Staff and visitors in UTA Special Collections reviewing manuscript materials.

Special Collections 2020: Year in Review

U T A with star in the center, used when staff photo is unavailable

by Stephanie Luke

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The purpose of The Compass Rose is to raise awareness of Special Collections' resources and to foster the use of these resources. The blog series also reports significant new programs, initiatives, and acquisitions of Special Collections.  

This post was co-authored by Special Collections Metadata Librarian Stephanie Luke and Photograph Collections Specialist Sara Pezzoni.

Despite the pandemic, 2020 has been a busy year for Special Collections at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. In this post, we will highlight several of this year’s acquisitions and review where and how materials from our collections are being used around the world. 

Audubon’s colorful plate of the polar bear

Audubon’s colorful plate of the polar bear.

Cassin’s colorful plate of Kirtland’s Warbler

Cassin’s colorful plate of Kirtland’s Warbler.

Map of Japan with ships and sea monsters

Jodocus Hondius’s "Japonia" (1606) features ships and a sea monster.

A map of Africa with a crucifixion scene in bottom left

Heinrich Sherer’s "Mappa Geographica Exhibens Religionem Catholicam Alicubi Per Africam Sparsam" (circa 1710) features the continent of Africa and other images, including the crucifixion of Christ.

An advertisement for a black western film

An advertisement (circa 1920s) for African American films, including "The Crystal Skull." The ad describes the movie, which starred an “All colored cast” and was “produced in the all-colored city of Boley, Okla.”
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Acquisitions of Published Materials

  • John James Audubon’s Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1827-1838) – The octavo edition of this three-volume work that includes 150 colorful lithographs and extensive text describing the mammals of North America. To learn more, read the Compass Rose blog post written by Metadata Librarian Stephanie Luke. 

     
  • John Cassin’s Illustrations of the birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America (1862) – First edition of Cassin’s work on American ornithology, with hand-colored lithographs and text describing numerous birds, including some from Texas. 

     
  • Lee R. Greenhouse and Flora E. Lazar map donation – Through the generosity of Mr. Lee R. Greenhouse, UTA is now home to 14 more antique maps. The maps feature several locations from Asia, Africa, Europe, and even the Arctic and Antarctica. To learn more about this collection, visit Cartographic Archivist Ben Huseman's Compass Rose blog posts in two parts, Part One and Part Two.
  • Dr. Jack Franke African Map Collection – Through the generosity of UTA alumnus Dr. Jack Franke, Special Collections has been actively adding to its collections of African maps. Images of these maps can be viewed in the UTA Libraries Digital Gallery. To learn more about this collection, visit Cartographic Archivist Ben Huseman's three-part blog posts on the city views from the Nuremberg Chronicle, Münster’s Cosmography, and Braun and Hogenberg. 

     
  • African American materials – Special Collections has acquired many items that document the African American experience in North Texas. These include the minutes of meetings from various Baptist churches, constitutions and a guide for members of the Heroines of Jericho, a poster advertising films with all African American casts, and a guide for leaders of Methodist churches about the benefits of scouting for African American boys. To learn more about UTA’s work to ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), read the Libraries’ plan of action for EDI initiatives. 

     
Photograph of a recipe box superimposed over a black and white photograph of Lucille Bishop Smith.

Black and white photo from 1974 of Lucille Bishop Smith from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection with a color photo of the 1947 edition of “Lucille’s Treasure Chest of Fine Foods” recipe box superimposed over the black and white image.

A family poses by a lake

An undated photograph from an Odom family reunion. Source: Ruby and Elzie Odom Papers.
An African American man and woman pose for a formal photograph

An undated photograph of Jerry Bluiett and Lillie McCarter, maternal grandparents of Ruby (Truvillion) Odom. Source: Ruby and Elzie Odom Papers.
Two men and a woman pose on an automobile

An undated photograph from the Pinkie Harris collection.

A young girl poses in front of flowers

Carolyn Krebs, at 3 years of age, from a photograph dated 1943. Source: Helen Krebs Maddox Papers.

A baby poses for a photograph

William Krebs, age 6 months, from a photograph dated 1938. Source: Helen Krebs Maddox Papers.

The outside of Will Rogers Memorial Center

Undated photo of the Will Rogers Memorial Center. Source: Judith Singer Cohen and Cowtown Moderne Research Collection.

