CHARLES TEMPLETON CROCKER (1884-1948) JOSEPH DEIGHN REDDING (1859-1932) HUBERT JULIAN ‘JAY’ STOWITTS (1892-1953) THE WORK OF STOWITTS FOR FAY-YEN-FAH OPERA IN THREE ACTS LIMITED EDITION, PARIS 1928. 1 VOLUME. IN ENGLISH.

Paris, M. and J. de Brunoff, 1928. Fay Yen Fah, opera in three acts, libretto by Charles Templeton Crocker, music by Joseph Redding. 1 volume, unpaginated, cardboard slipcase, cover with flaps, colour plates (including full-page plates) based on paintings by Hubert Julian ‘Jay’ Stowitts, engraved by Demichel-Ploquin, Ruckert and Acriter, numerous vignettes and text in three colours Edition of 400 numbered copies, this one no. 122. Box worn, cover and spine showing signs of wear, rubbing, small losses and tears. Plates remain in good condition. Inspired by an ancient Chinese legend, the work was conceived by Charles Templeton Crocker in collaboration with the Californian composer Joseph Redding. After the First World War, Crocker travelled to Paris to assemble an artistic team. There he met Hubert Julian 'Jay' Stowitts, a former dancer who had become a painter. Sharing Crocker’s taste for Orientalism, Stowitts was tasked with conducting iconographic research to ensure the authenticity of the costumes and sets. Between 1925 and 1926, Stowitts studied the art of the Wei, Tang and Song dynasties in London and Paris, particularly the murals depicting rulers, processions and court scenes. This meticulous research enabled him to accurately reconstruct the dress codes and figurative traditions of ancient China. The opera Fay Yen Fah was first performed in 1925 in Monte Carlo and was the first entirely American opera produced in Europe. In January 1926, Gaetano Merola staged its American premiere in San Francisco. The work was revived in Monte Carlo in 1932, and again in 2009 in a performance featuring period costumes.