The Book of Penny Toys (1899): an early work by Edward Gordon Craig

One of the most surprising and important objects in the history of modern theatre is not a stage set or costume, but a small and fragile book. Gordon Craig’s Book of Penny Toys (1899), numbered 140 of 550 in the original hand-coloured limited edition, sits at the intersection of illustration, object-making and stage theory. Though modest in scale, it offers deep insight into how artists at the turn of the twentieth century were rethinking movement, mechanics, and the role of the performer.

The short video below shows my exact copy which my family and I have enjoyed over the years but now is ready for someone else to enjoy. You can see it's hand-coloured plates, construction, and condition - and it gives a clearer sense of why this seemingly playful book is now recognised as an important document in the development of modern theatre design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmsCw_tgPnQ

Why is this work so significant to theatre design?

Edward Gordon Craig’s Book of Penny Toys was published at the Sign of the Rose, Hammersmith, in 1899 as a hand-coloured limited edition. At first glance it appears to be a whimsical artist’s book depicting simple mechanical toys: ducks, crushers, figures and basic machines. Examined more closely, it becomes clear that the book functions as a satirical commentary on mass manufacture, a study in motion and balance, and a conceptual sketchbook that anticipates Craig’s later theatrical ideas - particularly his theories about simplified movement and the actor as an almost mechanical figure, encapsulated in his concept of the über-marionette.

What also makes this edition compelling is the way the book operates simultaneously as form and argument. Each plate is hand-coloured and intentionally primitive: the toys are schematic, deliberately mechanical, and often slightly eccentric. This aesthetic is not nostalgic, it is purposeful. Craig used these simplified forms to think through rhythm, silhouette, and economy of movement.

In this sense, the toys function as experimental models - small, controlled environments in which ideas about performance could be tested visually. The book becomes a laboratory for thinking, where abstraction and repetition stand in for bodies on a stage.

Craig, theatre design and the Arts & Crafts movement

Craig is often discussed in relation to Symbolist theatre and the Arts & Crafts movement, where visual integrity, craftsmanship, and resistance to industrial uniformity were central concerns. As the son of Ellen Terry, one of the most famous British stage actresses of the Victorian era, and as a figure closely associated with William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and the late Pre-Raphaelite circle, Craig moved fluently between book arts and stage work.

The Book of Penny Toys sits squarely within this cross-disciplinary moment. It is an Arts & Crafts object in its material execution, yet it also reads as an early expression of modern stage theory - a book that thinks like a performance.

Craig later grew frustrated with the finished book and personally destroyed or discarded a significant portion of these copies as it proved to be too laborious for each copy to be hand coloured. Although 500 copies were printed, conservative estimates suggest that perhaps 200–250 copies survive; only 100 of which are hand-coloured - making intact examples both museum-grade and genuinely scarce.

Conclusion

Edward Gordon Craig’s The Book of Penny Toys (1899) is a small but revealing work by one of the most influential figures in modern theatre and design. Published as a hand-coloured limited edition, the book uses simplified mechanical toys to explore movement, abstraction, and control. More than a whimsical artist’s book, it offers insight into Craig’s early creative process and the way he tested ideas through making, repetition, and selective abandonment.

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