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Lloyd Hoff Papers, 1936-1984

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Hoff, Lloyd
Title
Lloyd Hoff Papers
Dates
1936-1984 (inclusive)
Quantity
4 cubic feet, (4 document cases, 1 flat box, 1 oversize folder)
Collection Number
Coll 241
Summary
Correspondence and artwork of Oregon artist Lloyd Hoff. The collection includes letters, newspaper clippings, illustrations, prints, and books.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Lloyd Henry Hoff was born on June 11, 1910 in Balko, Oklahoma. His parents, Benjamin Tobias Hoff and Margaret Holm Hoff, were farmers. Hoff had one younger brother named Louis and one older brother named Herman. The Hoff family moved to Walla Walla, Washington in 1917 and lived there for five or six years. They then moved to San Juan Batista, California, which is where Lloyd attended high school while also working on the family farm. Though he recognized its importance to his childhood, Lloyd never wanted a farm life for himself. Instead, he had a great interest in art, literature, and poetry. His brother once reported that Lloyd recited poetry to the cows while milking them. Lloyd's family was supportive of his artistic development during his adolescence, and his paternal aunt helped him through college. Hoff attended a junior college in California (possibly in Hollister) from 1929-1931 before attending the University of California at Berkeley for two years. He earned a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees in history and in art. While at Berkeley, he took a class from Mr. Obata, a Japanese man who taught him Sumi painting and Oriental brushwork. After attending the class, Hoff lived with Obata and his family for a year.

During his time in California, he illustrated books for friends, and created some illustrations for Communist newspapers at the request of his first wife. He sometimes signed his illustrations as “hans,” which was a family name but may specifically be a reference to a paternal uncle of whom he was fond. He also created the graphic design for a “Thank You” that would appear on a restaurant check. He worked at Walt Disney Studios but left after just two weeks, finding the copy work there uncreative and unfulfilling. He then applied for work in the civil service and did very well in the exams. He was placed in the Bonneville Power Administration as a graphic designer in 1939, which prompted him to move to Oregon. He eventually became chief of the graphics department there. He also worked for other departments of the Interior, such as the Indian Bureau.

By the time Hoff moved to Oregon, he had divorced his first wife. He met Clementine, his second wife, in 1939. They were married on November 29th, 1941, and Pearl Harbor was bombed on the last day of their honeymoon. Because Lloyd had no children, he was a probable candidate for the draft during World War II, but was not drafted until a year later. He went to Camp Adair for a year, where he nearly died from pneumonia. He then shipped out to the South Pacific and was stationed in New Caledonia and the Philippines. He started out as a private but became a mapmaker and was thus transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Hoff made friends with local inhabitants in the Philippines who gave him culinary gifts upon his departure. This led to a bout of amoebic dysentery which would last for years. His next desination was Japan; however, his positive experience with the Obata family in Berkeley made him feel very conflicted about impending combat with the Japanese. Fortunately, the war ended while he was on his way to Japan. He stayed there for the first few months of the U.S. occupation, and was discharged in December of 1945.

After the war, Lloyd and Clementine Hoff had two children, named Ben and Laurie. Lloyd continued his work with the Bonneville Power Administration while also creating illustrations for other works. Near the end of his career, Hoff injured his hand while cutting wood, which made it very painful for him to draw. His wife reported that the illustrations for Marvin Rosenberg’s book jackets were particularly difficult. He retired in 1975, and died on November 29, 1982.

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Content Description

This collection relates to a portion of Lloyd Hoff's art work and is comprised of correspondence, drawings, and prints. The correspondence deals mostly with Hoff's various illustration projects from the late 1930s through the early 1970s. There is very little material regarding Hoff's work with the Bonneville Power Administration. Most art pieces in this collection are prints that would later be published in books, particularly hand press books with limited runs. However, other prints, a few sketches, political cartoons, and advertisements can also be found here. Several drawings are of the South Pacific and Japan. A large portion of the art in this collection comes from Hoff's work for A Native American by William Saroyan. Also included are a number of newspaper articles about Saroyan which Hoff's wife collected.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Lloyd Hoff Papers, Coll 241, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged in two series:

  • Series A: Correspondence
  • Series B: Artwork

Acquisition Information

Acquired July 2011, Library Accession 27392.

Separated Materials

Wood block carvings used to illustrate William Saroyan's A native American have been transferred to the Artifacts Collection, Oregon Historical Society.

Related Materials

Lloyd Hoff's artwork and other materials created for the Bonneville Power Administration are housed in the Administration's library in Portland, Oregon.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

  • Series A: Correspondence

    • Description: 1955 publishing of updated “Sin” which was given up for lack of funds. Also earlier correspondence for previous work

      This file contains letters that were addressed to people other than Lloyd, but which concerned him or were sent to him for reference.

      Dates: 1948-1955, 1962, undated
      Container: Box/Folder 1/1
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: General
      Dates: 1939-1974, 1981
      Container: Box/Folder 1/2
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: Richard [Dick] Guggenheim

      This file contains letters that were addressed to people other than Lloyd, but which concerned him or were sent to him for reference.

      Dates: 1948-1956
      Container: Box/Folder 1/3-4
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: Helen King
      Dates: 1962-1963, undated
      Container: Box/Folder 1/5
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: Lloyd’s jobs of illustration (all except for “Where to Sin”)
      Dates: 1948-1953
      Container: Box/Folder 1/6
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: John [Jack] Lord

      An outgoing letter from Lloyd Hoff is in this folder. This file contains letters that were addressed to people other than Lloyd, but which concerned him or were sent to him for reference.

      Dates: 1952-1956
      Container: Box/Folder 1/7
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: Ramsey Oppenheim
      Dates: 1953-1956, undated
      Container: Box/Folder 1/8
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: Marvin Rosenberg, UC Berkeley Department of Dramatic Art
      Dates: 1951-1975, undated
      Container: Box/Folder 1/9
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: William Saroyan

      Includes articles published about Saroyan after his death.

      Dates: 1938-1981, undated
      Container: Box/Folder 1/10
      Location: Series A: Correspondence
    • Description: Richard Volz, Custodian of Chapin Library, Williams College

      Includes a letter to Mr. Volz from an unknown sender who is probably Clementine Hoff.

      Dates: 1984
      Container: Box/Folder 1/11
      Location: Series A: Correspondence

  • Series B: Artwork

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Personal Names

Form or Genre Terms

Titles within the Collection

  • A native American

Other Creators

Finding aid prepared by Marianna Symeonides
2011

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