of letters survive that deal with Oxford’s petition to Queen Elizabeth for the monopoly of tin that was mined in Cornwall. This presentation will look closely at the eight letters that are archived in the Ellesmere manuscripts in the Huntington Library in Pasadena, California, and the six letters in the Public Record Office, now the National Archives at Kew.

William Plumer Fowler did not include Oxford’s tin letters in his 1986 book, "Shakespeare Revealed in Oxford’s Letters," and it has been generally thought that they are not as interesting as his more personal correspondence. Professor Alan Nelson has furthered the impression that they were merely dull business letters, describing them as "utilitarian" and "dreary reading." However, a closer look shows that there are many parallels between Oxford’s vocabulary in the tin letters and the Shakespeare canon. Moreover, the Shakespearean themes of deceit and false appearances occur regularly as Oxford tries to convince the Queen that she is being taken advantage of by unscrupulous merchants.

This talk was presented on October 14, 2017, at the SOF Annual Conference in Chicago.

Bonner Cutting is a regular presenter at authorship conferences, having researched a variety of subjects dealing with the Shakespeare Authorship Question. Her work on the Last Will and Testament of William Shakspere of Stratford and her transcript of his will are published in the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition’s Shakespeare Beyond Doubt? Exposing an Industry in Denial. Additionally, she has lectured on Lady Anne Clifford’s Triptych, the Van Dyke portrait of Susan Vere at Wilton House, censorship and punishment in early modern England, Edward de Vere’s £1,000 annuity, and the 16th century feudal system known as wardship. Bonner holds a B.F.A. degree from Tulane University in New Orleans and a Masters of Music in piano performance from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

For more on the Shakespeare Authorship Question, visit ShakespeareOxfordFellowship.org.