[EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE]

A group of Fringe guides and leaflets

[Edinburgh], 1959–1976

Four stapled leaflets in wraps; various sizes and paginations.

An attractive group of ephemera relating to the wildly successful ‘Edinburgh Fringe’, established as an unofficial counterpart to the Edinburgh International Festival (founded in 1947).

Surviving documents from the early years of the Fringe are scarce – we can find no earlier general programme than the 1959 instalment offered here. The other documents are:

• The Fringe Brochure for 1968

• 1968 Cambridge University Theatre Company programme for Fly by Night, produced by (and featuring a text from) Clive James, with laid in sheet of notes

• The 1976 Guide to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a substantial (211 page) brochure, notable because this was the year that Alistair Moffat became Director – under Moffat’s direction, the Fringe more than doubled in size, added new venues, and became the powerhouse of performing arts that it remains today

All documents are scarce: particularly notable is the 1959 brochure, which we can locate only at the National Library of Scotland.

Very good condition: the 1968 Cambridge University Theatre Company with a flattened vertical fold; a couple of marks to the cover of the 1976 Guide; otherwise clean and unmarked