Scope and arrangement
This collection includes a few personal papers and artwork of Reginald Walker, a book artist. It is arranged into three series; the first series, Biographical and correspondence, contains material such as his resume, artist's statement, and personal and professional correspondence. The second series, Printed matter, consists of press and publicity related to Walker's exhibitions and research material, such as copies of articles and book chapters. The third and largest series, Artwork, is comprised mostly of mock-ups, sketches, and renderings of his books, plus explanations of decorative elements and the books' construction. Additionally, there are ten drawings and thirteen artist books housed in the Art and Artifacts Division.
The Reginald Walker collection is arranged in three series:
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ca. 1978-1986
This small series contains biographical information in the form of various iterations of Walker's resume and artist's statement. This series also includes correspondence, both personal and professional. Some of this material consists of recommendation letters, grant and funding requests, and postcards from fellow artists. Many of these postcards are tucked into the pages of an address book, which includes contact information for artists, such as Peter Hujar and Keith Haring, and galleries, including the Center for Book Arts and Kathryn Markel Gallery.
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1980-1986
This series consists of printed matter, including a press release, exhibition announcements, a review, and a copy of The First Decade: Center for Book Arts catalog (1984). In addition, there is research material for his artwork on such topics as the Druids, Roman numerals, and ancient languages; this material is mostly photocopies of published book chapters and pages, but it also includes a booklet on Anglo-Saxon runes.
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ca. 1978-1989
This series, the largest, is composed of descriptions, renderings, and sketches of Walker's books plus some finished individual pieces; most of this series consists of undated material. It is arranged into four subseries; the majority of the material in the first three subseries is handwritten. The first subseries, general notes and concepts (Walker's own title for this material), consists of background and historical material on concepts used by Walker in his books, such as alchemy and astrology. Most of this material appears to be from other sources, possibly published, while the material on mythological books is clearly written by him. It explains his mythological books as "contemporary works representing a fusion of ancient Egypto-Ethiopian (Coptic and pre-Coptic) and Celtic book crafts". Subseries two, book construction and structure, describes how his books are made in a general sense (material marked "basic") and in greater detail. This latter group contains material on different book sizes; book types, such as encaustic books, "burned" books, jeweled books, and books in frames; Coptic clasps; covers; decoration; and sources for purchasing materials. The third subseries, language, is comprised of notes on various ancient languages and alphabets, such as Coptic, Greek, Latin, Old English, Roman, and Phoenician. The final subseries, projects and finished work, consists of book descriptions with information such as title, date, media, and size; mockups or sketches of books, some of which were eventually completed; and completed individual works. These individual works are mostly works on paper, not books, but decorated with the same symbols, runes, and characters as the books. Many of these pieces are undated and untitled.