The Life, Motto, and Library of William Walker (1570-1642), Vicar of Chiswick, presentation by Alan H. Nelson

Approximately twenty-five printed books and ten manuscripts have been located from before 1640 which bear the florid inscription: “Will and Walke aright. Will: Walker,” usually appearing on the title-page of a printed book, or on the first or last leaf of a manuscript.

This talk will attempt to identify the author of the inscription and the owner of the books and manuscripts in new detail; to reconstruct William Walker’s small but unquestionably significant personal library; and to trace the history of the “best” manuscript of Sir Philip Sidney’s “Old Arcadia.”

Alan H. Nelson is Professor Emeritus, Department of English, University of California, Berkeley.

This event is co-sponsored by the Bibliographical Society of America, the Book Club of California, and the American Trust for the British Library.