The Archivist on the Arts & Crafts Hammersmith Project, Michele Losse, has been working over the past few months, along with some fantastic volunteers, on a project to catalogue the archive at Emery Walker’s House. In this blog Michele discusses the project and some of the exciting finds in the Papers of Sir Emery Walker, Engraver, Photographer, Printer, Typographer…
Michele Losse, Project Archivist
As part of the Heritage Lottery Fund funding for the Arts and Crafts Hammersmith Project, we’ve had the exciting opportunity to develop an archives catalogue for the Papers of Sir Emery Walker, Engraver, Photographer, Printer, Typographer, which includes an array of fascinating, original documents.
Prior to refurbishment at Emery Walker’s House, a team of wonderful volunteers decanted and boxed up all documents from the house. The documents were then housed in Stockwell for a while, but in early December were brought back to the house in Hammersmith Terrace. Since then, we have been working on the project in the room that was once Emery Walker’s bedroom, which has a great view of the river!
With the help of six brilliant volunteers – Tom, Joanne, Nicole, Philip, Molly and Joanna – we’ve nearly finished cataloguing the documents, and digitising images to accompany the archive.
Nicole, one of the Archive Volunteers
Soon after we began work on the project, it transpired that we weren’t only dealing with Emery Walker’s papers, but also with Dorothy’s, his daughter, and Elizabeth de Haas’, Dorothy’s friend and companion. Amidst the collection, we also discovered a few items relating to Emery’s wife, Mary Grace Walker, née Jones.
Some real gems have also been unearthed, including a letter to Emery Walker from the Home Office, dated 12 Feb 1930, asking him to attend Buckingham Palace on Thursday 6 March to receive his knighthood. A daguerreotype of Mary Grace Walker (née Jones) when she was about 8 years old was also discovered, alongside a collection of old photographs of 7 Hammersmith Terrace. Correspondence to and from Dorothy regarding bequests to various organisations according to her father’s wish have also been uncovered, as well as documents relating to work done to the house, and much more.
Letter from the Papers of Sir Emery Walker
Once the project is finished, you’ll be able to view the Papers of Sir Emery Walker, on the Emery Walker’s House website. For now, though, keep your eyes on our Facebook and Twitter pages to see what treasures we have recently found. We’re also excited to announce that we have plans for outreach activities, meaning that these treasures can be shared with the public when the house reopens, so do check the website regularly!
Archive Material from the Papers of Sir Emery Walker
