Ralph Fletcher Seymour
Encyclopedia
Ralph Fletcher Seymour was an American artist, author, and publisher of the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. Though long based in Chicago
, he was also noted for his work in the American Southwest; he studied, wrote about, and portrayed the Native American
cultures of the region.
Seymour was born in Milan, Illinois
, and studied in Cincinnati with Lewis Meakin and Vincent Nowattny, and later in Paris as well. He taught decorative illustration at the Art Institute of Chicago
, and was an artist-in-residence at Knox College. He painted, and produced etchings, woodcuts and block prints. He was a noted designer of bookplates.
For a time around the turn of the twentieth century, Seymour was associated with L. Frank Baum
, and worked on Baum's books By the Candelabra's Glare
(1898), Father Goose: His Book
(1899), and American Fairy Tales
(1901). Seymour illustrated or designed a range of books, often in high-quality limited editions, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning
's Sonnets from the Portuguese
(1899), John Keats
's The Eve of St. Agnes
(1900), John Milton
's Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity (1901), Percy Bysshe Shelley
's A Defence of Poetry
(1904), the Biblical Book of Ruth
(1904), and William Blake
's Songs of Innocence and Experience
(1906).
For almost seven decades, Seymour ran his own book publishing firm in Chicago. Among the works he published were Frank Lloyd Wright
's The Japanese Print (1912) and Experimenting with Human Lives (1923), and Alice Corbin's Red Earth: Poems of New Mexico (1920). He published Henry Blake Fuller
's Bertram Cope's Year
(1919), a novel about homosexuals in Chicago and an early example of gay literature in America. Seymour's Alderbrink Press maintained traditions of the Arts and Crafts Movement
into the 1950s.
Seymour wrote Across the Gulf (1928), about his travels in southern Mexico — another expression of his interest in Native American cultures. He also published his own account of his life and art, in which he stated that the Chicago artists of his generation saw themselves as "peculiarly American" practitioners who disregarded "European, eastern or conventional rules for guidance in saying what they wanted to say."
He died in Batavia, Illinois
in 1966, at the age of 89.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, he was also noted for his work in the American Southwest; he studied, wrote about, and portrayed the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
cultures of the region.
Seymour was born in Milan, Illinois
Milan, Illinois
Milan is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,257 at the 2000 census.The village is located near the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Before ceasing operations in 2003, Eagle Food Centers was based out of Milan....
, and studied in Cincinnati with Lewis Meakin and Vincent Nowattny, and later in Paris as well. He taught decorative illustration at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, and was an artist-in-residence at Knox College. He painted, and produced etchings, woodcuts and block prints. He was a noted designer of bookplates.
For a time around the turn of the twentieth century, Seymour was associated with L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, and worked on Baum's books By the Candelabra's Glare
By the Candelabra's Glare
By the Candelabra's Glare is a 1898 collection of poems written by L. Frank Baum. One of his earliest works, the book was significant in Baum's evolution from amateur to professional author.-The book:...
(1898), Father Goose: His Book
Father Goose: His Book
Father Goose: His Book is a collection of nonsense poetry for children, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow, and first published in 1899. Though generally neglected a century later, the book was a groundbreaking sensation in its own era; "once America's best-selling children's...
(1899), and American Fairy Tales
American Fairy Tales
American Fairy Tales is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories by L. Frank Baum, published in 1901 by the George M. Hill Company, the firm that issued The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the previous year...
(1901). Seymour illustrated or designed a range of books, often in high-quality limited editions, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
's Sonnets from the Portuguese
Sonnets from the Portuguese
Sonnets from the Portuguese, written ca. 1845–1846 and first published in 1850, is a collection of forty-four love sonnets written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The poems largely chronicle the period leading up to her 1846 marriage to Robert Browning...
(1899), John Keats
John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
's The Eve of St. Agnes
The Eve of St. Agnes
"The Eve of St. Agnes" is a long poem by John Keats, written in 1819 and published in 1820. It is widely considered to be amongst his finest poems and was influential in 19th century literature. The poem is in Spenserian stanzas....
(1900), John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity (1901), Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
's A Defence of Poetry
A Defence of Poetry
A Defence of Poetry is an essay by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, written in 1821 and first published posthumously in 1840 in Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments [1839]...
(1904), the Biblical Book of Ruth
Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
(1904), and William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
's Songs of Innocence and Experience
Songs of Innocence and Experience
Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an illustrated collection of poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases. A few first copies were printed and illuminated by William Blake himself in 1789; five years later he bound these poems with a set of new poems in a volume titled Songs of...
(1906).
For almost seven decades, Seymour ran his own book publishing firm in Chicago. Among the works he published were Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
's The Japanese Print (1912) and Experimenting with Human Lives (1923), and Alice Corbin's Red Earth: Poems of New Mexico (1920). He published Henry Blake Fuller
Henry Blake Fuller
Henry Blake Fuller was a United States novelist and short story writer, born in Chicago, Illinois.-Career:Fuller's earliest works were travel romances set in Italy that featured allegorical characters...
's Bertram Cope's Year
Bertram Cope's Year
Bertram Cope's Year is a 1919 novel by Henry Blake Fuller, sometimes called the first American homosexual novel.-Publication and reception:Fuller completed work on the novel in May 1918...
(1919), a novel about homosexuals in Chicago and an early example of gay literature in America. Seymour's Alderbrink Press maintained traditions of the Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
into the 1950s.
Seymour wrote Across the Gulf (1928), about his travels in southern Mexico — another expression of his interest in Native American cultures. He also published his own account of his life and art, in which he stated that the Chicago artists of his generation saw themselves as "peculiarly American" practitioners who disregarded "European, eastern or conventional rules for guidance in saying what they wanted to say."
He died in Batavia, Illinois
Batavia, Illinois
Batavia was founded in 1833, and is the oldest city in Kane County, Illinois, with a small portion in DuPage County. During the Industrial Revolution, Batavia became known as ‘The Windmill City’ for being the largest windmill producer of the time...
in 1966, at the age of 89.