Physical Description:
9.3 linear feet
(21 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Series II is comprised of materials relating to Bridaham's unpublished book projects. The publication of the second edition
of
Gargoyles, Chimères, and the Grotesque in French Gothic Architecture spurred Bridaham to further research on the theme of gargoyles. Over the next two decades he would produce three further
projects, each expanding the scope of his core idea in terms of geography, chronology and audience.
From 1968 to 1981, Bridaham worked on a book project entitled "Gargoyles, Chimères, and the Grotesque in the Sculpture of
the Middle Ages in England, Germany, Italy and Spain," an expansion of his study of gargoyles to include monuments of the
Romanesque period as well as the Gothic, and to cover much of Europe. Bridaham's previous publisher, Plenum Press, declined
the book and he was unable to interest another publisher in the project. In 1980 Bridaham met John Oliver, who shared his
interest in gargoyles, and the two men decided to collaborate. From 1981 to 1983 Bridaham retooled his research into a popular
book, co-authored with Oliver, with the working title "Meet My Fabulous Grotesque Friends." Bridaham and Oliver were unable
to find a publisher. In 1986 and 1987, Bridaham returned to the topic again, envisioning a more scholarly project, "The Bridaham
Collection of Photographs of Gargoyles and Grotesque-Style Sculptures of the Middle Ages in all Countries," which would include
1600 photographs. The project remained unpublished.
Each of the projects documented in this series includes both images and papers. The images are primarily photographs, but
may also include postcards and other printed material. The images are generally organized by Bridaham's planned chapter headings.
The types of textual material is also relatively similar for each project, including correspondence, research, notes and drafts
of text. A limited number of images are also included in these files. Of particular interest is the text dummy for the "Fabulous
Friends" book.
Due to the fact that the research projects relate and often overlap, many materials may relate to more than one research project.
Although they are generally grouped by the date he last worked with a folder, some anomalies still exist. Thus, the final
grouping of this series contains materials relating to all three of the previous unpublished projects, as well as a certain
amount of miscellaneous and duplicate material. This includes catalogs and pamphlets, articles, research notes and a variety
of images.
Arrangement note
The series is arranged in three groups of material correlating to Bridaham's unpublished book projects. A final, fourth grouping
contains materials relating to all three of the previous unpublished projects, as well as a certain amount of miscellaneous
and duplicate material.