Edward Gordon Craig: The Last Eight Years 1958 - 1966

There were 345 copies printed, 90 of which were not for sale. This is one of 65 copies printed for Edward Craig (1905 - 1998), the son of Edward Gordon Craig, and is signed by him. Edward Craig, known as Teddy, also inscribed the book on the free front endpaper, "For Jake [last name unclear] with love. Teddy." Edward Gordon Craig (1872 - 1966) was a noted English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings. Craig was the illegitimate son of famed actress Ellen Terry and architect Edward Godwin. In 1948 when he was 76, he moved to the South of France, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1958 his daughter Ellen (1904 - 1975), known as Nelly, went to take care of him. She wrote several letters to her brother Edward in England. The selection of letters in this volume give a clear, moving, and at times funny account of Craig's last years, and how towards the end he battled with old age. The book ends with an "appendix" that Nelly wrote after her father's death, when she herself was bedridden. It is an alphabetical list with comments of people, places, events, and objects that played an important part in Craig's life. Bound in Whittington blue and cream paper with brownish-gray cloth spine. Paper title label on spine. Printed on Zerkall Silurian paper in Monotype Caslon type. With a frontispiece reproduction of a portrait of Nelly Craig as a child, two engravings by John Craig, and two by Edward Gordon Craig. A pocket on the rear pastedown holds a publication announcement by the Whittington Press, a photo assumedly of Nelly in her later years, and a facsimile of two pages from one of Nelly's letters. A handsome copy of this first-hand account of Craig's final years in fine condition. Measures 6.5 x 10 inches. 49 pages. PRI/102523.…