First edition, no. 12 of 25 specially bound copies printed on hand-made paper and with two additional colour-printed plates. Edited on behalf of the wealthy patron Rupert Mason by the scenographer and costume-designer Sheringham and the artist and scenographer Morrison, The Robes of Thespis is a lavishly illustrated volume which collects costume designs by both established and young British costume-designers. The book is divided into nine sections comprising essays by a number of authors with complementary drawings collected at the end of each section, comprising: ‘Fantasy in Costume’ (Max Beerbohm); ‘Historic or “Period” Costume’ (Francis M. Kelly); ‘Irish Dramatic Costume’ (Lennox Robinson, Gerald Macnamara, and Samuel Leighton); ‘Costume’ (Sir Barry V. Jackson); ‘Costume at The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith’ (Nigel Playfair, Amelia Defries, and Maria Pitt-Chatham); ‘Revue’ (Charles B. Cochran); ‘Costume in Opera’ (Marguerite d’Alvarez); ‘Costume for Ballet’ (Cyril W. Beaumont, James Laver, and Edith Carlyon); and ‘The Artist in the Dressing Room’ (Horace Shipp). ¶¶

The older artists who contributed to The Robes of Thespis were some of the best-known British designers and artists of the era – the cover design is by Edward Gordon Craig, internationally recognised as one of the pre-eminent scenographers and costume designers of the early twentieth century – and some of their drawings were commissioned for the book by Mason. In his preface Mason explains that he wishes to use the volume and the proceeds from its sale to promote the careers of a new generation of young, unknown costume designers. ¶¶

The Robes of Thespis was generally well received at the time of publication, and one reviewer wrote that it was a book of ‘fine format, excellent essays, and perfect plates’ and concluded that ‘[m]uch applause is due to Mr. Rupert Mason. There can be nothing but praise for the volume of his fashioning and for the philanthropy that brought it into beautiful being’ (The Illustrated London News, 14 January 1928, p. 46). It remains an important and useful reference both for the artists and the theatre of the era, and Kesler praises the ‘excellent color reproductions of the costume designs for varying genres during the first quarter of the twentieth century [...]’ and commends it as a ‘good source’. ¶¶

The Robes of Thespis was published in both a trade edition at £8 8s. and a specially bound edition limited to only 25 copies (the present copy), which was printed on hand-made paper and includes two additional colour-printed plates which are not present in the trade edition: Prince Nicholas Galitzine’s ‘A Ballet Scene in Revue’ and ‘A Babylonian Oasis’ (plates 110 and 111, respectively). This copy is from the library of David Summers, who was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. Summers was commissioned into the Life Guards in 1937 and was mentioned in dispatches for his service during World War II, leaving the army with the rank of major; he was later appointed a Justice of the Peace for Gloucestershire and was High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1964. ¶¶

B.M. Baker, Dramatic Bibliography, p. 119; J. Cavanagh, British Theatre. A Bibliography 1901 to 1985, 525 (limited edition with 111 plates); I.K. Fletcher and A. Rood, Edward Gordon Craig: A Bibliography, C23(a) (trade edition with 109 plates); H. and M. Hiler, Bibliography of Costume, p. 575 (trade edition with 109 plates); J. Kesler, Theatrical Costume: A Guide to Information Sources, 128; J.G. Riewald, Sir Max Beerbohm, 429. ¶¶¶

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