Edward Gordon Craig proofs for the Cranach Presse edition of Shakespeare's Hamlet
Overview
Proofs for the illustrations by Edward Gordon Craig for the Cranach Presse editions of Hamlet, published both in English and in German, and also additional materials concerning this publication.
Dates
- Creation: 1911-1930
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Access to originals is restricted; contact the Curator of Printing & Graphic Arts.
Extent
1 linear foot (1 box and 1 portfolio box)The collection consists of proofs and other material concerning the illustrations by Edward Gordon Craig for the Cranach Presse editions of Hamlet, published both in English and in German.
The descriptions for the proofs in series I, provide the page number for each image and refer to the English edition. The titles to the individual images, given in italics, are derived from the list given in The Book as a Work of Art: The Cranach Press of Count Harry Kessler (2005), pp. 328-329. The proofs are grouped by the page(s) on which they occur, with multiple blocks and states of the same image placed in the same folder. The complex foldering and subfoldering system inherited with the archive has been preserved, together with the original folders, as these carry notes, both in Craig's hand and in the hands of others, identifying blocks and states, dates of printing, the number of copies, and the disposition of copies over time.
Series II, additional material, includes: unused block impressions, prospectuses for the English edition, an Emery Walter letter to EGC and sample woodcut, galley proofs for the German edition (1927), and lists of blocks.
Biographical / Historical
Edward Gordon Craig (1872–1966) was an English actor, theatre director, designer, wood engraver, critic, publisher and self taught artist. He wrote many books on the theatre, produced over 500 wood engravings, and designed for theatre throughout Europe and in Moscow.
Arrangement
Arranged in two series:
- I. Proofs
- II. Additional material
Physical Location
b, pf
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2002H-103pf. Purchased with the Philip Hofer Trust fund and the Bayard Livingston and Kate Gray Kilgour Fund; received: 2002 October 23.
Processing Information
Processed by: Caroline Duroselle-Melish
- Title
- Craig, Edward Gordon, 1872-1966. Edward Gordon Craig proofs for the Cranach Presse edition of Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1911-1930: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou01927
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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