Title:  Henry Irving
Author:  by Edward Gordon Craig
 
SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR (with pencil).  "To my good friend Dr. Fischel, from Gordon Craig with his very best greetings".   
What makes this book even more special is that it includes an inlaid letter in the back with a Lyceum Theatre letterhead (Irving's theater), which was presumably written earlier by Henry Irving (based on the handwriting) along with a typed version of the same letter.   (Henry Irving was in close relation to the author.  Irving died in 1905, so the letter had to be either part of the author's own library and given to Dr. Fischel at the time (or after) the publication of his book, or the letter was part of Dr. Fischel's library.  The book was published in 1930).  
 
PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY AND PLEASE SEE PICTURES ABOVE. ALSO, NOTE THAT COLORS MIGHT DIFFER ON ANY COMPUTER / PHONE. THANK YOU! 
 
First Edition
Published by J.M. Dent and Sons, 1930  
 
Format: Hardcover
Book condition:  Near Fine (Good).  Signed with a gift inscription from the author to Dr. FIschel.  
Inside cover:  Small inscription in the top corner (unknown origin) and a small paste-in, personal Ex-Libris plate.   The book contains a number of photographic plates and illustrations.  Pages are evenly age-toned.  Some light scattered foxing, cloth with some marks, extremities lightly rubbed, a little worn.   Mild cracking between some of the pages.   
Cover:  Near Fine (Good).  Black cloth, embossed with Henry Irving's initials.  Wear to cover. Cover is lightlt rubbed. Front cover has a darker patch of color, that seem to be a repair.     
Dust jacket:  Protective, clear acetate jacket.   
 
 
Ellen Terry's* son Teddy, later known as Edward Gordon Craig*, spent much of his childhood (from 1879, when he was 8, until 1897) indulged by Irving backstage, at the Lyceum. Craig, who came to be regarded as something of a visionary for the theatre of the future, wrote this especially vivid, book-length tribute to Irving. ("Let me state at once, in clearest unmistakable terms, that I have never known of, or seen, or heard, a greater actor than was Irving.")  George Bernard Shaw, at the time a theatre critic who was jealous of Irving's connection to Ellen Terry (whom Shaw himself wanted in his own plays), conceded Irving's genius after Irving died.   
 
*Ellen Terry was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 
 
Publisher: J.M Dent and Sons, 1930 
 
 
Thank you!