A mural of Will Rogers at the Will Rogers Memorial Center

Undated photo of the Will Rogers Memorial Center. Source: Judith Singer Cohen and Cowtown Moderne Research Collection.

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Archival Acquisitions

  • Ruby and Elzie Odom Papers – Elzie Odom, mayor of Arlington from 1997 to 2003, and his wife, Ruby, have donated their papers and photographs to UTA Special Collections. To view images from the collection, visit the UTA Libraries Digital Gallery. 

  • Pinkie Harris Papers – Special Collections has recently acquired the archive of Pinkie Harris, an African American woman who lived in Texas from 1885 to 1961. The collection includes nearly 200 letters, photographs, and ephemera, including correspondence with Historical Black Colleges and Universities as well as itinerant Texan preachers.

  • Julia Burgen Papers – The papers of Julia Burgen, environmental activist and former member of the Arlington City Council member, are rich in records of Arlington, Tarrant County and Texas conservation organizations and Arlington City Council; her work to champion parks and trails; solve flooding issues on Johnson Creek; protect legacy trees; and foster love for nature in school children.

  • Dorothy Rencurrel Papers – Dorothy Rencurrel is a resident of Arlington and has been active in local organizations including the Arlington Woman’s Club, the Arlington Landmark Commission, and the Tarrant County Historical Commission. The collection comprises of material relating to Rencurrel’s work on the Landmark Commission and the history of Arlington and Fort Worth.

  • Helen Krebs Maddox Papers – Helen Krebs Maddox was a resident of Arlington who lived to be 104. She was a charter member of the Arlington Woman’s Club and Republican Women of Arlington.  She helped establish the first YMCA and Campfire Girls in Arlington, and remained active in the First United Methodist Church, the Salvation Army, Arlington. Collection materials include correspondence, certificates, genealogical materials, photographs/albums, scrapbooks, artifacts, and other materials regarding Maddox’s contributions to Arlington. 

  • Judith Singer Cohen Cowtown Moderne Research Collection – Cohen is an art historian, historic preservationist, and author of the book Cowtown Moderne: Art Deco Architecture of Fort Worth, Texas. Collection materials largely include research materials and organizational files relating to Art Deco architecture in Fort Worth, as well as historic preservation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Types of materials include research notes, clippings, correspondence, brochures, and photographs of Art Deco buildings taken by her husband, Dr. Don Cohen.   

  • Lucille Bishop Smith Recipe Box – Lucille Bishop Smith was a chef, educator, and entrepreneur in Fort Worth and was credited as the first African American woman in Texas to incorporate a business in 1974. Special Collections acquired a 1972 edition of her cookbook Lucille’s Treasure Chest of Fine Foods, which includes over 400 recipe cards that feature favorite Southern dishes, presented in recipe-box format. 

  • UTA Libraries FabLab Face Mask and Face Shield – A fabric face mask sewn in the UTA Libraries FabLab and a face shield 3D printed in the UTA Libraries FabLab during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both were transferred to Special Collections as part of the ongoing Archiving the Pandemic project. To learn more, read the Compass Rose blog post written by University and Labor Archivist Michael Barera. 

  • Dan Bida UTA Athletics Collection – UTA athletics photographs, programs, media guides, and posters from the collection of Dr. Dan Bida, longtime UTA athletics dentist. The collection includes UTA football programs dating back to the 1960s and features excellent coverage of all UTA sports from the 1980s through early 2000s. 

  • National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees (NAPFE) Records – Correspondence, minutes, dues books, membership records, and photographs from NAPFE’s District 1 (Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico) and its San Antonio branch from NAPFE member Calvin T. Curtis, Sr. The collection notably includes two photographs of NAPFE youth taken by prominent San Antonio African American photographer Allee Wallace. 

Image Reproduction Highlights

Materials found within Special Collections’ holdings have been used across a wide variety of outlets, including (but not limited to) features in local news stories, on television shows, printed in publications, and used in public exhibitions. 

 

Local News

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection, which came in increments to UTA Libraries from 1984 to 1999, is often used in a variety of news articles and columns published by the original donor, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. This year, the Star-Telegram used several photographs from the collection for stories about German POWs in Fort Worth during WWII, the filming of Logan’s Run in Fort Worth in 1976, and even for a historical feature of a local hamburger joint, just to name a few. 

