Della Thomas Collection

Collection

Identifier: 2003-102

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Collection contains books, figurines, ornaments, note cards, calendars, posters, dolls, phonograph records, audio tapes, slides and memorabilia. Material used include: ceramic, resin, styrofoam, paper, fabric, metal, slides and crystal.

Della Thomas collected all types of artifacts related to the Lewis Carroll characters created for Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass. Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations of Carroll’s works are prominent throughout the collection. Other illustrators include Walt Disney, Liz Reber, Barry Moser, Jane Breskin Zalben, and others. The slides collected by Della Thomas during her travel feature locations and settings of various children’s stories. These slides were transferred to the collection from the Curriculum Materials Library.

Dates

1913 - 2004

Language of Materials

Materials in English, Japanese, German, etc.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the Oklahoma Open Records Act (http://www.odl.state.ok.us/lawinfo/docs/2006-LibraryLaws-PartE.pdf), and other relevant regulations. Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Oklahoma State University Libraries assumes no responsibility.

Conditions Governing Use

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, Oklahoma State University Archives will provide information about copyright owners and related information. Securing permission to publish or use material is the responsibility of the researcher. Note that unless specifically transferred to Oklahoma State University Libraries, any applicable copyrights may be held by another individual or entity. Copyright for material published by Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College/Oklahoma State University is held by the Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges. All rights reserved.

Further information about copyright policy can be obtained by contacting Oklahoma State University Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311.

Biographical Sketch

Della Thomas was born March 27, 1913 on a farm her family homesteaded near Mitchell, S.D. The family moved to upstate Wisconsin where she attended high school. She received a teaching degree from Superior Wisconsin State Teacher’s College and taught school for several years before returning to obtain a degree in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

In Madison, she met and married John E. Thomas. They moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma where Mr. Thomas had accepted a position at Oklahoma A&M College. While her children were young, Mrs. Thomas worked for the Scott Foresman Company assisting with the publication of textbooks.

In 1959, Mrs. Thomas joined the staff at the Oklahoma State University Library as the head of the new Curriculum Materials Laboratory (now The Mary L. Williams Curriculum Materials Library) and taught classes in Children’s Literature. Mrs. Thomas was a member of the Oklahoma Library Association and was elected as the organization’s president in 1965. She was also very active for many years in the American Library Association, serving on several national committees.

Mrs. Thomas was particularly interested in Children’s Literature. In conjunction with Studies Abroad Corporation and the University she led college credit tours to Europe and Asia, visiting sites, organizations and authors associated with the world of children’s literature.

When Mrs. Thomas retired, she started a used and new book business in Stillwater, Caravan Books, in partnership with her son Peter Thomas. The used book business evolved into the Caravan Book Annex, which Mrs. Thomas and her husband ran for many years. In addition to work at the book store, Mrs. Thomas published many catalogs of her extensive collection of used and rare children’s books and sold to customers throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Mrs. Thomas had many interests including gardening, sewing, crafts, and book collecting. She accumulated a large collection of books and ephemera relating to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Extent

35.35 Linear feet (55 book boxes, 1 triangular shaped box, 4 record storage boxes, 2 newspaper boxes, 1 flat box, and 1 phonograph record box)

Additional Description

Arrangement

Arranged into 2 series.

Location

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog or contact the Oklahoma State University Archives Reference staff.