Peacham drawing

The Peacham drawing, or 'Longleat manuscript', is the only surviving contemporary Shakespearean illustration, now in the library of the Marquess of Bath at Longleat in Wiltshire.

Eugene M. Waith argues of the illustration that "the gestures and costumes give us a more vivid impression of the visual impact of Elizabethan acting than we get from any other source.

"[1] In the sketch, Tamora (Queen of the Goths in the play) is shown pleading with her captor, Titus (a renowned general in the Roman army).

Behind her, kneel her sons, Chiron and Demetrius, their hands tied behind their backs, and behind them stands Aaron (a Moor involved in a secret sexual relationship with Tamora), who is armed and pointing at them.

The most common interpretation is 1595 (Latin: anno millesimo quingentesimo nonagesimo quinto), partly due to an inscription on the facing page reading "Henrye Peachams Hande 1595".

However, this note appears to have been written by John Payne Collier, notorious Shakespearean forger, and as such cannot be seen as wholly reliable.

To add to the lack of definitive information, June Schlueter believes the Peacham drawing does not depict Titus at all, but a 1620 German version of the play entitled Eine sehr klägliche Tragaedia von Tito Andronico.

[5] Richard Levin, however, argues against many of Schlueter's claims, and affirms that the drawing is a contemporary "composite" reading of Shakespeare's tragedy.