Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the John B. Walker Cut-Outs Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0249
Creators:
Walker, John Brown, 1815-1908
Coats, Helen Hotchkiss
Dates:
1815-1908
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.33 Cubic feet
1 Box
Repository:
Container:
1
John B. Walker was an itinerant artist who made paper cut-out designs that he sent to his friends as presents, decorations, and commemorations. His collection did not come to light until the early 1960s in Geauga County, Ohio.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
John Brown Walker made paper cut out designs for friends and acquaintances and perhaps for some profit. These cut outs were used for presentation, decoration, and commemoration and can best be characterized as folk artistry.
Walker's work includes graceful scrolls, birds, leaves, rimes and hearts all reflecting a Pennsylvania Dutch influence. He was a highly skilled craftsman a warm, friendly person with a sense of humor and a strong religious faith which are reflected in his cut outs and stencils.
The personalized cut outs and rimes were created for Helen Hotchkiss and members of her family. There is no indication for whom the general works were done.
Much of this information comes from: "Your Wellwisher, J.B. Walker"; a Midwestern Paper Cut Out Artist an exhibition of his work at the Museum, Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, 1979. Catalog of 57 pages.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
A collection of the cutwork of itinerant John Brown Walker came to light in Geauga County, Ohio in the early 1960s. Walker had been making his living cutting fancy paper designs in rural areas of Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, Indiana and Michigan in the last decades of the 19th century.
Except for the record in Mason, Michigan, of his death on November 12, 1908 in the Ingham County Poor House, all information now known about Walker comes from his designs and his words in greetings he sent to friends in Geauga County, Ohio. In his last written letter of December 24, 1907, he said he was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania on March 25, 1815.
Helen Hotchkiss Coats and her sister, Hilda Hotchkiss Hosmer, preserved more than 100 pieces of his work. These items were created for three generations of the Phillips Hotchkiss family of Burton Township in the years from 1880 1907. His letters indicated that, although an itinerant, Walker was a participant in the life of the areas where he worked by his inquiries about the community, crops, and individuals.
During his last 20 25 years, he traveled through Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana making and selling family records.
Eighty years after he had cut a greeting and written a verse for her, Nettie Shanower remembered Walker as "a medium large man with a long white beard" the only description of his appearance.

Administration

Author
Barbara Kemp
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Mrs. Helen H. Coats, 1986, December 2.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Barbara Kemp, 1987

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
Preferred Citation
John B. Walker Cut-Outs Collection, 1815-1908, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Stencils Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kentucky Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Designs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Michigan Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Letters (correspondence) -- 1900-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ohio Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Letters (correspondence) -- 1850-1900 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pennsylvania Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indiana Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cutwork Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artisans Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folk art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cutouts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Folk artists -- United States Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
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