Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), 'Bird Dancer', black figure...

Hammer

£220

Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), 'Bird Dancer', black figure woodcut, circa 1927, on Japanese laid paper, signed in monogram initials in pencil by Craig, approx size 36 x 24.5cm, loosely corner mounted in folding card mount, with original black cloth slipcase. Craig's greatest achievement in book illustration, these ‘black figures’ originated as wooden cutouts, carried around in Craig’s pocket and used on a model stage to direct the Russian actors of Stanislavski’s troupe as to how the action of Hamlet should unfold. Only later were the Hamlet figures inked and printed, and with others especially cut, published in the Cranach edition of the play in 1927, one of the finest Private Press books of the 20th Century