Hampstead A Nest of Gentle Artists

This is the most detailed reference work on Hampstead artists to date. It contains potted biographical information on thousands of entries and is the result of nearly 20 years of research.

Biographical lexicographers are a rare breed, and John Walde stands out among us for his extraordinary perseverance. When I met him 18 years ago, he had already unearthed a remarkable amount of new information; there is much more now. His work has been the more difficult and is all the more valuable where births, marriages, deaths and so on are concerned, because of his self-imposed rule only to use information from original government and official documents. The internet has changed much about our task, but shoe-leather, inspiration and persistence are still vital, as John Walde demonstrates. - Huon Mallalieu, author of The Biographical Dictionary of British Watercolour Artists.

Many years ago I saw the draft of this thoroughly researched publication and was excited by what I saw. From years of experience, I am aware of how difficult it can be to trace information of lesser known artists with a local connection and encouraged the author and eagerly awaited its publication. It has now arrived and will be an invaluable reference guide that I know I will use often. - Malcolm Holmes MBE, Camden History Society Chair, former Camden Borough Archivist.