Theatre Design & Technology - Dec 1971 - 34

amples of banners made by Norman Laliberte, a section on design and letter details, and a chapter on banners by contemporary artists. The brevity of the treatment
of actual banner making limits the book to
the category of a pictorial survey.
Block Printing on Textiles by Janet
Erickson makes good use of illustrations
to demonstrate the methods and uses of
block printing. This book is divided into
five chapters, the first few devoted to an
explanation of linoleum cutting; an analysis of the basic materials, tools, and their
uses; and instructions on assembling a
block printing kit. Attention is then focused
on planning and creating a design, cutting

Shakespearean Costume
Francis M. Kelly. Revised by Alan D.
Mansfield. Theatre Arts Books. New York,
1970,123 pp. $8.75.
This newly revised costume classic has
just enough detail to whet the interest of
"the busy producer, director and designer"
for whom it was intended. Men's and
women's garments appropriate for production of Elizabethan scripts are defined
clearly, but not exhaustively. Shoes, hair
styles, farthingales, beards, undergarments,
ruffs, headgear, armor, and colors favored
during the late sixteenth century are discussed. Chapters on using historic costume
on the stage and references to traditional
costume practices in Shakespearean productions scattered throughout make the
book particularly engaging for the general
reader.
Occasional pieces of information interest
the costume specialist, as well. For example, this is the first book to explain the
meaning of the term "Colley-weston ward,"
which is the way of wearing a mandillion
over the shoulder with one sleeve hanging
in front and the other behind. Kelly identifies the phrase as "a Cheshire expression
for anything gone wrong."
The book is admirable in the economy of
its format and in the quality of its black and
white reproductions of primary sources of
Elizabethan costume. The text is further
illustrated by neat line drawings. A fairly
extensive bibliography of sources for further
study wisely includes iconography as well
as books.
Kelly proposes a realistic approach to
costuming Shakespeare's plays. Histories
should be dressed according to the time
the action takes place. Comedies and Tragedies should be costumed in sixteenthcentury fashions. King Lear, Macbeth, and
the more fanciful comedies might be dressed
in earlier epochs or according to artistic

the design, preparing the block for printing,
selecting and preparing fabrics, and printing by hand or mechanical press. From the
material presented in this section, one gains
a clear idea of how to design and print
draperies and wall hangings. The second
half of the book is devoted to special projects, block printing for children, and historical textile prints. Extremely helpful charts
are included on fibers and fabrics, their
qualities, and typical uses of textile printing.
Thus, this well-organized book is a thorough
presentation of the use of block printing on
textiles.
William E. Deahl. Jr.
Nebraska Wesleyan University

styles. Generally, his suggestions are brief.
Some are useful and illuminating, but others
range far from the design problems of the
play. For example, his idea of putting Viola
in an "all-black costume of satin or velvet,
modestly trimmed" is curiously inappropriate.
Most provocative is Kelly's point of view
that accurate reproduction of historic costume is to be desired for stage use. He
writes: "We are not so foolish as to demand literal authenticity; what we do insist
upon is that what is exhibited should seem
genuine." However, a significant change in
the use of archaeological detail during the
past fifty years must be acknowledged.
Psychological, symbolic, and purely decorative values have often been more evident
in theatrical costuming than realistic connotations or apparent "genuineness." A thorough knowledge of historic fashion is important to the costume designer, but departures from archaeologically correct designing have taken place. Many attitudes in this
book about employing accurate detail on
stage are, therefore, anachronistic and out
of the main stream of contemporary design
of Shakespearean costume.
Both Kelly and Mansfield have notable
reputations as costume historians. Kelly's
articles on Shakespearean costume in The
Burlington Magazine in 1916-1917 and
his books on the history of costume and armor are scholarly and well documented.
Major Mansfield, a member of The Costume
Society in London, has co-authored two
highly specialized costume books recently.
His revision of Kelly's long unavailable
1938 edition is to the reader's advantage.
The decision to forego scholarly citation
is regrettable knowing the expertise of the
authors. Indentation of certain paragraphs
with no apparent reason or indication of
sources causes confusion. However, these
are minor faults in an otherwise informative
and remarkably inexpensive costume book.
Don Stowell, Jr.
Florida State University

~ THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

DECEMBER, 1971

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