This small souvenir bust of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is a miniature copy of an original by the French sculptor Louis-François Roubiliac (1702-1762) who lived and worked in England after 1731 and became known for his portrait busts, especially of writers, artists and thinkers. The original bust was commissioned by the actor David Garrick for the temple in the gardens of his house at Hampton, and bequeathed to the British Museum. David Garrick revered the memory of Shakespeare and organised the great Shakespeare Jubilee at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1769. Roubiliac completed two statues of Shakespeare for Garrick; the other is in London's Garrick Club.

Shakespeare was born and educated in Stratford, and in 1582 married Anne Hathaway. Ten years later he was an established playwright in London where he worked at two theatres owned by James Burbage - The Theatre and The Curtain. In 1598, Burbage moved to Bankside and built the Globe Theatre, in which Shakespeare owned stock. In 1603, Shakespeare's theatrical company was patronised by James I, and became known as the King's Men. In 1608, the company acquired the Blackfriars Theatre which they used as a winter house until the closure of the theatres in 1642.