Book Art Collection

Special Collections and Archives
James Branch Cabell Library
Virginia Commonwealth University
901 Park Avenue
PO Box 842033
Richmond, VA 23284-2033

The VCU Book Art Collection includes over 3,000 items and is housed in Special Collections and Archives at James Branch Cabell Library. The collection is international in scope and is strongest in publications from the 1960's to the present. It encompasses all aspects of contemporary book art publications ranging from photo-narratives to three-dimensional book works. In addition to artists' books, the collection includes serials, exhibition catalogs, and reference materials. A large selection of concrete, sound, and visual poetry is also housed within the collection.

Seminal works such as Ed Ruscha's Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Dieter Roth's 246 Little Clouds, and Barbara Kruger's No Progress in Pleasure are featured in the collection as are works by faculty, students, and area artists. Special Collections and Archives is a repository for the Women's Studio Workshop, the largest publisher of hand printed and hand bound artists' books in the United States.

The collection was established in 1979 when a volunteer committee of School of the Arts and Cabell Library faculty, including Phil Meggs, Joan Muller, Janet DeAlberto, and Davi Det Hompson received a generous grant from the Cabell Foundation. Davi Det Hompson also donated his personal collection of rare correspondence art and Fluxus materials.

The VCU Book Art Collection is a valuable resource for students and faculty and is also open to the public. All items in the collection are listed in the library catalog.

Virginia Commonwealth University Classes

The collection represents many disciplines, techniques, and subjects and can be a useful and interesting resource for a variety of classes and assignments. Special Collections and Archives would be happy to assist faculty in class planning. Please schedule your class meeting at least one week in advance.

Online Exhibit

To and From: Davi Det Hompson Correspondents by 2004 graduate intern, Rebecca Dobyns. Includes biographical sketches of four major figures in mail art, book art, performance, and alternative publications of the 1960s and 1970s: Anna Banana, Dana Atchley, Ulises Carrion, and Jean Baker Brown. All four exchanged correspondence in a variety of forms with Fluxus-based Richmond artist, Davi Det Hompson. Rare examples of mail art and correspondence from these four individuals, along with work by 300 other artist/correspondents, are included in the David Det Hompson Papers in Special Collections and Archives. See the Finding Aid to the Davi Det Hompson Papers for more information.

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