1947 "Ballet" Dance Book of Photograhs - Sadler's Wells Ballet Company – First Edition

Books : Dance : Ballet : Royal Ballet : Photograhy : History : Gordon Anthony : Sadler Wells : Margot Fonteyn : Ballerina

 

This is a very rare exceptional vintage “1947” first edition photographic book. “Studies Of The Sadler's Wells Ballet Company” is known today as the Birmingham Royal Ballet. It is a British ballet company and one of the leading classical ballet companies in the United Kingdom. This book contains 64 magnificent full page black & white photographic plates of members of the corps de ballet at Sadler's Wells ( photos scanned with some wavy lines and grainy texture - that is not in the photo). Photography and Foreword by Gordon Anthony, He was one of the period's great ballet photographers. He personally knew most of the dancers in this book since childhood Published by ome and Van Thal, 1947, London, 1947. Each plate lists the ballet, dancer and plate number.

The foreword reads, “This book, will also I hope, give pleasure to others because it is a book of photographs, not only of two or three leading and danseurs of the Company, but includes the soloists, character and demi character dancers who are the backbone of every company. The parts taken by such artists are far from easy to play, needing good mime, musicality, presence and a “sense of theatre” to keep them alive, at the same time well within the framework of the ballet itself”.

Some of the Ballets featured include: Sleeping Beauty, Carnaval, Giselle, Adam Zero, Miricale in the Gorbals, Rake’s Progress, the Masque of the Fairy Queen and more. Dancers include Margot Fonteyn, Frederick Ashton, Jean Bedells, Pauline Clayden, Margaret Dale, David Davenport, Leslie Edwards, Richard Ellis, Julia Farron, Beryl Grey, John Hart, Robert Helpmann, Gerd Larsen, Gillian Lynne, Pamela May, Lorna Mossford, Avril Navarre, Anne Negus, Palma Nye, David Paltenghi, Violetta Prokohorova, Alexis Rassine, Moira Shearer, Joan Sheldon, Michael Somes, Norman Thompson, Harold Turner, Peter Franklin White, and Alexander Grant.

It is a large hardcover book with grey, green cloth textured cover and gold gilt titles. It measures 12" by 10". It is in very good vintage condition. The cover titles are bright and cover is in very nice shape overall (could not capture the true color of the cover, it looks much grainer in the photo and the color is a little different), the spine has some fraying and fading and bumped corners. The pages are in nice shape; photographic plates are bright and clean, light yellowing from age around the edges and at the spine. The most wear is on the front blank endpaper, general wear and someone had pasted a photo and paper that was then torn off to have the corner remains and the photo is still there. There is a small bookplate that came from a dance bookshop in New York City. The endpapers are yellowed and there is a little pencil writing on the top. On a few pages are light small impressions that look like fingernails leaving a mark.

Item ID: BK758