2 b or not 2 b? 26Winfield26 is really the Bard himself.
We have several of Shakespeare's signatures, and none of them is spelled "Shakespeare". In the 1600s, people really hated writing stuff out in full, so they used contractions all the time - even in formal legal contracts, and even in their own names. One of his signatures is spelled "
Willm Shakp". Willm Shakp was how he signed a deposition in a lawsuit heard at Westminster. His own damn will and testament has three signatures, and in each his name is abbreviated in a different way!