Celebrating Leota Woy during Women's History Month

The beautiful bookplate designed by Leota Woy for the Los Angeles County Library can be found throughout the library's Californiana collection. It wasn't until recently looking closely at the bookplate that I noticed Woy's signature in the bottom right corner. Who was Leota Woy?

Leota Woy (1867-1962) was a prolific designer of bookplates in the early twentieth century, she was also a collector and lectured on bookplates all over Southern California. No doubt she received her commissions via word of mouth but she also advertised her services in the Los Angeles Times and the Hollywood Bowl magazine. Woy's talents were celebrated by bookplate expert Clare Ryan Talbot in her 1936 Historic California in Bookplates.

Born in Indiana, Woy landed in Denver in her early 20s (many of her bookplate designs for Denver organizations and individuals can be found in the Los Angeles Public Library Bookplate Collection). One 1913 article I found on Miss Woy said she traveled the United States selling her postcard designs. Ten years later she was being touted as the originator of the rhyming greeting card according to the Anaheim Bulletin. By the early 1920s, Woy was a member of the burgeoning Laguna Beach art colony where she additionally became the first custodian of the Orange County Public Library branch at Laguna, and a curator of the Laguna Art Museum during the summers of 1921 and 1922.

In addition to the Los Angeles County Library Californiana bookplate (part of a Federal Arts Project in 1937), here are Woy designed bookplates for the Southern California Woman's Press Club, and actor John Gilbert among many others. Don't miss her signature on her personal bookplate--it's spelled out in the flow of an overturned inkwell. (Seen here from the Bookplate Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library.)

Celebrating Mr. Cobb on National Library Workers Day

From 1925 until 1950 the Los Angeles County Public Library relied on one man who oversaw all aspects of the library’s physical locations– James E. Cobb.

A skilled carpenter and cabinetmaker, Mr. Cobb was initially hired as chauffeur to Helen Vogleson (County Librarian) and served as her assistant for property and maintenance issues. An anecdotal story for the library’s 50th anniversary recalled that, during his time as chauffeur, Mr. Cobb would repair shelves and furniture while he waited for Ms. Vogleson to conduct her business in the branches.

A 1937 report from the library’s Division of Equipment and Property (later known as the Property and Transportation Division), headed by James E. Cobb, gave a snapshot of the heavy workload placed upon his shoulders by that time. The division was broken down into four sections –Transportation, Property, Workshop, and Shipping– that handled 221 locations spread out across 3500 square miles. Overseen by Mr. Cobb, the department employed 8 full-time employees.

Los Angeles County Free Library book delivery trucks in front of Hall of Records,

Los Angeles, California [1929] LA County Library Digital Collections

Let's break down the work completed by each of these divisions. The Transportation Division consisted of four vehicles and drivers who delivered books and/or staff on a daily basis to library locations scattered across Los Angeles County. The Property Department was in charge of keeping track of all library inventory--books, furniture, buildings, etc. Anything over $2 in value was noted on its own card (including description, cost, location and “particulars concerning its purchase”). The Shipping Department, in addition to shipping, also embossed the library’s books and handled the materials deaccessioned by librarians.

The Workshop, consisting solely of Mr. Cobb in the beginning and later added three more men, was a marvel unto itself. Tables and chairs were refinished, signs were relettered, clocks were repaired, floors buffed, linoleum laid, lights repaired, walls painted, locks smithed, and plumbing plumbed. The workshop, alternately known as the Library Shop, also built furniture needed by the library that included shelving, book trucks, display cases, dictionary stands, bike racks and more. According to a couple of sources, Mr. Cobb repurposed one of the library’s delivery trucks– building and installing shelving– creating a bookmobile.

The Library Shop as seen in the 1951-52 Los Angeles County Public Library Annual Report

Illness forced Mr. Cobb to retire in late 1950 and the staff newsletter sang his praises. He was lauded for his attention to detail, time and project management skills (which he learned from his previous employment as a clerk with the Southern Pacific Railroad), as well as his warmth, humor and  impressive gardening skills.

Just as libraries are more than books, libraries employ more than librarians. There might also be clerks, delivery drivers, IT specialists, social workers, publicists, and other astounding people who wear many hats like Mr. James E. Cobb.