Identity elements
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Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Thomas Handforth Collection
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Name of creator
Biographical history
A native of Tacoma, Thomas Handforth won international acclaim as an artist, author, and illustrator. Born in Tacoma on September 19, 1897, Handforth attended Stadium High School (then Tacoma High School). There he created the art for the high school annuals. Post-graduation he attended the University of Washington then moved to New York for art training. During his service in World War I he drew anatomical drawings in Washington, D.C. After the war, he returned to New York and studied under Kenneth Hayes Miller and later with Mahonri Young. Later he trained in draughtsmanship and painting at Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He won numerous prizes and became a member of various societies of etchers.
In 1927 he visited Morocco and in 1929 relocated to Mexico. Two years later traveled to China where he stayed until 1937. It was in China where he developed his skills with lithography. From China, he went to Southeast Asia (then Indo-China) and returned to the United States at the approach of World War II. He returned to service in the Army and after his release returned to Tacoma in 1944 and again in 1945 to make portraits of his many former hometown friends. Handforth is best known for his children's book "Mai Li", published in 1938, for which he won the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1939. The other books he illustrated include Sidonie, Totou in Bondage, and Tranquilinas Paradise. Handforth died at McCornak General Hospital in Pasadena. His death was attributed to acute coronary thrombosis.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This Collection is comprised of the artistic and written output of Thomas S. Handforth. It includes letters, artwork, news clippings, scrap books, photographs, books, and a recording of his Caldecott acceptance speech.
System of arrangement
Handforth's artwork in this collection is generally divided into parts based mostly on his location in the world. His years in France reflect work produced by many young talented artists of the period while his work from Morocco, Mexico, China, and India reflects his interpretation of cultures found there.
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Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Tacoma Public Library received the Handforth Collection in a number of increments from the Handforth family and a number of his friends and associates, along with a small collection from Caroline Schneider of Seattle in 1982.