Spooktacular Collections
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.
The haunting season is upon us! We are sharing some of our favorite Halloween-themed materials from UTA Special Collections!
Broadsides Collection
These petrifying prints are broadsides created by José Guadalupe Posada Aguilar. Broadsides are single sheets of paper that served as an important form of communication. Broadsides were used to inform the public about current events, advocate political and social issues, and advertise products and services. Posada is best known for his illustrations of calaveras. Calaveras are representations of human skulls and often refers to the artistic representations of skulls and skeletons. Posada helped to popularize calaveras and they can be seen throughout Mexican art and Dia de los Muertos celebrations.
"Gran Baile de Calaveras," translated to "Great Skull Dance."
“¡Ya llegó la calavera de su viaje extraordinario, vino à very muy placentera las fiestas del centenario!” translated to “The skeleton has now arrived from its extraordinary journey, it has come to see the marvelous centenary festival."
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection
This set of creepy candids comes from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection. This collection consists of news photographs, negatives, clippings, and printed materials published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It chronicles the history of Fort Worth and West Texas from circa 1849 to 1990.
John Uptmoor with giant jack-o'-lantern during Halloween at Six Flags Over Texas in 1980 from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection.
Kenra Chambers of Hurst picking out a perfect pumpkin for Halloween night in 1974 from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection.
Miss Dorothy Oyervides, wearing a dress made from newspapers for her costume in 1940 from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection.
Mrs. Jimmie Rogers, dressed as a witch, serves up hot chocolate to neighborhood trick-or-treaters on Halloween in 1970 from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection.
These photos from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection are of Thistle Hill. The home is a Georgian Revival mansion. The mansion was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1977, and designated as Fort Worth’s first Historic and Cultural Landmark in 1978. Reports of ghost sightings began in the 1970s after the house underwent renovations.
A photo illustration representing a ghost-like woman at the Thistle Hill house in 1981 from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection.
A photo illustration representing a ghost-like woman walking up the horseshoe staircase of the Thistle Hill house in 1981 from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection.
Photo illustration of the Haunted House at Thistle Hill in Fort Worth, Texas in 1979 from the Fort-Worth Star Telegram Collection.
Culmer Family Papers
Our next Halloween photo comes from the Culmer Family Papers. This collection is composed primarily of photographs and color slides dating from 1930 to 1993. Harold Harcourt Culmer was a doctor and his wife, Etta Williams Culmer, was a teacher prior to their marriage. Photographs in this collection document the lives of the Culmer family during family occasions in Dallas and possibly North Carolina, New York, and Washington, D.C
Miguel Culmer dressed in a costume with his mother Etta Culmer circa 1950s from the Culmer Family Papers.
W.D. Smith Commercial Photography, Inc. Collection
The following spooktacular snapshots are from the W.D. Smith Commercial Photography, Inc. Collection. This collection consists of approximately 190,000 negatives, both in black and white and color. The collection documents the growth and development of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, and the North Texas region.
Basil Clemons Photograph Collection
Our last photos from the ghoulish golden hour come from the Basil Clemons Photograph Collection. This collection includes work of commercial photographer, Basil Clemons. The collection includes works produced primarily in Breckenridge, Texas. It consists of approximately 12,000 silver gelatin prints and 5,900 negatives, as well as other artifacts and family genealogy cards.
Prize winners at Halloween Party, Breckenridge, Texas in 1923 from the Basil Clemons Photograph Collection.
Unidentified man posing with a skull from the Basil Clemons Photograph Collection.
Dallas Death Map
Did you know you can also explore historic deaths in Dallas through the Dallas Death Map, a joint project involving UTA Special Collections and Research Data Services? This project is a collaborative effort by Priscilla Escobedo, Special Collections Archivist, and Isaac Williams, Data Visualization Librarian. The Dallas Death Map Project was created out of a need for a comprehensive resource of recorded deaths in Dallas. You can learn more about the project and search the map by visiting the Dallas Death Map Project website.
Screen capture of the Dallas Death Map from the project website.
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