Special Collections Division the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Vol. XI * No. 1 * Spring 1997

The Jack White Collection
by Jerry L. Stafford

Swift Packing Plant, Fort Worth, Texas, ca.1910.

The Special Collections Division is pleased to announce the donation of a collection of photographic images and related materials by Jack White of Fort Worth. The collection contains approximately 3,000 prints and more than 4,000 slides relating to Fort Worth and Tarrant County. The images include those taken by Mr. White, who is a talented photographer, and those he has collected from other individuals or copied from historic photograph collections. Mr. White used these images to create advertising and promotional materials while holding the positions of Vice President, Executive Art Director, and Personnel Manager for Witherspoon & Associates, a Fort Worth public relations firm.

Although Jack was born in San Angelo, Texas, his family moved to Fort Worth before his first birthday, and he has lived there ever since. White is a graduate of TCU, where he was editor of the campus newspaper and art editor of the annual. He was associated with Witherspoon for twenty-seven years, specializing in design, type management, and photography. Under White's supervision, the art operations at Witherspoon was consistently recognized, both locally and nationally, for their creativity and design. After retiring from Witherspoon & Associates, he formed his own company, Graphic Arts Company. Jack started a reduced work load in 1995, when he first began donating his collection to UTA.

Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, July 1971.

Many advertising clients have benefited from Jack's expertise in photography and graphic layout. Some of his more notable local clients were Tarrant County Convention Center, Osteopathic Medical Center, and the Kimbell Art Museum. In addition to the contemporary photographs of Fort Worth in his collection, Jack's interest in history has prompted his collecting some of the more significant images of nineteenth and early twentieth century "Cowtown."

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, May 1975.

Some outstanding examples of Jack's own photographic skills and the depth of his collecting can be viewed in the currently running exhibition entitled "Windows in Time: A Photographic History of Fort Worth from the Jack White Collection." The exhibition includes photographic images, both contemporary and historic, reflecting the growth and development of Fort Worth from its early days as a Victorian outpost on the prairie to the city's emergence as a twentieth century business and financial center. The exhibition is located on the sixth floor of the UTA Central Library, and will continue through August 15, 1997. Hours for viewing are 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday and 10:00am to 5:00pm on Saturdays. Admission is free. For more information about the exhibition or the Jack White Collection, please contact the Special Collections Division, UTA Libraries (817) 272-3393 [phone], or (817) 272-3360 [fax], or spcoref@uta.edu [e-mail].

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