Original Book Plates Ellen Terry, Edith Craig, and Edward Gordon Craig Theater

Description

Three original book plates / bookplates designed by
Edward Gordon Craig
for his mother
Ellen Terry
and his sister
Edith Crai
g.
Ellen Terry was a noted English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Her daughter Edith Craig was a prolific theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage movement in England. Edward Henry Gordon Craig CH OBE, sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings.
The large Ellen Terry book plate measures 7" x 4.5" and is printed in black, yellow, green, and pink/red.
It is in perfect condtion.
The medium Edy book plate measures 4.5" by 4.5" and has a tiny bit of edgewear, since it was printed in black on more brittle paper.
The smallest EC book plate measures 2.5" x 2.5" and is in very good condition.
On the back of the medium book plate is the following, written in light pencil:
"Book plates for Ellen Terry, Edith Craig (Edy) by Edward Gordon Craig.
(From
Sally Fairchild to D. McK
.)"
Info on
Sally Fairchild
:
1869 - 1960; never married; parents: Charles Fairchild, Elizabeth "Lilly" Nelson; lived in Boston
Her father was a wealthy stockbroker and banker and her parents were frequent hosts of prominent artists and writers. She never married and often lived with her younger brother, Gordon: at St Paul’s School where he ran the Upper School; in the Philippines; in Japan; and, when he returned to Boston around 1930, at his house at 391 Beacon St., Boston. After he died at sea in 1932 she moved to 241 Beacon St.
She made quite an impression on some very famous people of that era. There are descriptions of her by George Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, George Santayana, the Fabian leader Beatrice Webb, and the Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry. Shaw took several photographs of her and corresponded with her for many years. She also gave a young Ethel Barrymore a letter of introduction to Shaw. Here is a description from Gertrude Kittredge Eaton, in her Reminiscences Of St. Paul's School: "Mrs. Fairchild had at one time what might be called a salon, in Boston. She knew all the interesting people of the day. She was one of the first to appreciate Walt Whitman.
John Singer Sargent
was a great friend, and painted many pictures of Sally, who had lovely red hair. Red hair fascinated Sargent. She was an early admirer of Robert Louis Stevenson. When her husband went abroad one year, she told him to look up young Stevenson and have Sargent paint his portrait, which he did.
Info on D. McK --
David McKibbin
was the Director of the Boston Athenaeum, and established the
John Singer Sargent Collection
there.
These bookplates were given to a former member of the Boston Athenaeum staff by Mr. McKibbin.
A wonderful original book plate group with connections to the theater, the literary, and the art world.