Edward Gordon Craig letters to Virginia Surtees
Overview
Letters from English artist, stage designer and author Edward Gordon Craig to Virginia Surtees.
Dates
- Creation: 1947-1966
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Formerly restricted until the death of Edward Gordon Craig.
Extent
1.5 linear feet (3 boxes)Consists of 312 letters, 1947-1960, from Craig to Virginia Surtees Ashley Clarke. The correspondence chiefly concerns the scheduling of informal meetings and dinners with Mr. and Mrs. Ashley Clarke. The letters often describe Craig's experiences at the Lyceum Theatre and include theatrical commentary. The collection also describes his creation of woodcuts for The Masque of Love and other plays. The letters also outline an exchange of books and reviews of various booksellers throughout the United Kingdom. Approximately 30 letters include small cartoon-like sketches. Craig outlines his personal experiences in the hotels and restaurants that he spent time in throughout his travels on the Continent. The collection also outlines the progress of Craig's Memoirs as well as the possible sale of his collection to either Harvard or the Victoria & Albert Museum. Craig's correspondence also present information about his relationship with his daughter Daphne Woodward (also known as 'Two-two').
Biographical / Historical
Craig was an English artist, stage designer, and author.
Virginia Surtees Ashley Clarke (1917-2017) was an English art historian and author of biographies, including of art critic John Ruskin and his friendship with Pauline, Lady Trevelyan. Virginia Surtees was successively married to and divorced from Henry Ashley Clarke and David Craig.
Arrangement
Organized into the following two series:
- bMS Eng 1172
- bMS Eng 1172.1
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Location
b
Immediate Source of Acquisition
62M-68 and 69M-33. Purchased with the Amy Lowell and other funds from Virginia B. Surtees, 6 Palace Gate London, W. 8; received: 1962 Nov.; and Gift of 1969 Sept. 26.
- Title
- Craig, Edward Gordon, 1872-1966. Edward Gordon Craig letters to Virginia Surtees, 1947-1966 (MS Eng 1172-1172.1) : Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou00806
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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