Fond of Printing: Gordon Craig as Typographer & Illustrator

by Colin Franklin, Edward Carrick (Foreword), Edward Gordon Craig (Contributor)

First edition, one of 400 copies printed by Hurtwood. Illustrated. Spine faded. 89, 3 pages. stiff paper wrappers.. tall 12mo..

92 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Marc Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Gordon Craig's history begins in the late 1890's and lasted until the mid 1960's. Amongst bibliophiles he is best known for his art, particularly the artwork he did for the Cranach Presse edition of Hamlet, published in a limited edition of 300 copies. It is one of the finest private press books of the twentieth century or possibly any century for that matter. And very rare. As I write this, there is only one seller on AbeBooks asking a not unreasonable (for this book and condition), $21, 500.00. Don't own that one for sure. But the pictures are striking (the British Library has digitized some of them and to look is free). But Craig was more than just an artist (or more accurate, graphic designer), he was an actor, director, set designer and author. He published three different magazines dealing with the stage and design as well as typography. He designed all of them as well as some of his books. He was a publisher of some of them as well. Quite a resume. His work in the creation of the items he had printed is the heart of this book and it is an interesting look at one of the early twentieth century's iconic designers of books and stage. Well worth your time. This book, while a limited edition, was printed in a large enough print run (500 copies for The Typophiles, 450 copies for the Book Club of California, both hardbound editions and 400 paperbacks to be sold in England), so that it is very reasonable on the secondary market. If interested in the subject matter, highly recommended.