February 2019

Wally Depew: A SELECTION FROM THE SACKNER ARCHIVE

EXILE Books is pleased to showcase the obscure works of Wally Depew (1938-2007), courtesy of the Sackner Archive. Wally Depew lived as an American book artist, concrete poet, and jazz musician who experimented with rubberstamped mail art poetry, neo-dadaist art booklets, and paper ephemera. A selection of Depew's inimitable printed works are currently on display in our glass vitrine, featuring a number of small zines, rubber stamped publications, artist booklets, and books dating back as early as the 1970s.

A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Wally Depew traveled frequently and lived in Pennsylvania, California, New York and Arizona through his lifetime. He served as the head editor of Dust magazine and published the Poetry Newsletter (1964-1966), an avant-garde, small press poetry periodical that ran through 12 issues. His limited edition booklets and other works were stocked by Printed Matter Bookshop during its formative years in New York City; it was via Printed Matter that Ruth and Marvin Sackner were first confronted with by his art books, later accepting a gracious donation of his complete archive from his wife Linda Bandt Depew in late 2007.

Contact us to set an appointment for a private viewing of this distinctive collection and sample retrospective of the beginnings of neo-dadaist experimental printing practices in the U.S.

A limited number of Wally Depew grab bags are available for purchase. View them in our online store.