Special Collections in 2023: 2nd Quarterly Review

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 is the newest in an ongoing series spotlighting new acquisitions and reproductions of our content. For more on our previous featured material, read our previously published Quarterly Review blogs.

Special Collections is continually acquiring new materials and image reproductions of items from our collections are regularly used in new publications and by media outlets. This post reviews where and how materials from our collections are being used around the world in April, May, and June of 2023.

This quarter, we acquired a multitude of maps and prints from donor Dr. Jack Franke.

Maps donated by Dr. Franke:

• Edinburgh Geographical Institute and John Bartholomew & Son, Ltd., Africa -- Political (from "The Times" Atlas, plate 68)
• Henry Seile, Africae Descriptio Nova Impensis, Engraved by William Trevethen, from Peter Heylin, Cosmographie in four bookes (London, 1652)
• Hinrich Lichtenstein and M. Thomson, Map of the European Territory of the Cape of Good Hope compiled & sketched from Personal Observation..., from Lichtenstein, Travels in Southern Africa in the years 1803, 1804, 1805 and 1806 (London: H. Colburn, 1815)
• Richard Blome after Nicolas Sanson, A New Mapp of Africa, engraved by F. Lamb (London: 1682; first printed in 1669)
• Arnold Schultze / C. Schmidt / Paul Langhans, Die Insel Annobon im Golf von Guinea [from Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen (Gotha: Justus Perthes, 1913), plate 24]
• Daniel Stoopendaal, Het Beloofde Landt Canaan door wandelt van onsen Salichmaecker Jesu Christo neffens syne Apostelen, engraving with applied color (1680s)
• South African Tourist Corporation, Tourist Map of the Republic of South Africa (ca. 1950s-1960s)
• Lands and Surveys Department, Uganda, Uganda Protectorate, 1955 (1958)
• Charte von Nieder Guinea (Prag, 1811)
• [Russian Map of Africa]
• [Imperial Japanese World Map], ca. 1914
• F. A. Brockhaus Cartographic Establishment, Afrika: Staatliche Gliederung [Verso: Afrika: Wirtschaft; Afrika: Bevolkerung]
• Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig, Afrika, from Meyers Konv.-Lexikon
• J. Riedel and W. Karnahl, Afrika, Bodengestalt und Gewasser [Berlin-Lichterfelde: Columbus-Verlag, Gm.b.H. (Paul Oestergaard), 1928]
• London Geographical Institute/George Philip & Son, Ltd., Africa: General Map [from Harmsworth Universal Atlas]
• C. Barich and Adolph Sieler, Afrika, from Stielers Hand Atlas (Gotha: Justus Perthes, ?). 
• Giovanni Battista Ramusio and Giacomo Gastaldi, Prima Tavolo [Africa], from Ramusio, Delle Navigationi et Viaggi... (Venice: Thomaso Giunti, 1563), vol. 1. 

Prints donated by Dr. Franke:

• Pieter Van der Aa after Olfert Dapper, Wolfgang et al., Casteel del Mina / St. George del Mina, en Guinee, from Van der Aa, Galerie Agreable du Monde: Tome Second d'Afrique (Leiden: Van der Aa, 1728)
• Bernard Partridge, In Darkish Africa. The Dove of Peace...., from Punch, or the London Charivari, May 22, 1935
• Bernard Partridge, The Sweets of Aggression. Haile Selassie...., from Punch, or the London Charivari, December 18, 1935
• Bernard Partridge, The Black Man's Burden. Abyssinia. "I sometimes wonder whether it was worth my while joining this European League." [from Punch, or the London Charivari, September 11, 1935
• Bernard Partridge, The White Elephant "She goes her Imperial way..." Signor Gayda writing of Italy, from Punch, or the London Charivari, January 12, 1938]

• Jose Luis Moctezuma Zamarron and Alejandro Aguilar Zeleny, Los Pueblos Indigenas del Noroeste: Atlas Etnografico (Mexico, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia; Instituto Sonorense de Cultura del Gobierno del Estado de Sonora; Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indigenas, 2013)
• Wulf Bodenstein, Horizons de la Beauce: Cartes geographiques de l'ancien grenier de la France (Janville: Jean-Louis Baudron, 2018). Gift of Dr. Wulf Bodenstein 
• Rozemarijn Landsman, Vermeer's Maps (New York: The Frick Collection in association with Del Monico Books, D.A.P., 2022). Gift of The Frick Collection, New York 

The John and Magdalena Conway Collection tells the story of the globalization of American culture and the deep connections between the US and Mexico through over 800 hundred examples of Mexican and Spanish comics, dime novels, and pulps. These rare materials capture information about Mexican Revolutionaries like Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, major events like the conquest of Mexico and the U.S. Mexico War, state-sponsored Mexican comics about immigration and social issues, and the Spanish Western novelettes of Marcial Lafuente Estefanía, one of the most widely read Spanish language authors of the twentieth century. Read more about the donation in the UTA Libraries news article, "Comic Book Donation Opens Window to History."

