Wednesday, September 26, 2018

374. A Commercial Back-Drop

Last week's blog about the historian Huizinga displayed one of the back-drops Ricketts designed for Shaw's play Saint Joan.

Charles Ricketts, Drop-curtain for Saint Joan (1924)
Internet images are prone to commercialization, and Ricketts's designs are no exceptions. Earlier I showed some examples of mugs

The Shaw back-drop can be ordered as a 'canvas', suggesting that some sort of painting will adorn the prospective buyer's wall. 

'Stretched canvas print' based on Ricketts's design for Saint Joan

The price is quite surprising for a print size of 13 by 10 inches: $95.99. Every free image on the internet can be ordered as a print for a price like this. One could, of course, download the image for free. Even a copy of the book that includes the original reproduction - and fifteen other plates - can be had for less. Saint Joan. A Chronicle Play in Six Scenes and An Epilogue doesn't have to cost more than $90,00.