Special Collections in 2024: 1st 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 January, February, and March of 2024.

This quarter, Special Collections hosted a total of 1,504 visitors and 127 of those visitors were here to conduct research in our collections! Over 200 unique archival collections, books, and maps were pulled for research this quarter, with researchers showing strong interest in UTA Yearbooks, Celestial Maps, Antarctica Maps (Finfrock Map Collection), the Mexican American Farm Workers Collection, and the Migrant Farm Workers Organizing Movement Collection.

Students from a variety of classes visit Special Collections to engage in experiential learning activities using our unique materials. From January to March, we welcomed 42 classes from a variety of disciplines. Visits this quarter have included History, Modern Languages including English, Spanish, German, and Latin, Biology, Gender, Women and Sexualities, and Art & Art History. We also welcomed over 150 local K-12 students from three different schools. Pictured below are two examples from class instruction over the past few months.

Students from Dr. Kim Breuer’s Medieval Science and Technology History class have embedded in Special Collections once a week to research and create a digital exhibition on celestial charts. The students engaged with selected maps from Johann Doppelmayr’s Atlas Coeleste (1742) and Andreas Cellarius’ Harmonia Macrocosmica (1660). Their digital exhibit, created in partnership with Whitney Russell and the Libraries' Open Partnerships and Services department, can be viewed here: mavmatrix.uta.edu/exhibit/celestial-wonders. The students learned how to write metadata and exhibit labels and captions, and also helped with the creation of Special Collections’ current exhibit: Theoria Eclipsium: Curiosity, Captivation, Connection, on view through August 30, 2024.

Students from Dr. Lauren Sperandio-Phelps Motherhood class came to Special Collections to work with our rich collections of family papers. The students analyzed letters, diaries, and other materials that shed light on being a mother in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Our collections can be used to study a wide variety of topics, as this class session proves!

• Texas Rangers World Series Collection (DA6)
  • This collection consists of digital photographs and videos documenting the experience of Rangers fans and the Arlington community during the Texas Rangers’ 2023 World Series run and the celebrations that followed.
• Henry R. Muñoz, Jr. Papers (AR829)
  • This collection contains the personal papers of Texas labor activist and organizer Henry R. "The Fox" Muñoz, Jr. (1920-1989) and includes articles, letters, awards, organizing materials, photographs, speeches and reports, and related biographical information on Muñoz.
• UTA OneBook & Conversations Records (AR830)
• UTA English Language Institute (ELI) Records (AR831)
• UTA Faculty Senate Recordings Collection (AR832)
• Truman Black Papers (AR835)
  • This collection contains records of UTA faculty member Truman Black regarding his time serving on the UTA Library Committee. These materials offer insight into UTA Library operations, finances, and development.
• Lloyd Clark Papers (AR837)
  • This collection contains records regarding donations Lloyd Clark (former North Texas Agricultural College student from 1940-1942) made to the university, events that he was invited to (particularly alumni reunions and gala events), and correspondence regarding his involvement in university affairs with dates ranging from 1988-2006. This collection was processed by Anthony White, a student volunteer from the Department of History.

The Henry R. Muñoz, Jr. Papers, one of our recently processed collections in the Texas Labor Archives, contains the personal papers of Texas labor activist and organizer Henry R. "The Fox" Muñoz, Jr. (1920-1989) and includes articles, letters, awards, organizing materials, photographs, speeches and reports, and related biographical information on Muñoz.

Early in his career, Muñoz worked as a linotype operator was involved in the International Typographical Union, where he became a union organizer. He later worked for Bexar County Commissioner Albert Peña and helped found the San Antonio branch of the Political Association of Spanish Speaking Organizations (PASSO), which worked to increase Mexican-American participation in electoral politics and elect Mexican-Americans to political office.

From 1963 to 1972, Muñoz worked for the Texas AFL-CIO and worked closely with the AFL-CIO's counterpart in Mexico, the Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM), promoted workers rights, and actively participated in and led political campaigns throughout the State of Texas. In 1972, Muñoz went on to work for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2399 in San Antonio, where he led campaigns to organize workers at the City of San Antonio, the Bexar County Hospital District, the City Water Board, and Independent School Districts, as well as in Corpus Christi.

These celestial atlases, a gift of Donald Sheff, are a significant addition to our collection of celestial maps, especially as all eyes will be on the sky for the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th!

Johann Leonhard Rost’s Atlas portatilis coelestis (Nürnberg: J.E. Udelbulner, 1723) is a portable celestial atlas published as an astronomical handbook and lavishly illustrated with celestial maps, globes, spheres, constellations and diagrams. The Atlas portatilis coelestis contains an introduction on the subject and the principles of astronomy, discussing not only astronomy in general, but also geometry, globes, ecliptics, terrestrial zones, climates, meridians, the Ptolemaic, Tychonic and Copernican solar systems, celestial globes, constellations, planets, comets, eclipses of the sun, a geographical description of the moon, and much more. All of this information is accompanied by engraved plates and maps, including a double-page view of the surface of the moon. 

John Flamsteed's Atlas céleste, Second Edition, edited by J. Fortin (Paris: Chez F.G. Deschamps et chez l'auteur, 1776), contains 30 double-page engraved celestial maps and a catalogue of stars at the end of the volume. A globe maker for the French royal family, J. Fortin prepared this edition of Flamsteed’s celestial atlas in a much reduced format. Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal, who oversaw the building of the Greenwich Observatory. Newton relied upon Flamsteed’s star positions in his Principia.

