Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11

Original Program for Nantucket Stage Production Dracula, Signed by Edward Gorey

About the Item

Original program for the Nantucket Stage Company Production of "Dracula", signed by Edward Gorey, 1973. The Nantucket Stage Company (which became the Straight Wharf Theatre, premiered this amazing production with stage sets and costume design by Edward Gorey, striking graphics by Fritz Eichenberg, and directed by John Wulp. The play featured John Shea in one of his earliest roles (best known later for starring as Lex Luther in the TV Superman series, as well as many film roles). In an interesting side note, Meryl Streep auditioned for the part of Lucy, but it had already been cast. After its successful opening on Nantucket, the production went on to it's acclaimed run on Broadway. The program contains many photographs and Gorey designs, as well as great advertisements from island businesses of the day. The program is in mint condition, hand autographed by Edward Gorey, and mounted in a carved and ebonized frame. Measures: 11 in high x 8 in wide Framed: 13-1/2 in high x 10-1/4 in wide Fritz Eichenberg was born in Cologne, Germany in 1901, where the subsequent destruction of World War I helped to shape his anti-war sentiments. He worked as a printer's apprentice, and studied at the Municipal School of Applied Arts in Cologne and the Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig, where he studied under Hugo Steiner-Prag. In 1923 he moved to Berlin to begin his career as an artist, producing illustrations for books and newspapers. In his newspaper and magazine work, Eichenberg was politically outspoken and sometimes both wrote and illustrated his own reporting. Eichenberg was a public critic of the Nazis, so the rise of Adolf Hitler convinced him to emigrate with his wife and children to the United States in 1931, where he settled in New York City for most of the remainder of his life. He taught art at the New School for Social Research and at Pratt Institute, and was part of the WPA's Federal Arts Project. He also served as the head of the art department at the University of Rhode Island and laid out the printmaking studios there. In his prolific career as a book illustrator, Eichenberg worked with many forms of literature but specialized in material with elements of extreme spiritual and emotional conflict, fantasy, or social satire. He was a long-time contributor to The Nation, and also wrote and illustrated books of folklore and children's stories. In 1947, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1949. He was a former director of Graphic Arts Center in Brooklyn and was on the faculty of Pratt Institute and later a former head of the art department at University of Rhode Island. He died at home in Peace Dale, Rhode Island on November 30, 1990 at the age of 89. Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000) was an American writer and artist noted for his illustrated books. His characteristic pen-and-ink drawings often depict vaguely unsettling narrative scenes in Victorian and Edwardian settings. His work is so iconic and part of the American psyche that surely no further biography is called for here.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)Width: 10.25 in (26.04 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Style:
    Post-Modern (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Paper,Other
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1973
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Nantucket, MA
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: AD - 254-68 WEY1stDibs: LU903922696432
More From This SellerView All
  • 19th Century Mayhew Family Tree from Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard from 1855
    Located in Nantucket, MA
    Very rare 19th century Mayhew Family tree from Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, lithograph on paper laid on linen, printed in 1855, in form of liter...
    Category

    Antique 1850s American Other Historical Memorabilia

    Materials

    Paper, Linen

  • Print of Nantucket Daydreams, by Henry S. Wyer, Nantucket, circa 1900
    Located in Nantucket, MA
    Antique Print of Nantucket Daydreams, by Henry S. Wyer, Nantucket, circa 1900, a period print depicting a gentleman in overstuffed wing chair by the hearth, a copy of Nantucket's "Inquirer and Mirror" open on lap, smoking a cigar and leaning back lost in thought: in the curls of smoke are simple sketches of many iconic Nantucket landmarks and views. Flanking the fireplace in place of tiles are a series of miniature copies of eight of H.S. Wyer's photographs. This is one of the rarest of antique Nantucket prints...
    Category

    Antique Early 1900s American Late Victorian Prints

    Materials

    Paper

  • Vintage Map of Nantucket Town by Ruth Haviland Sutton, 1946
    Located in Nantucket, MA
    Vintage Map of Nantucket Town by Ruth Haviland Sutton, 1946, a classic vintage tourist map of Nantucket Island showing historic landmarks and geogr...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s American Other Maps

    Materials

    Paper

  • Nantucket Steamship Luggage Tag, circa 1920s
    Located in Nantucket, MA
    Antique Nantucket Steamship Luggage Tag, circa 1920s, heavy stock paper or card in faded red with the printed inscription "NANTUCKET." This is the last of a stash found in an attic on Nantucket. The tag is in excellent condition, with the color delightfully faded to what is popularly known today as "Nantucket Red...
    Category

