CRAIG, EDWARD GORDON. (1872-1966). Influential British theater director, theorist and innovative stage lighting and set designer. ALS. (“Gordon Craig”). 2pp. 8vo. N.p., N.d. To Mr. Frost.

“You possibly know Nietzsche & his protest against Wagner, against Wagner’s appeal to the ‘artificial’ in the public, his (N’s) detestation of the false art of the stage player as opposed to the genuineness of art. Perhaps you do not know how vast is the accumulation of vulgarity & artificiality in the theatre.

To be of ultimate benefit to ones art – profession – work (what word you choose) it is necessary to search – to experiment.

I despise experimenting on the dog - & therefore will not experiment on the public. I do the work I have thoroughly tested before the public.

My experiments are made in my theatres in Florence not before the public.

Hence marionettes about which you ask… & many other charming things halfmade – untested as yet – but slowly emerging. I am able to devote half my time to such work – the other half to giving to the modern stage things for today – immediate needs.

Have I made it clear to you. Do you know of a journal called The Mask – I send you a prospectus…”

Craig grew up in the theater as the illegitimate son of prominent English actress Ellen Terry, a member of Henry Irving’s company. After working as an actor himself at Irving’s theater, he studied art and theater design before mounting stark, symbolist productions of plays by Henrik Ibsen and operas by Handel and Purcell. However, his minimalist stage designs were met with little success prompting him to relocate to Germany in 1904, where he authored his influential theoretical essay The Art of the Theatre. After his lover, dancer Isadora Duncan, introduced him to Konstantin Stanislavski, the pair produced the Moscow Art Theater’s Hamlet from 1911-1912, a pivotal event in modern theater history. Craig established the Arena Goldoni school for theater design in Florence with the assistance of a wealthy British patron, and it is likely that the experimentation he conducted there is what he refers to in our letter. Known for his difficult personality, Craig was especially disliked for asserting that the director was the most important artistic figure of the theater and that actors were merely “marionettes.” Craig was also deeply interested in puppets, authoring a cycle of plays for their use entitled, Drama for Fools, as well as publishing a magazine entitled The Marionette. His influence on the theater is still felt today, including innovations in stage lighting and mise en scène.

Our interesting letter, which offers insights into Craig’s artistic views, shows the influence of the writings of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) who had a difficult, at times contentious, relationship with the composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883). “The Mask” was Gordon Craig’s magazine about the theatre, which he published from 1908-1921, producing a total of 87 issues.

Darkly written on the first and fourth pages of a folded sheet. Some light, uneven age toning and folding. otherwise in fine condition. Content letters by Craig are uncommon.