Title: Walter Hamady Collection
Inclusive Dates: 1973-2016

Creator:

• Hamady, Walter Samuel Haatoum, 1940-2019

Call Number: Collection ZY

Quantity:

• 6.25 Linear Feet
• 2 document boxes, 2 half document boxes, 5 flat boxes

Quantity: 6.25 Linear Feet 2 document boxes, 2 half document boxes, 5 flat boxes
Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Madison. Department of Special Collections

Abstract:

The Walter Hamady collection consists of hundreds of samples of Hamady's work with the Perishable Press Limited. Walter Hamady (1940-2019), an American bookdesigner, papermaker, and artist, ran his own private press, the Perishable Press Limited, and papermill, Shadwell, and printed over 100 works, often in collaboration with other artists and authors. The collection focuses largely on the Perishable Press Limited's work, "Flora: poems" by Ann McGarrell with original drawings from Jack Beal, including correspondence, vendor receipts, distribution information, and several proof copies. Additional broadsides, pamphlets, promotional materials, and other ephemera of the Perishable Press Limited are included, as well as correspondence between Hamady and a variety of friends, colleagues, and customers of the Perishable Press Limited.

Language: English .

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-sc-zy

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Arranged into eight series:

Series 1: the Flora archives

Series 2: Correspondence with Fred Ringenburg

Series 3: Correspondence with Jerome Kaplan

Series 4: Correspondence with Arthur Hove

Series 5: Correspondence with Luz Rezende

Series 6: Course and typeshop materials

Series 7: Correspondence with James and Nancy Dast

Series 8: Additional materials

Walter Hamady collection, Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Flora: poems" (copy no. 9) is held by Kohler Art Library. "Flora: poems" (copy no. 16) is held by UW-Madison Special Collections.

Other volumes published by the Perishable Press Limited are held by UW-Madison Special Collections and the Kohler Art Library.

Walter Samuel Haatoum Hamady (September 13, 1940-September 13, 2019) was an American bookdesigner, artist, and papermaker. He was born in Flint, Michigan to Lebanese Druze immigrant parents in 1940. He attended Wayne State University in Detriot, Michigan and received his BFA in 1964. He founded his own press, The Perishable Press Limited, in 1964, while still in undergrad. Hamady then attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art in nearby Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for graduate school. He received his MFA in 1966. While Hamady was a student at Cranbrook, he launched the Shadwell Papermill, where he experimented with creating his own paper.

After completing his MFA, Hamady applied to Michigan State University where they recommended him to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was hired by UW-Madison in 1966, where he joined as a member of the art department teaching papermaking, bookbinding, and letterpress printing. While working at the University, Hamady relocated his private press and papermill to Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. He worked at the university for 30 years until his retirement from teaching in May 1996, at age 55. Hamady continued to run the Perishable Press Limited and Shadwell until his death in 2019.

Hamady displayed his works in various solo and group exhibitions, highlighting his efforts in collage, drawing, and assemblage, as well as his handmade books. Each element of the book was intentionally decided by Hamady, from the design of the cover to the material of the paper. Hamady's books were chosen as some of the best-designed books by the American Institute of Graphic Arts in their 50 Books of the Year exhibition. In total, he published approximately 131 volumes through The Perishable Press Limited.

Series 1 encompasses the entire production and distribution of "Flora" by Ann McGarrell. Printed by the Perishable Press Limited, "Flora" is a series of poems by Ann McGarrell with original drawings by Jack Beal. The series has correspondence to and from Hamady with Beal, McGarrell, vendors, and customers. Reciepts, invoices, notes, and other miscellaneous details are also included. Dummy proofs, the original drawings by Jack Beal, and the printing plates are housed in this collection.

Series 2-5 and 7-8 are materials from friends of Walter Hamady. The series consist of correspondence from Hamady and additional ephemera of Hamady and the Perishable Press Limited. Series 2 is correspondence and ephemera from Fred Ringenberg, a friend and standing-customer of the Perishable Press Limited. Series 3 is correspondence and ephemera from Jerome Kaplan, a fellow artist and friend. The letters mainly center around printing plates and art. Series 4 is correspondence and ephemera from Arthur Hove, a colleague at UW-Madison. Letters from Hamady to Hove often express his feelings about the art department, during his employment and after. Series 5 is correspondence and ephemera from Luz Rezende, a friend who lived abroad. Most of letters are personal, focused on Hamady's personal life. Series 7 is corrrespondence and ephemera from James and Nancy Dast, close friends of Hamady. Correspondence is mostly from 2013-2014, about Hamady's personal life and a journal project. Series 8 is additional materials, including correspondence from William Bruce and a CD of an interview about his "Gabber Jabz"

Series 6 consists of course materials.

Access Restrictions

This collection has restrictions or is in a format that may not be accessible. Boxes 5-7 may require additional help in handling the printing plates. Please consult Special Collections staff prior to access.

Use Restrictions

Collection materials may be subject to laws governing rights. Researchers are solely responsible for determining the rights status of the materials they use. Permission may be required for some uses such as publication or reproduction.

Acquisition Information

Series 1: the Flora archives, gift of Walter Hamady, 1992.

Series 3: Correspondence with Jerome Kaplan, gift of Anne Kaplan, August, 2010.

