Not currently on display at the V&A

Print Collection

Print
1930 (printed)
Artist/Maker

Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), son of the architect Edward Godwin and the actress Ellen Terry, began his career as an actor at the Lyceum Theatre, where he appeared with Ellen Terry, and was hailed as one of the country's most promising young actors. He discovered his talent for woodcutting and engraving when introduced to it by the artists James Pryde and William Nicholson. He produced his first wood engraving in 1893, and by 1899 he had engraved nearly 200 blocks, specialising in the new technique of 'white line' wood engravings in which the lines are un-inked and the image emerges from the surrounding ink.

This is one of several engravings Craig made in preparation for his 1912 production of Hamlet at the Moscow Art Theatre. It was used in the 1928 German arts press edition of Hamlet, printed by Count Harry Kessler's Cranach Press in Weimar. With typefont designed by Edward Johnston, the book consisted of Gerhart Hauptman's translation of the second quarto of Shakespeare's play. An English version was printed in 1930. Craig worked on the illustrations for over a period of 17 years, developing his designs from his 1912 production.

Craig continued wood engraving but after 1900 developed a career as a stage designer and director with revolutionary ideas of staging and lighting. He broke with accepted traditions of stage realism and moved towards minimalist staging with innovative lighting, although many of his projects were abandoned due to his inability to compromise.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePrint Collection (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Wood-engraving on Japon paper
Brief description
Illustration possibly to the Cranach Press Edition of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', published 1930. Wood-engraving by Edward Gordon Craig on Japon paper. Dated 1930 in pencil and initialled and dated EGC, 1938. Wood engraving on silk. Bequest of Janet Leeper.
Physical description
Illustration possibly to the Cranach Press Edition of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', published 1930. Wood-engraving by Edward Gordon Craig on Japon paper. Dated 1930 in pencil and initialled and dated EGC, 1938. Wood engraving on silk. Bequest of Janet Leeper.
Marks and inscriptions
  • '1930' inscribed in pencil (Below the image, left)
  • 'ECG 1946' inscribed in pencil (Mondogram of Edward Gordon Craig, below the image, right.)
  • Bought in Paris from Craig at 85 Rue Ampère (17e) in 1946 & signed then - a 2-colour print from the Cranach Press Hamlet. Shown at V&A Memorial Exhibition in November 1967 & returned to me in April 1968. Janet Leeper' (Inscribed in pencil on parcel tape originally on the back of a frame.)
  • 'Now could I do it pat' from Cranach Press Hamlet by Gordon Craig Property of Mrs. J. Leeper 30 Bramham Gardens SW5.'' (Inscribed in pencil on parcel tape originally on the back of a frame.)
  • '3rd State' (Inscribed in pencil)
  • 'Only 12 copies printed. Copy no.2' (Printed in blue ink, with the exception of the numbers 12 and 2 which are inscribed in pencil.)
  • 37F (Inscribed in pencil)
Credit line
Bequest of Janet Leeper
Object history
Having agreed to produce Hamlet for Constantin Stanislavsky as the Moscow Art Theatre, Craig worked in Russia from 1908 until the opening of the production on 8 January 1912. He spent much of the winter and spring in the city, working on the settings and costumes as well as the direction of the play.
Subjects depicted
Literary reference<i>Hamlet</i>
Summary
Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), son of the architect Edward Godwin and the actress Ellen Terry, began his career as an actor at the Lyceum Theatre, where he appeared with Ellen Terry, and was hailed as one of the country's most promising young actors. He discovered his talent for woodcutting and engraving when introduced to it by the artists James Pryde and William Nicholson. He produced his first wood engraving in 1893, and by 1899 he had engraved nearly 200 blocks, specialising in the new technique of 'white line' wood engravings in which the lines are un-inked and the image emerges from the surrounding ink.

This is one of several engravings Craig made in preparation for his 1912 production of Hamlet at the Moscow Art Theatre. It was used in the 1928 German arts press edition of Hamlet, printed by Count Harry Kessler's Cranach Press in Weimar. With typefont designed by Edward Johnston, the book consisted of Gerhart Hauptman's translation of the second quarto of Shakespeare's play. An English version was printed in 1930. Craig worked on the illustrations for over a period of 17 years, developing his designs from his 1912 production.

Craig continued wood engraving but after 1900 developed a career as a stage designer and director with revolutionary ideas of staging and lighting. He broke with accepted traditions of stage realism and moved towards minimalist staging with innovative lighting, although many of his projects were abandoned due to his inability to compromise.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
S.228-1980

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Record createdJanuary 29, 2020
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