The Jailhouse Cartoonist
A talented prisoner turns scraps of cardboard into caricatures of local officials, revealing a hidden history of talent behind bars.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
An artist of exceptional merit was discovered in the city jail this morning in the person of C. E. Woods, arrested on the charge of prowling about residences at Sixth and E streets, and sentenced to thirty days. The man had begged repeatedly for cardboard and some crayons, which were taken from him when arrested. Today they were given to him, and in a very brief time, he had sketched cartoons of Judge Arntson, Captain Reid, Patrolman Johnson, Jimmie Slilel, the jail cook and numbers of others. Woods did all the work from memory, and the drawings were works which a professional cartoonist would be proud of. His is the common story of high life and finally destitution. He once held a reputable position on an Eastern newspaper.
“His is the common story of high life and finally destitution.”
The intersection of Sixth and E streets remains a central point in Tacoma's residential landscape. The image of a talented individual lost to systemic homelessness or personal tragedy while using art to cope with incarceration remains a stark, recurring reality in modern civic justice conversations.
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