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East Asian Library's Special Holdings:
Thomas Temple Hoopes Collection


Late Thomas Temple Hoopes was a curator at the St. Louis Art Museum from 1936 to 1964 until his retirement. His widow Catherine S. Hoopes donated her husband's collection of various materials on Japanese and Chinese art, history, languages and literature and Japanese arms and armors to Washington University Libraries in 1981.

East Asian Library's special holdings include a part of the Hoopes collection, which are mainly about Japanese armors and arms, especially swords, written in Japanese or Chinese language, and published before 1900. There also are several microfilms, artifact such as cast, and hand-made card dictionary, etc. Some of these items are searchable through the Library's OPAC, others are not. These special holdings are in our locked special collection room to which access is limited between 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays. Please contact one of the staff members at East Asian Library to access the special collection room and for details about the Hoopes collection.

Other items in the donated collection are also housed in East Asian Library's general stack, Olin Library, and Art & Architecture Library, which are searchable through the OPAC.


Highlights of the collection
Shinto bengi
Keicho irai shinto bengi
慶長以来新刀辯疑

Honcho gunkiko
Honcho gunkiko
本朝軍器考

Tanki yoryaku
Tanki yoryaku seisakuben
単騎要畧製作辯
Tanki yoryaku hikoben
単騎要畧被甲辯

Sanko furyaku
Sanko furyaku
鏨工譜畧


Taizen koto meishuroku
Taizen koto meishuroku
大全古刀銘襍録


Katchu zukan
Katchu zukan
甲冑図鑑