Jeu d'enfants (Children's Game)

Stanley William Hayter

An abstract, surreal figure is woven into a hopscotch layout. The game is numbered from 1 to 10, the boxed numbers are reversed and read, from the bottom left: 3 1 5; 2 4 6; 7; 10 9 8 with the top box reading "ciel" (heaven) in reverse.

The lines of the hopscotch game are deeply gouged with a scorper creating three dimensional white lines. The figure was done using engraving tools and the tonal areas of the figure were done using a fine fabric, impressed into soft-ground. Hayter leaves a film of ink on the surface of the plate, which leaves a light gray background "tone" to the composition.

This impression has a piece of paper, possibly trimmed from a larger margin, that reads "£1.1.0" and another that reads "4381" glued to the bottom margin. This work anticipates the techniques Hayter used three images later to create his famous "Combat", also in 1936.