Other local news outlets used our collection materials to illustrate news stories, including: 

The Dallas Morning News used photographs from our Squire Haskins Photography, Inc. collection and our J.W. Dunlop Photograph collection:  

NBC5 DFW used photographs from our W.D. Smith Commercial Photography, Inc. collection and our Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection: 

WFAA-TV used photographs from our Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection, Ruth Dearmin Cooke photograph collection, Amon Carter photograph collection, and Jenkins Garrett Postcard collection:  

 

Television Shows 

Our collection materials have also been broadcast across a variety of television shows; the series of photos of the Roswell, New Mexico UFO incident from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection was most frequently used this year: 

PBS TV documentary series American Masters:  

History Channel shows: 

  • “Ancient Aliens” Season 15, Episode 2: “The Relics of Roswell,” aired February 2020 (photos used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection) 
  • “The UnXplained” Season 2, Episode 4: “The Truth About UFOs,” aired August 2020 (photos used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection) 
  • “History's Greatest Mysteries” Season 1, Episode 6: “Roswell: The First Witness,” aired December 2020 (photos used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection)

 

Publications 

Our collection materials have also been included in a variety of books, catalogs, brochures, and magazines: 

  • Magnolia online blog post, “Silos Update: Bringing the Ballpark Back,” July 1, 2020 (photo used from the Squire Haskins Photography, Inc. collection) 

  • National Park Service print brochure for Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park (broadside graphic used from the Jenkins Garrett collection) 

  • Harper’s Magazine article, “Cage of Gold,” September 2020 (photo used from the Texas AFL-CIO collection) 

  • Bonhams auction house print catalog for “The American Presidential Experience,” October 2020 auction of President John F. Kennedy’s “Limo One” driven in Fort Worth the morning of JFK’s assassination (photos from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection) 

  • Pediment Publishing book (on behalf of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram), Fort Worth Memories III, published Fall 2020 (100+ photos from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection) 

  • Texas Highways magazine article, "Tales of Texas Grit," November 2020 (photo from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection) 

 

Exhibitions/Public Display 

Finally, our collection materials can be found in exhibits and on public display across Texas, and here are a few highlights: 

  • The Old Jail Art Center in Albany, Texas has put together the Basil Clemons: Witness to a Texas Boomtown exhibit, on view now until January 30, 2021. The exhibit features a retrospective look at the photographic work of Basil Clemons, chronicling his journey to a career in photography and his work in Breckenridge, Texas that captured the flourish of activity surrounding the discovery of oil. Selected from over 4,900 photographs in the Basil Clemons Photograph collection here at UTA Special Collections, the images in this exhibit epitomize life in and around Breckenridge—an American boomtown of the 1920s and 1930s (photos used from the Basil Clemons Photograph collection) 

  • The Sue S. Bancroft Women’s Leadership Hall at Texas Woman’s University is host to an interactive history exhibit that showcases the contributions and leadership legacy of Texas women in politics and public policy (photos used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection, the Irion Family Papers, and the Frances Sanger Mossiker Family Papers) 

  • The UNT Dallas College of Law Center is housed in the newly renovated historic Old City Hall in downtown Dallas at 106 S. Harwood Street. The school has vowed to maintain historic elements of the building, which includes a permanent exhibit titled November, 1963: The Aftermath which commemorates the tragic events of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 (photos used from the Squire Haskins Photography, Inc. collection and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection) 

  • The Fort Worth Arts Council collaborated with Dallas-based artist Riley Holloway this year on a public art project, Remnants of 1965, currently on display at the Fort Worth Municipal Court building (photo used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection)

  • The Downtown Arlington Management Corporation has worked over the last few years to highlight public arts projects on display throughout downtown Arlington, Texas and have plans to display some of UTA Special Collections’ historic photographs of Arlington at two projects located at 312 W. Abram St. and at the corner of W. Abram Street & S. Center Street (photos used from the J.W. Dunlop Photograph collection)

This concludes our recap of this year’s acquisitions and image reproduction highlights, we in Special Collections hope you have a restful holiday season and wish you a very happy new year!

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