    Early 20th Century American Industrial Historical Memorabilia

    Materials

    Paper

  • Hand Colored Photograph of Nantucket Street Scene by Marshall Gardiner, Ca 1910
    Located in Nantucket, MA
    Antique Hand Colored Photograph of Nantucket Street Scene by Marshall Gardiner (1884-1942), circa 1910, a period hand tinted photograph entitled "Nantucket Shearing Cart and Quakers" showing classic grey shingled houses on a cobblestone paved street, with a couple in horse drawn cart riding away from the viewer, and four women on doorstep and sidewalk, all dressed in period Quaker attire. It is interesting to note that the couple in cart are seated on antique Nantucket Bow Back Windsor chairs. The photograph was titled and hand signed in pencil across the bottom of the old acid foxed mat; the photograph is now mounted in new archival acid free matting, and a photocopy of the original pencil inscription has been preserved on the reverse. The photograph itself remains in excellent condition. H. Marshall Gardiner (1884-1942) was born on September 18, 1884 in Windsor, Ontario, and immigrated to the United States circa 1890, where his father W.H. Gardiner opened two photographic studios, one in Detroit during the winter months and a second at Mackinac Island during the more tourist-oriented summer months. Recognizing the potential of Florida's rapidly growing tourist trade, around 1894-95 he moved with his family from Detroit to Daytona, Florida which proved much more accommodating to the family's photographic business during the colder winter months. Marshall learned many of his photographic techniques from his father prior to going out on his own at a relatively early age. Whereas his father generally used wet collodian negatives, technology had advanced to where he was able to use gelatin dry plates in his earlier years, and later the less expensive and much more convenient roll film. Another very important lesson learned from his father was strategy of setting up shop in a tourist resort. Early in his career he traveled to Bermuda where he shot a series of beautiful Bermuda scenes that he hand-colored and successfully sold over a number of years to the local tourist trade. Around 1910, at the age of around 24, he first traveled to the island of Nantucket. The year-round population of Nantucket was then just over 2500, not nearly enough to sustain a photographic business for the entire year, so he opened a joint Photography and Art Supplies Store. Working as Nantucket's exclusive agent for Eastman Kodak, his business expanded to include the island's only photo-finishing service. However, with such a small year-round population, even the addition of a Gift Shop to compliment the hand-painted photographs, general portrait...
    Category

    Early 20th Century American Other Photography

    Materials

    Paper

  • Nantucket Opera House Menu, circa 1960s to 1970s
    Located in Nantucket, MA
    Rare Vintage Menu from the Opera House Restaurant on Nantucket, circa 1960s. The beloved and fondly missed Opera House was the iconic restaurant owned and operated by Gwen Gaillard o...
    Category

    Vintage 1960s American Other Historical Memorabilia

    Materials

    Paper

You May Also Like
  • Original Blueprint for the Sailing Dingy “Burp” by John Alden
    Located in Norwell, MA
    Blueprint from John G Alden, naval architect, 131 State St, Boston. Plan is for No. 559, a class A sailing dingy named "Dunk.” Showing all hull lines in great detail. Rich blue color...
    Category

    Vintage 1930s Nautical Objects

    Materials

    Paper

  • Antique Print of Edward, Prince of Wales, by Hill, 1811
    Located in Langweer, NL
    Antique print titled 'Edward Prince of Aquitain & Wales Duke of Cornwall & Earl of Chester'. Old print of Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince. Orig...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century Prints

    Materials

    Paper

  • Original Antique Print of a Machine for Boring Pipes, ca.1760
    Located in Langweer, NL
    Antique print titled 'A machine for boring Pipes'. Print of a machine for boring pipes. This print originates from 'The Universal Magazine of Kn...
    Category

    Antique 1760s Prints

    Materials

    Paper

  • Monument of King Edward IV (..) - Basire, 1790
    Located in Langweer, NL
    Antique print titled 'Monument of King Edward IV, in St George's Chapel at Windsor'. Antique print depicting a monument with two cherubs bearing a crest...
    Category

    Antique 18th Century Prints

    Materials

    Paper

  • The Sleeping Beauty, by C. S. Evans, Signed by Arthur Rackham, Limited Edition
    Located in Colorado Springs, CO
    Evans, C.S. (editor). Rackham, Arthur (illustrator). The Sleeping Beauty. London and Philadelphia: William Heinemann & J.B. Lippincott Co., 1920. F...
    Category

    Vintage 1920s English Art Deco Books

    Materials

    Paper

  • Original Yacht Blueprint P-201-2 by John Wells
    Located in Norwell, MA
    Original blueprint of a one hundred foot yacht by John Wells Incorporated of New York. The plan is a top view showing the top deck and cabin level. The top deck shows dining saloon, pilot house...
    Category

    Vintage 1940s Nautical Objects

    Materials

    Paper

Recently Viewed

View All