The first portrait, facing the title page, depicts a young John Donne, engraved by William Marshall (fl. 1617–1649) after a (now lost) miniature, possibly executed by Nicholas Hilliard (1547?–1619). This portrait first appeared as the frontispiece to the 1635 edition of Donne’s Poems; it is likely that the extra-illustrator was aware of this and purposefully chose this particular printed portrait of Donne.

Measurements: 128 mm × 83 mm. 

The second portrait to appear in this copy is a depiction of Donne in his winding sheet by Martin Droeshout (1601–1650?), which first appeared as the frontispiece to Donne’s final sermon, published as Deaths Duell in 1632 (see Colclough in ‘Further Reading’). The prefatory verse to Donne’s poems, entitled ‘Hexastichon bibliopolæ’, was most likely authored by the printer John Marriot. It is fitting that the portrait of Donne in his shroud accompanies the vivid imagery present in the ‘Hexastichon’:

I see in his last preach’d, and printed booke,
His Picture in a sheete; in Pauls I looke,
And see his Statue in a sheete of stone,
And sure his body in the grave hath one:
Those sheetes present him dead, these if you buy,
You have him living to Eternity.

Measurements: 167 mm × 112 mm.

The third portrait, engraved by Pierre Lombart (1612/13–1682) in 1651, depicts Sir Henry Wotton (1568–1639) in a melancholic pose, and first appeared as the frontispiece to Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1651), a posthumous collection of Wotton’s writings. ‘Philosophemur’ (‘Let us philosophise’) is inscribed next to the sitter’s head. At the bottom of the portrait is an emblematic device: a heart-shaped padlock and key, accompanied with the words ‘CUI, COR ET CLAVEM’ (‘Whose is the heart and the key’), potentially a reference to Wotton’s motto ‘Amor unit omnia’ (‘Love unites all’). A related painting by an anonymous artist is held today at the National Portrait Gallery. The catalogue numbers written on the verso of this printed portrait indicate that it has clearly been cut from its original print and pasted onto a new leaf, and subsequently inserted to accompany Donne’s verse epistle to one of his oldest friends.

Measurements: 134 mm × 79 mm.

Unlike the previous portraits, the fourth portrait in this copy of Poems, by J. D. (1633), representing Donne’s patron, Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford (1581–1627), has not been cut out and pasted onto a new leaf, but is a full-page print. This portrait was published in the late eighteenth century by William Richardson (fl. 1777–1814) after an original engraving by Simon van de Passe (c. 1595–1647). 

Measurements: 193 mm × 135 mm. 

The fifth portrait in this copy, engraved by William Hole (d. 1624) in 1612, represents Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594–1612). This portrait has been mounted onto a leaf that has been tipped in to accompany the ‘Elegie on Prince Henry’. In this full-length portrait, Henry is depicted holding a horizontal pike; he wears a closed ruff, armour, and a sword on his hip. A plumed helmet at the prince’s feet completes the portrait.

Measurements: 190 mm × 123 mm. 

The sixth portrait in this book is based on an engraving by William Marshall, and was first displayed as the frontispiece to John Benson’s octavo edition of Shakespeare’s poems, entitled Poems: Written by Wil. Shakespeare (1640). This portrait is an interesting choice on the part of the extra-illustrator, as it is not the famous Droeshout portrait that originally accompanied the First Folio; in fact, the accompanying text to Marshall’s portrait questions the veracity of the original portrait. In this copy, the portrait accompanies ‘An Epitaph upon Shakespeare’, which was actually composed by William Basse (c. 1583–1653?) as opposed to Donne. The tipped-in portrait and text together present an intriguing dynamic, posing questions of authenticity and legitimacy.

Measurements: 134 mm × 74 mm.

The seventh and final portrait in this book is an engraving of Donne by Lombart, after a painting completed in 1620 by an unknown artist held today at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The portrait depicts Donne at a stage of life when he was still based at Lincoln’s Inn and had not yet been elected dean of St Paul’s. Appropriately, this portrait is pasted onto the blank page facing the first page of the Satires. The classical influence prevalent in the portrait, most notably the classical drapery and circular ‘tondo’ format, corresponds with the Horatian influence of the Satires. 

Measurements: 156 mm × 101 mm.