WEEKS, (Norman) Donald 1921-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born April 18, 1921, in Detroit, MI; died September 7, 2003, in London, England. Artist, editor, and author. Weeks, an authority on the author Frederick William Rolfe (also known as Baron Corvo), was a noted book collector. An artist throughout his life, his skill was recognized early in his poster creations when he was still in grade school. He later studied industrial design at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, followed by an education in fine art and design at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills. His early career found Weeks designing floor plans for bars and working as an architectural designer and mechanical illustrator for the Government Ordnance Department in Fort Wayne in Detroit. This experience led to his being recruited by Army Intelligence to create maps while stationed in Hawaii. During World War II, Weeks found himself stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines, where he received a head injury that led to his being sent home. Back in Detroit, he became a freelance illustrator and later found jobs with various periodicals, which led him to a job as art director of Chevrolet's magazine Friends from 1952 to 1966. During this time, he received awards for layout designs, thanks in part to his decision to hire artist Edward Gorey to create illustrations. Meanwhile, Weeks was developing a fascination for book and art collecting, especially the work of Baron Corvo. This obsession led to his becoming the founding president of the Book Club of Detroit, where he was also editor of the club's newsletter. Research on Corvo brought Weeks to England in 1966, where he would remain for the rest of his life. In England, Weeks began publishing books and pamphlets about artists and writers, including The Drawings of Heinrich Kley (1968) and Corvo (1971; revised as Corvo: Saint or Madman?, 1973). He continued to collect books and artwork, becoming widely recognized for his research on Corvo and publishing such works as Frederick William Rolfe and Artists' Model (1981), Frederick William Rolfe: The 1903 Conclave and Hartwell de la Garde Grissell (1982), Rolfe without Frederick (1983), Frederick William Rolfe and Editors (1984), and an edited edition of Frederick Rolfe's "Reviews of Unwritten Books" (1985). Weeks also collected books by other favorite writers, such as Bram Stoker, and authored a book about T. E. Lawrence.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Daily Telegraph (London, England), February 20, 2004, p. 31.

Independent (London, England), February 19, 2004, p. 35.