Biographical Note/Organizational Note
Walter Hamady (1940-2019) was a printer, bookmaker, artist and professor who founded The Perishable Press in 1964 as an undergraduate student. He earned his BFA from Wayne State (1964), his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art (1966) and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for over 30 years. He was the recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Howard Foundation Fellowship from Brown University, the UW Chancellor’s Award, the Vilas Associate Award, in addition to multiple research grants from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School.
Over the nearly 50 years that he ran the Perishable Press, Limited and Shadwell Papermill, Hamady published 131 titles, including his own books, collaborations and poetry sets. The books are notable for their handmade paper and distinct use of type and collage.