William Tracy Wallace

W. T. Wallace
Self-portrait bookplate
Born William Tracy Wallace
(1880-11-14)November 14, 1880
Milton, Ontario, Canada
Died 1947
Education
Spouse(s) Mary Jane Nesbit (m. 1906)

William Tracy Wallace (November 14, 1880 – 1947), known as W. T. Wallace, was a Canadian-English artist and designer.

Early life

Wallace was born in Milton, Ontario in 1880. He studied at the Ontario College of Art and was a member of the Toronto Art Students' League.[1] He took his first job with the Toronto Lithographing Company, later becoming a staff artist and reporter at Saturday Night.

Publishing career

In 1902 Wallace immigrated to England with his business partners, Archibald Abernathy Martin, Thomas Garland Greene and Norman Mills Price. The group briefly studied at Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute and the Westminster School of Art before establishing Carlton Studios, an advertising and publishing graphics house based in London.[2]

Carlton Studios became the largest graphic design company in the United Kingdom,[3] reaching a clientele that included Boots the Chemists, Sandeman and State Express 555.[4] The firm also claimed to have introduced the "studio idea" to Great Britain.[5] In December 1903 J. E. H. MacDonald, future co-founder of the Group of Seven, joined the company; notable artists such as Albert Angus Turbayne and Alfred Garth Jones were also employed at Carlton.[2][6]

During the First World War, business for the studio became increasingly difficult. As chairman of the Sales and Advertising Syndicate, Wallace decided that the company should be wound up voluntarily from December 1914.[7] He later undertook work for the Ministry of Labour and National Service and finally joined the Labour Supply and Housing Division in the Admiralty, working there as an administrative assistant until the end of the war.[8]

Following the war, Wallace was appointed as managing director of the National Trade Press Ltd., initially overseeing the publication of four trade journals under the "Organiser" title. He expanded the company's line of production and its export to British dominions. The NTP was one of the first publishers to develop the direct coloured reproduction of merchandise on art paper, setting a new standard for trade journal production. In 1926 George Newnes purchased the company's ordinary shares and several years later, Wallace's executive responsibilities were reduced as a result of his ill health.

Sailing

Wallace was a keen sailor, learning to handle boats in Lake Ontario during his childhood. He was elected a member of Itchenor Sailing Club in 1929, two years after its founding, and became intimately involved with ISC's early administration. He was a member of the General Committee between 1932 and 1938.[9]

In 1937 ISC faced an existential threat when the Chichester Harbour Federation invited the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club to establish a South Coast branch in the harbour. After meeting with his RCYC counterpart Tiny Mitchell, the Commodore of ISC Thomas McMeekin circulated amalgamation proposals to the club membership and announced a referendum on the matter. This sharply divided opinion and caused dissenting members to form a "protesting committee." When McMeekin's plans were narrowly rejected, he and his Vice Commodore announced that they would not seek re-election. Wallace played an important role in restoring confidence in the club's administration, by uniting members to support Geoffrey Lowles as the new Commodore. He acted as Lowles' proposer and arranged for over fifty individuals (comprising the differing cliques, factions, and recalcitrant members) to officially second him to the position.[10]

Personal life

William Tracy was born to John Wallace, Jr. and Mary, née Lyon. His father and paternal grandfather ran the Milton Inn Hotel;[11] his maternal grandfather was William D. Lyon, a prominent Ontarian politician.

He married Mary Jane Nesbit in 1906 and together they had 4 sons. Their youngest son, Lt. Bruce Martin Tiffany Wallace RNVR, was killed in January 1942 when his minesweeper HMT Unicity capsized and sank on sweeping duties off Blyth; he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for sacrificing his life to ensure the safe rescue of his crew.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Pantazzi, Sybille (1975). "The Library of a Canadian Artist: Books from the Library of Robert Holmes". The Journal of Canadian Art History. II (1).
  2. 1 2 Pantazzi, Sybille (1966). "Book Illustration and Design by Canadian Artists 1890-1940: With a List of Books Illustrated by Members of the Group of Seven". National Gallery of Canada Bulletin & Annual Bulletin. National Gallery of Canada. IV (1).
  3. ↑ "Thomas Garland Greene fonds". National Gallery of Canada.
  4. ↑ "Carlton Studios". Artist Biographies: British and Irish Artists of the 20th Century.
  5. ↑ Marsh, James Harley (1999). The Canadian Encyclopedia. McClelland & Stewart. p. 1005.
  6. ↑ Wallace, William Tracy (1915). "The Genesis of the Studio Idea of Advertising Service". Penrose Graphic Arts International Annual. XX: 115–119.
  7. ↑ "In the Matter of the SALES AND ADVERTISING SYNDICATE Limited" (PDF). The London Gazette. 12 February 1915. p. 1473.
  8. ↑ Gordon Smith (2014). "British Admiralty, Part 2 - Changes in Admiralty Departments 1913-1920". Naval-History.Net.
  9. ↑ Wright (1978), p. 11
  10. ↑ Wright (1978), pp. 33-36
  11. ↑ "$250,000 fire destroys Milton Inn" (PDF). The Canadian Champion. 17 October 1973.
  12. ↑ "SECOND SUPPLEMENT" (PDF). The London Gazette. 17 March 1942. p. 1208.

Sources

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