Series contains published and textual materials including one published book written and illustrated by Selwyn Dewdney, an art exhibition catalogue, and an art exhibition pamphlet. The exhibition catalogue for “Signed and Dated” describes the three artists whose works were featured (Selwyn Dewdney, Clare Bice and Jim Kemp) as being moving forces in the London, Ontario art scene in the 1950s and 1960s. The catalogue details Bice, Kemp and Dewdney’s roles as active members of the Western Art League and their contributions to the London art scene including Bice’s thirty-two year tenure as curator at the London Public Library and Art Museum. The exhibition pamphlet is related to Selwyn and Irene Dewdney’s research in the field of art therapy, their collaborative artistic practices, and their collection of artworks related to art therapy.

Series primarily contains professional and personal correspondence to and from Selwyn Dewdney. The files include business correspondence related to Dewdney’s position as a teacher, artist and illustrator, as well as an author. Other types of correspondence consist of holiday cards, invitations to events, and a postcard. Also included are mailing lists containing business cards. Additionally, the series includes invoices, mortgage information, notes, a pencil drawing and 2 b&w photographs. The majority of the files are located in Box 3, and are organized in no discernable order. See Series 1 for correspondence related to Dewdney’s written works.

The fonds consists of records documenting Selwyn Dewdney’s professional activities as a writer, artist, teacher, and student. In addition, there are also records documenting Dewdney’s personal activities. Records related to Dewdney’s professional careers and scholarly pursuits include: printed editions of published articles and books, manuscript drafts, research materials, reviews, essays and speeches, newspaper and magazine clippings, notes, exhibition catalogues, financial records, correspondence, sketches and drawings, notebooks, photographs and plays. The fonds also contains letters, photographs, notes, holiday cards, and invoices related to Dewdney’s personal activities.

Series contains textual files related to Dewdney’s teaching career in the Department of Liberal Arts Studies at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. Files include outlines for courses taught by Dewdney, department timetables, notes on assignments issued, session outlines for material covered during his courses, and an outline for a course taught by Jane Castel titled “Canadian Art History” for which he was a guest lecturer. Content covered includes “the wide range of Aboriginal cultures and languages in Canada”, the prehistoric art of five continents, pictography as communication, Norval Morriesseau and the Woodlands school, shield rock paintings, rock art and petroglyphs throughout Canada.

Series consists of materials related to Dewdney’s undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto, including essays, notebooks and lab books. Also includes one copy of University of Toronto’s May 1932 Cap and Gown magazine, scripts from plays, sonnets and doodles, as well as the minutes of a student group called “The Three Musketeers”. Essays are in no discernable order, notebooks ordered by subject/course.

Series contains typed and annotated chapter drafts, manuscripts, printed galleys, draft illustrations, correspondence related to publications, typed and handwritten research notes, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, hand drawn and annotated maps, and various published materials related to Dewdney’s career as a writer. Notable works include: Christoper Breton, Wind Without Rain, They Shared to Survive, The Case for Pacifism, Indian Rock Paintings of the Great Lakes, and Birchbark Art of the Ojibway Midewewin. Loose material has been kept in the original order in which it was found, with the exception of the majority of files located in Box 6. Series contains correspondence related to various writing projects, but the majority of correspondence is located in Series 3.