TARO (Texas Archival Resources Online) makes descriptions, or "finding aids," of the rich archival collections in repositories across the state available to the public. Finding aids assist users in locating information in our collections and serve as a descriptive guide to the unique materials only available here in Special Collections. Here are our most recent finding aid uploads to TARO:

• Henry Zweifel Papers (AR556)
• UTA Center for Mexican American Studies Records (AR698)
  • The Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) records span from its opening through 2013, and reflect the internal administrative operations of CMAS; its Mexican American Studies (MAS) minor; community outreach; events celebrating the heritage, culture, and contributions of the Hispanic community; and the promotion of Latino-oriented scholarship.
• Byron F. Fullerton Papers (AR724)
• Frederick B. "Lico" Reyes Papers (AR738)
• Cissy Stewart Lale Papers (AR744)
  • Lloyd “Cissy" Stewart Lale (1924-2020) was best known for her work as a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She worked for three different newspapers during her journalism career: the Marshall News Messenger, the Cleburne Times Review, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The bulk of the collection represents her professional work including awards, certificates, clipped Fort Worth Star-Telegram columns, and materials pertaining to her book Sweetie Laded’s Historic Fort Worth.
• Altrusa International, Inc. of Arlington, Texas, Records (AR769)
• Ernest L. Sherman Word War I Correspondence (AR801)
• International Union of Elevator Constructors Records (AR813)
• UTA Women’s Studies Committee Records (AR815)
  • The UTA Women’s Studies Committee was the forerunner of the UTA Women’s Center, and was founded as an outgrowth of the UTA Women’s Studies Program, which was established in the History Department by Professor Jerry Rodnitzky. The UTA Women’s Studies Committee Records contain the papers and records of Dr. Rodnitzky, and consist of correspondence, newsletters, background research, and other materials relating to women’s studies.
• Texas Political and Labor Memorabilia Collection (AR817)
• UTA Student Organizations Event Records (DA4)
  • This digital collection consists of event records from the UTA Student Organizations office from 2020-2022. Event records include, but are not limited to, the event date, title, location, estimated attendance, and hosting organization.

Students from a variety of classes and organizations visit Special Collections to engage in experiential learning activities using our unique materials. Visits this quarter have included Art History, History, Spanish, and Biology classes. Pictured below are a few examples from class instruction over the past few months.

Each semester, Dr. Leah McCurdy’s ART 1317 class (Art History of Africa, Asia, and the Americas) makes several trips to Special Collections. One week in April, students visited on Monday and Wednesday to view items carefully curated to represent themes within the broad concept of "trade and exchange." In lectures and readings, they learned about exchange, both literally in terms of trading items between culture, and also figuratively in terms of cultural exchange. During their visits to Special Collections, groups were tasked with analyzing primary source items to determine what subthemes they could uncover (for example, one possible subtheme is trade routes). Then, the class returned on Friday for an exercise designed to gamify their learnings by acting out their subtheme in a game of charades (see photo above at right)! 

Dr. Chris Conway’s Latin American Culture and Civilization (SPAN 3312) class visited twice in April. On their first visit, Dr. Conway specifically asked our Public Services Archivist, Evan Spencer, and Cartographic Archivist, Ben Huseman, to pull items that they found visually appealing in the collection. Evan and Ben pulled materials from our cartographic, photographic, and archival collections that attempted to span the entire breadth of the collection (see photo above at left). Because of this approach, many items with seemingly very little connection were displayed together – political cartoons from our Tarrant County LGBTQ+ collection were displayed next to broadsides from the U.S. War with Mexico! The students returned for a second visit and conducted primary source analysis with materials from AR46: Migrant Farm Workers Organizing Movement Collection. 

The African American Museum of Dallas hosted their Annual Preservation Workshop on June 10, which helped attendees learn more about preserving family and local history, and empowered them to "reunite with their families to uncover more about themselves and to uplift the ordinary and extraordinary people within their unique heritage." Special Collections Archivist Priscilla Escobedo assisted in the workshop, presenting on preservation of family records.

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. Below are some examples of where and how our materials have been used this quarter.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram collection, which came in increments to UTA Libraries from 1984 to 2022, is often used in a variety of news articles and columns published by the original donor, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. This quarter, the Star-Telegram used photographs from the collection for 9 stories: 

• "Trinity Terrace began as Cumberland Rest Home in Fort Worth," by Carol Roark, April 1, 2023
• "Exhibit about Jimmy Stewart's Love for Fort Worth now open'" by Megan Cardona, April 13, 2023
• "Braniff Flight 352 disaster in 1968 was Texas' deadliest crash," by David Wilson, April 27, 2023
• "Franklin Roosevelt often visited his son Elliott in Ft. Worth,'" by Carol Roark, May 6, 2023
• "DFW to spent $4.8B on new Terminal F, overhaul of Terminal C," by Jenny Rudolph, May 17, 2023
• "A Texas town celebrates the 75th birthday of a famous chicken-fried steak café," by Bud Kennedy, June 8, 2023
• "Fort Worth's ice cream Drumstick house on the market for $4M," by Megan Cardona, June 8, 2023
• "Housing, services needed for WWII bomber plant employees," by Carol Roark, June 10, 2023
• "Texas drag queens threatened by protests vow to fight back," by Kaley Johnson and Jess Hardin, June 16, 2023

• Plumbers Local 146 – 125th Anniversary History, published by Union Histories, March 31, 2023; images used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, the W. D. Smith Commercial Photography, Inc. Collection, and the Texas AFL-CIO Photograph and Scrapbook Collection

• Temporary exhibit, "Mavericks in Motion: A History of Diversity in Sports at UTA," curated by Special Collections staff Don Ivey and Sara Pezzoni and student staff Piper Burchell and Sophia Motyka, as part of the UTA Diversity in Sports event held at the Maverick Activities Center on April 26, 2023; images used from the Shorthorn Photographs Collection, the UTA Photograph Collection, the UTA News Service Photograph Collection, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, the Movin' Mavs Records
• Traveling exhibit, “Black Cowboys: An American Story,” curated by the Witte Museum, on display at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum (May-August 2023); images used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection and Jenkins Garrett Texas Postcard Collection

Visit The Compass Rose in September for our next quarterly blog review!