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Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1957-2015 (Creation)
Physical description area
Physical description
4.53 m of textual records
217 photographs : col.
61 photographs : b&w
280 photographs : col. slides
2 video cassettes
10 audio cassettes
1 CD
Electronic records
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Michael Phillips is an internationally recognized William Blake scholar and academic. He was born to Paul Curtis Phillips and Louise Phillips in New York City and grew up in Southern California.
Phillips obtained a BA in English from Loyola University, Los Angeles, in 1963, and, in 1968, earned a PhD from Exeter; his thesis was titled The Poetical Sketches of William Blake. He also has a BPhil in Modern English Studies from Oxford.
Phillips was influenced by his friendships with Shakespearian scholar G. Wilson Knight and prominent Blake scholar Sir Geoffrey Keynes and his work on William Blake became increasingly interdisciplinary over the course of his career. He trained in printmaking techniques at the Edinburgh College of Art and became a member of the professional Edinburgh Printmakers Workshop, where he began successfully replicating Blake’s “illuminated printing” technique in studio. This printmaking training informed Phillips’ numerous publications, especially his book William Blake: The Creation of the Songs: From Manuscript to Illuminated Printing, 2000.
Phillips has taught at Oxford, University College London, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of York. He has also lectured and given Blake printmaking demonstrations internationally, including at Victoria University, University of Toronto, in 2012.
In addition, Phillips has been guest curator of William Blake exhibitions at Tate Britain and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Petit Palais in Paris, and, currently, for the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford.
His work has been recognized with awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Yale Centre for British Art, British Library Centre for the Book, a British Academy Research Readership in the Humanities, Waynflete Lectureship, Magdalen College, Oxford, and the Medal of the Collège de France.
Custodial history
Records were in the custody of the records creator, Michael Phillips, before they were donated to the Victoria University Library Special Collections.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of Michael Phillips' records relating to his academic writings, including his extensive correspondence with Blake scholars, publishers, and printers as well as records related to lectures, exhibits and research in printmaking.
Photographs are of images of works by Blake, printmaking techniques and tools as well as images used in the catalogue for the Ashmolean Museum's Blake exhibition in 2014.
The fonds is divided into the following series:
Series 1: Correspondence
Series 2: Records relating to writings and publications
Series 3: Records relating to lectures and conferences
Series 4: Records relating to exhibitions
Series 5: Records relating to research
Series 6: Records relating to Blake scholars
Notes area
Physical condition
Records are in excellent physical condition.
Immediate source of acquisition
Records in Accession 2020.01 were found inside the pages of a series of Blake books donated to the Library by Michael Phillips. The records were removed by library staff during cataloging and given to the archivist as an addition to the Phillips fonds.
All other records were donated by Michael Phillips.
Arrangement
Beginning in 2020, the archivist undertook a major overhaul of the organization of the Michael Phillips finding aid in order to impose greater intellectual control on the growing number of records. Prior to this reorganization, no series existed and the records in the fonds had instead been arranged by individual work or activity. Subject headings were used to group the records under the titles of each significant achievement.
As of 2022, the records are now organized into six series based on the functional activities of Phillips's work. The subject headings have been maintained by the archivist to divide the major projects and works within each series.
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
A portion of exhibition records are in electronic format. Please contact library@vicu.utoronto.ca for access information.
Restrictions on access
Some restrictions applied to specific records. Please visit the Michael Phillips finding aid on the Victoria University Library website for more information.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Associated materials
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
General note
Title based on contents of the fonds.
General note
The fonds is stored in 39 boxes.
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Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Added by MO: May 26, 2016
Revised by BC: March 14, 2018
Revised by BC: January 7, 2022