Collection - Seth Illustrations and Design Work for Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe Publications

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Seth Illustrations and Design Work for Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe Publications

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Collection

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Edition area

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Statement of scale (cartographic)

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Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 2002-2010 (Creation)
    Creator
    Seth

Physical description area

Physical description

8 cm of textual records

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1962-)

Biographical history

Seth (born Gregory Gallant) is a renowned Canadian cartoonist, visual artist, and book designer. Seth has achieved prominence in the realm of independent comics for works which often express nostalgia for early to mid-twentieth century Canada.

Seth was born in Clinton, Ontario in 1962. He grew up in Southern Ontario, a region which is frequently featured in his work. Seth attended Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) in Toronto from 1980-1983. During this time, he took on his pseudonym.

In April 1991, Seth launched his comic series Palookaville with Montreal-based publisher Drawn & Quarterly. His next project, the autobiographical graphic novel It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken, was published to wide acclaim in 1996 (Drawn & Quarterly). Seth would go on to win two Ignatz awards for the volume, which was listed by The Comics Journal as one of the 100 best comics of the twentieth century.

Seth has since published eight more graphic novels and has contributed illustrations to a wide range of publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Best American Comics, McSweeneys Quarterly, The Walrus, and Canadian Notes & Queries. His illustrations are also in Lemony Snicket’s children’s series and Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe collections (audio recordings and books).

Additionally, Seth has undertaken significant book design projects: in 2014, Fantagraphics Books enlisted him to design the complete collection of Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts. Seth has since designed additional comics reprint series featuring the works of John Stanley and Doug Wright.

Seth has received each of the major American comic awards, including the Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz.

Since the early 2000s, he has lived in Guelph, Ontario.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The collection comprises records related to Seth’s illustrations and design work for ten of Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe books and audio recordings. Documentary forms include production notes, original illustrations, overlays for printing, and colour chips.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

The first accrual (2018-009) was acquired in April 2018 from Seth (Gregory Gallant).

Arrangement

Files have been arranged in chronological order based on the date of the Vinyl Cafe publication (book or audio recording) to which they pertain. Records within files have been maintained in their received order.

Language of material

Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

There are no access restrictions.

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Control area

Description record identifier

RC0921

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Dates of creation, revision and deletion

G. Dunks, 2019.

Language of description

Script of description

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