Series 4: Correspondence with Arthur Hove, gift of Arthur Hove.

Series 5: Correspondence with Luz Rezende, gift of Luz Rezende, July, 2018.

Series 6: Course and typeshop materials, gift of Tracy Honn, 2018.

Series 7: Correspondence with James and Nancy Dast, gift of James and Nancy Dast, March 12, 2020 and February 2023.

Series 8: Additional materials: folder 1, gift of Chris Wilde; folder 2, gift of William Bruce

Printing platesPrivate presses -- United StatesPapermaking

	Series: Series 1
Box   1   Folder   1	Correspondence, 1978-1979
Box   1   Folder   2	Correspondence, 1980-1981
Box   1   Folder   3	Correspondence, 1982
Box   1   Folder   4	Correspondence , 1983-1985
Box   1   Folder   5	Correspondence, 1986-1988
Box   1   Folder   6	Correspondence, 1989
Box   1   Folder   7	Correspondence, 1989
Box   1   Folder   8	Correspondence, 1990
Box   1   Folder   9	Correspondence, 1990
Box   1   Folder   10	Correspondence, 1990
Box   1   Folder   11	Correspondence, 1990
Box   1   Folder   12	Correspondence, 1991-1992
Box   1   Folder   13	Correspondence, Felice Feliciano Award 1990-1991
Box   2   Folder   1	Miscellaneous distribution info, invoices, receipts, and vendor correspondence 1990-1991
Box   2   Folder   2	Miscellaneous receipts, invoices, and vendor correspondence 1990
Box   2   Folder   3	Miscellaneous distribution info, invoices, receipts, and vendor correspondence 1990
Box   2   Folder   4	Miscellaneous distribution info, samples, invoices, and vendor correspondence 1990
Box   3	Printing dummy (#1-5)
Box   4	Printing dummy (#6-8) and Proofs, 1990, Undated
Box   5   Folder   1	Original drawings by Jack Beal
Box   5   Folder   2	Title Proofs for "Generic Happy Holiday Season", 1990
Box   5   Folder   3	Folder of 2 plate photographs and 2 proofs of plates
Box   5   Folder   4	Proofs of plates
Box   5   Folder   5	Miscellaneous Sheets
Box   5   Folder   6	Unbound proof copy
Box   5	Printing plates (#1-4)
Box   6	Printing plates (#5-14)
Box   7	Printing plates (#15-22, and blank plate)
	Series: Series 2	⇧
Box   8   Folder   1	Fred Ringenberg, Correspondence 1980-1983
Box   8   Folder   2	Fred Ringenberg, Correspondence 1984-1989
Box   8   Folder   3	Fred Ringenberg, Ephemera 1977, 1981, 1986, Undated
Box   8   Folder   4	Fred Ringenberg, Ephemera 1978-1980, 1983, 1985, 1989, Undated
Box   8   Folder   5	Fred Ringenberg, Elvehjem and Mt. Horeb Children's Community School Ephemera 1981-1983
	Series: Series 3	⇧
Box   8   Folder   6	Jerome Kaplan, Correspondence 1970-1980
	Series: Series 4	⇧
Box   8   Folder   7	Art Hove, Correspondence 1980-1988
Box   8   Folder   8	Art Hove, Correspondence 1989-1991
Box   8   Folder   9	Art Hove, Correspondence 1992-1994
Box   8   Folder   10	Art Hove, Correspondence 1995-2001
Box   8   Folder   11	Art Hove, Poems by Hamady
Box   8   Folder   12	Art Hove, Notes and Writings on Hamady
Box   8   Folder   13	Art Hove, Articles, Clippings, and Ephemera 1977, 1982, Undated
Box   8   Folder   14	Art Hove, Articles, Clippings, and Ephemera 1984-1996
Box   8   Folder   15	Art Hove, Articles, Clippings, and Ephemera 2003-2006
	Series: Series 5	⇧
Box   8   Folder   16	Rezende, Correspondence 1998-2000
Box   8   Folder   17	Rezende, Correspondence 2011-2012
Box   8   Folder   18	Rezende, Photographs 1981-2009
Box   8   Folder   19	Rezende, Articles, Clippings, and Ephemera
	Series: Series 6	⇧
Box   8   Folder   20	Course and typeshop materials, Undated
	Series: Series 7	⇧
Box   9   Folder   1	Jim and Nancy Dast, Correspondence 1980-2009
Box   9   Folder   2	Jim and Nancy Dast, Correspondence 2013
Box   9   Folder   3	Jim and Nancy Dast, Correspondence 2014-2016
Box   9   Folder   4	Jim and Nancy Dast, Perishable Press Limited ephemera 1973-2011, Undated
Box   9   Folder   5	Jim and Nancy Dast, Miscellaneous postcards, broadsides, exhibition pamphlet
Box   9   Folder   6	Jim and Nancy Dast, Walter Hamady + John Wilde's "1985"
	Series: Series 8	⇧
Box   1   Folder   14	CD, "Bill Bunce + C.K. Wilde about Walter Hamady's Gabber Jabz, interview on 11/01" [November 2001]
Box   1   Folder   15	Correspondence, William Bruce 1998-1999