Victor Hammer papers
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Victor Hammer papers
- Date
- 1960, 1967
- Creator
- Hammer, Victor Karl, 1882-1967
- Extent
- 0.15 Cubic feet
- Subjects
- Authors, American--Kentucky.
- Printers.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format.
- Preferred Citation
- 2011MS118: [identification of item], Victor Hammer papers, 1960, 1967, University of Kentucky Special Collections.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Victor Karl Hammer (1882-1967) was an Austrian-born American painter, sculptor, printer, and typographer. After fleeing Nazi Austria in 1939, Victor Hammer eventually settled in Lexington, Kentucky where he was the artist in residence at Transylvania University. He married to Carolyn Reading in 1955. Carolyn Reading Hammer was the University of Kentucky's Curator of Rare Books and the founder of the King Library Press.
- Thomas Merton, the son of two artists, was born in 1915. He attended Columbia University in New York, obtaining B.A. and M.A. degrees. In 1938 he converted to Catholicism and in December 1941 joined the Trappist monks. Merton served as Master of Scholastics and as Master of Novices at the order's monastery in Kentucky, Our Lady of Gethsemani, before being allowed to live as a hermit in 1965. A prolific writer, Merton won acclaim for his books, poems and articles, beginning with the publication of the autobiographical Seven Storey Mountain in 1948. Merton often circulated his writings among his acquaintances for criticism before publication. Among this group from 1951 to 1968 were Carolyn and Victor Hammer of Lexington, Ky., and the then director of the University of Kentucky libraries, Lawrence Thompson. In the 1960s he was known for his concerns about social issues such as peace and civil rights. He also promoted ecumenism between Catholics, other Christians, and non-Christians. He died on December 10, 1968, of accidental electrocution while a conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
- The Private Press Tradition in Lexington, Kentucky, by Burton Milward From The Kentucky Review, Volume XI, Number 3, Autumn 1992, pp. 5-27. Copyright © 1992 by the University of Kentucky Libraries
- Scope and Content
- The Victor Hammer papers contain The Fragments typescript by Victor Hammer and The Solitary Life typescript and trial printing by Thomas Merton. Victor Hammer printed the trial of Merton's work.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
