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Doctor Faust: A Play Based Upon Old German Puppet Versions
Caxton Club, 1953 — Limited Edition of 350 Copies
Victor Hammer Design — Fritz Kredel Woodcuts — Bound by Elizabeth Kner
A distinguished mid-century fine press edition of the Faust legend, published by The Caxton Club of Chicago in 1953 in a limited edition of 350 copies, with woodcuts by Fritz Kredel, layout by Victor Hammer, presswork by Jacob Hammer, and binding by Elizabeth Kner. The text was adapted by Harry F. Owens from early German puppet-play versions of the Faust story.
This is a compact but highly accomplished Caxton Club production, bringing together several important figures in twentieth-century book arts. It has strong appeal for collectors of fine press books, Victor Hammer typography, Fritz Kredel illustration, Caxton Club publications, and Faust-related literature.
A Fine Press Faust
The Faust legend has long attracted printers, illustrators, and book designers, and this edition is especially well matched to the subject.
Rather than presenting Goethe’s familiar literary version, this volume returns to the older German puppet-play tradition, preserving something of the theatrical, folkloric, moral, and supernatural atmosphere of the Faust story before its later canonical forms.
The result is a visually striking and historically interesting version of Doctor Faust, with Kredel’s woodcuts giving the book a bold, archaic, dramatic quality.
Victor Hammer Design
The book was laid out by Victor Hammer, one of the significant typographers, calligraphers, and private press figures of the twentieth century.
Hammer’s design gives the volume a deliberate old-German typographic character, appropriate to the puppet-play source material and the Faust legend itself. The page design is restrained but forceful, giving the book a strong sense of period, theater, and moral drama.
Presswork was done by Jacob Hammer, further strengthening the book’s connection to the Hammer circle.
Fritz Kredel Woodcuts
Illustrated throughout with woodcuts by Fritz Kredel, whose graphic style is especially effective here.
Kredel’s woodcuts suit the Faustian world of temptation, magic, theatricality, and danger. They provide a strong visual counterpoint to Hammer’s typography and are one of the main attractions of the edition.
The impressions in this copy are clean and strong.
Binding by Elizabeth Kner
Bound by Elizabeth Kner in cloth-backed patterned boards.
The binding is simple but distinctive, with patterned boards that complement the dramatic and old-world character of the text. Kner’s binding gives the book an appropriate fine press finish without overwhelming the typography or illustrations.
Bibliographic Details
Title: Doctor Faust: A Play Based Upon Old German Puppet Versions
Adapted by: Harry F. Owens
Publisher: The Caxton Club
Place: Chicago
Date: 1953
Limitation: Limited edition of 350 copies
Illustrator: Fritz Kredel
Layout: Victor Hammer
Presswork: Jacob Hammer
Binding: Elizabeth Kner
Format: Octavo
Pagination: 72 pages / 36 leaves
Binding: Cloth-backed patterned boards
Condition
Good to Very Good overall.
A sound and collectible copy, with external wear. The patterned boards show rubbing, scuffing, and areas of surface loss, as shown in the photos. The cloth spine remains intact and functional, with normal signs of age and handling.
The interior is clean, crisp, and unmarked. The text is fresh, and the Fritz Kredel woodcuts are sharply printed and well preserved.
A pleasing copy with visible binding wear, but a very attractive interior.
Why This Copy Is Collectable
This edition brings together several desirable collecting points: Caxton Club publication, Victor Hammer design, Fritz Kredel woodcuts, Jacob Hammer presswork, Elizabeth Kner binding, and the Faust legend.
It is modest in size, but it has genuine book-arts pedigree. The combination of Hammer’s typography, Kredel’s illustrations, Caxton Club production, and Kner’s binding gives this volume far more significance than an ordinary literary reprint.
A strong addition to collections focused on:
Fine press books
American private press printing
Victor Hammer
Fritz Kredel
Caxton Club publications
Woodcut illustration
Faust / Doctor Faustus literature
Mid-century book design
Typography and book arts
A distinguished Caxton Club production and a meaningful collaboration between several important figures in twentieth-century bookmaking.
