INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS
We are always happy to hear from prospective authors, at any stage of their research.
Please write to the editor, William Aslet, with any questions.
BRITISH ART
HISTORY
We have no formal definition of ‘British’ but contributions fall into one or more of the following categories.
British art history is the story of art within the UK itself. It is also the story of encounters overseas between the British and people, ideas, markets and artistic traditions of other societies. It can, additionally, encompass foreign nationals working overseas for a clientele in Britain. A British artist is one who – regardless of nationality – lived and worked within this country. We treat as British all regions of the United Kingdom, even if they were politically independent during the period under study. Our scope also includes the art worlds of colonial territories while they were under British rule.
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Our approach has enabled us to publish scholarship on a wide range of different topics across a broad time period, as can be seen in our index of past volumes.
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EDITORIAL
SCOPE
Our publishing agenda is the same now as when we were founded in 1911. We aim to record, arrange and explain evidence so that it can become generally useful. This means that we publish original materials and research based on primary materials, whether visual or documentary. Usually Walpole Society contributions are one of the following: transcripts of documents, artists’ or collection catalogues, biographical studies or dictionaries, or descriptive or narrative accounts of artworks, institutions and the art trade .
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Articles should aim at a definitive character in order that the contribution will have a lasting usefulness to scholarship, as our volumes continue to be consulted decades after publication. We expect to equip our publications with any necessary apparatus in the form of an introduction, footnotes, index and illustrations.
Essays that depend on a theoretical scaffolding or which are chiefly argumentative in character are beyond our remit.​
LENGTH
​We consider articles of any length, but have the ability to take on longer contributions than other journals. This includes book-length studies, if the material requires it.
SUBJECTS
​​​Since its foundation, the Society’s mission has been to draw attention to overlooked artists, periods and topics. We therefore publish contributions on topics as diverse as embroidery and glass painting. Our past publications have covered many areas of artistic practice including gem engraving, sculpture and carving, metalwork, manuscript illumination, textiles, architecture, paintings, prints and drawings. We have also published important studies on individual art collections; on institutions and teaching about art; on buying, selling and displaying art; and on travelling for art.​
PERIOD
​​​We welcome contributions on subjects from any period in history from the Norman Conquest to the 1960s.
ASSESSMENT
PROCESS
Our committee meets four times a year to consider submissions . We accept both completed manuscripts and publication proposals for consideration. The Editor submits the proposal for consideration by the committee after discussion with the author. All offers of publication are conditional on receiving an acceptable finished draft, which will then be subject to peer review.
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We are happy to talk with authors at any point in their research, so please feel free to contact us here if you have an idea for a proposal.
PROPOSALS
We ask authors to set out on one or two sides of A4 the basic facts and rationale for their proposed publication, to include:
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a basic descriptive outline of what is proposed, including an explanation of this work’s importance and what it adds to existing literature.
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What scholarly apparatus is envisaged to support the main body of the work, e,g. an introduction, footnotes, index, images.
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Estimates of length (numbers of words, entries, images) for the major elements of the proposed work.
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Any permissions complexities. For instance, in the case of a manuscript, is the owner supportive?
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A sense of the author’s availability to undertake the work (always best to be realistic rather than aspirational)​
PAYMENT
Unfortunately, we are unable to pay our authors. However, each author will receive up to six complimentary copies of that year's volume, and may buy further copies at cost at the time of printing. We are also happy to write supportively to grant-making bodies that authors might be approaching for help.
COPYRIGHT
By publishing in our volume, authors grant The Walpole Society the right to republish their work in other formats. This is chiefly so that we can publish an electronic version of our volume, which can then in time be stored by JSTOR. The permission that authors grant us does not limit their right to use their own writings in any way they choose.
IMAGES
The volume is published in full colour, with text and images alongside one another on the same page. The number of images published varies widely according to the needs of each researcher’s work. It is the role of the author to assemble images and gather the necessary permissions. An image fund exists to help support authors with image acquisition. Decisions on how to allocate the fund are made by the committee.
PEER REVIEW
The volume is formally peer reviewed by two external reviewers.
SCHEDULE
On acceptance of a proposal, a delivery schedule will be agreed between the author, the Editor and the committee. Once the final draft has been approved, the Editor will work with the author on to get the draft ready to be typeset by our designer.
STYLE GUIDE
To assist authors with the preparation of their manuscripts, a detailed Style Guide can be found here: ​