Special Collections had the opportunity to participate in the UTA football alumni reunion event on February 24 and display items from our collections dating from the 1920s to 1985. According to The Shorthorn, "roughly 100 alumnus piled into College Park Center to reminisce on memories from their days of playing and re-energize the campaign to bring football back." We enjoyed the opportunity to listen to stories from alumni and experience seeing them finding themselves in the historical material we have preserved! You may view more photos and a highlight video from the event via the UTA Athletics website.

This quarter, UTA Special Collections staff curated two mini-exhibits, which are designed to highlight a specific topic or commemorate an event in history utilizing materials from our collections.

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 10 stories: 

• "Think it’s been cold in Fort Worth? In 1930, they drove cars on the Lake Worth ice," by Hollace Ava Weiner, January 27, 2024
• "The Kansas City Chiefs played in Fort Worth but didn't stay," by Bud Kennedy, February 9, 2024
• "'Death corner': Fort Worth's most notorious 6-way intersection," by Matt Leclercq, February 9, 2024
• "The history of the Railway Express in Fort Worth, Texas," by Richard Selcer, February 24, 2024
• "How Mansfield TX pickle palooza came to be, parade details," by Ella Gonzales, March 1, 2024
• "Texas marks 80 years of 'The Late Great Townes Van Zandt,'" by Bud Kennedy, March 1, 2024
• "Is Fort Worth's LaGrave Field worth saving on Panther Island?" by Harrison Mantas, March 13, 2024
• "New highway brings the first tourist lodges to Fort Worth," by Carol Roark, March 16, 2024
• "Opal Lee, grandmother of Juneteenth, to get new home for $10," by Kamal Morgan, March 21, 2024
• "Pair broke endurance flight record over Fort Worth in 1929," by Richard Selcer, March 30, 2024

Other local news outlets published the following stories using our collection materials: 

• City of Arlington documentary film titled "Remembering the Dream: 35 Years of the Arlington MLK 'Advancing the Dream' Four-Day Celebration," January 12, 2024; images and documents used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, the Ruby and Elzie Odom Papers, the Arlington MLK Celebration Committee Records, and the Arlington Citizen Journal Negatives Collection
• The Shorthorn article, "A Shining Star: Remembering Kalpana Chawla," by Rabbia Molai, January 30, 2024; images used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection and the Shorthorn Photographs Collection
• Fort Worth Report article, "Fact brief: Did Jackie Robinson play at Fort Worth’s historic LaGrave Field?" by Haley Samsel, February 5, 2024; image used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection
• FTW Today article, "Answered: Which closed Fort Worth businesses do you miss the most?" by Rebecca McRobbie, February 26, 2024; image used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection
• WFAA story, "Consultants recommend demolishing historic La Grave Field, but Fort Worth's Panther Island may still 'play ball,'" by Matt Houston, March 6, 2024; images used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection
• FTW Today article, "Tarrant Regional Water District celebrates 100 years," by Emily Shea-Owen, March 6, 2024; image used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection
• Fort Worth Report article, "Weekend Worthy: Kevin Von Erich opens up about ‘Iron Claw’ and Pompeii rises from the ashes," by Marcheta Fornoff, March 27, 2024; image used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection

• La Documentation Photographique January 2024 issue, "La Guerre Froide," on the Cold War by Justine Faure, January 2024; image used from the Etta Hulme Papers
• 2024 Guide to Aransas Pass, tourism guide published by the Aransas Pass Chamber of Commerce, February 2024; image used from the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Collection
• Buddy Magazine article, "They Saw Her Standing There: Beatlemania in Texas, 1964-65, A Firsthand Account," by Elaine McAfee Bender, February 2024; image used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection
• UTA 2030 Strategic Plan document, February 2024; images used from the UTA Photograph Collection, the Clarence Denman Papers, the Grubbs Vocational College Student Scrapbook, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, and the UTA News Service Photograph Collection

• Short films for Citizens at Last titled "Jovita Idar," "Lulu B. White," "Elisabet Ney," and "Eliza Peterson," produced by ET Films LLC and Mo-ti Productions LLC, January 2024; images used from the Basil Clemons Photography Collection, the UTA Photograph Collection, and the W. D. Smith Commercial Photography, Inc. Collection
• Film series titled The Unexpected City, for an episode titled "Bobby Ahdieh," produced by Meridith Manning for the Fort Worth Film Commission/Visit Fort Worth, February 2024; images used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection and the Berachah Home Collection

• Temporary exhibit, "Just Who Does Miss Etta Hulme Think She Is! Cartoons and a Global View from Texas," at the Chennai Book Fair under the theme "In Your Own Words," a recognition of freedom of speech and expression as tools for empowerment; exhibit curated by UTA Cultural Anthropology professor Dr. Ritu Khanduri for the American Center and the Fulbright Foundation’s booth, held in Nandambakkam, India (January 3-21, 2024); imaged used from the Etta Hulme Papers
• Temporary exhibit, "First in the Nation: New Hampshire Presidential Primaries, 1920-2020," curated by the Portsmouth Athenaeum (February 16-June 28, 2024); image used from the Etta Hulme Papers
• Temporary exhibit curated by the Texas State Preservation Board on the Merci Train's 75th Anniversary at the Texas Capitol Visitors Center in Austin, TX (March 8-July 26, 2024); images used from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection
• Temporary exhibit hosted by EXCEL Campus Activities on the history of UTA Bed Races held in UTA's University Center Art Gallery (March 25-29, 2024); images used from the UTA Photograph Collection, the UTA News Service Photograph Collection, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection

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