SMU Libraries Digital Collections Update: December 2019

In December 2019, SMU Libraries uploaded 235 items into SMU Libraries Digital Collections. Highlights include:

65 photographic prints, books, leaflets and pamphlets, 1872-1960s. This project was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and Texas State Library and Archives Commission (Grant Number TXT-20008). (2020). Among these are city directories, promotional materials, speeches and photographs of people, buildings, scenic views and businesses throughout Texas.

9 oral history interviews from the Southern Methodist University Oral History Interviews and Digital Humanities Student Projects collection. These interviews, with Ryan Cole, Greg Hill, Chelsey Kilburn, Rev. Dr. Henry Masters, Mary McFall, Edna Aguilar Mitchell, Alexis Nguyen, Jessica Pires-Jancose, and Rachel Scruggs are part of the Voices of SMU project.

56 photographs, ca. 1914-1919, from the Elmer and Diane Powell Collection on Mexico and the Mexican Revolution. Among these photographs are images from the American occupation of Veracruz in 1914, as well as events surrounding the Battle of Ciudad Juarez in June  1919 and refugee camps in Fort Bliss and New Mexico. A particularly striking image shows American troops in pursuit of Pancho Villa after the Battle of Ciudad Juarez.

4 photographs from the David Goodyear Collection of Foreign Railroad Photographs depicting locomotives and trains from four Chinese Railways: Suzhou Railway, Longhai Railway, Peking-Mukden Railway, and Beijing-Hankou Railway.

28 letters, postcards, and miscellaneous enclosures, 1943, from the John C. Cox, Jr. World War II Papers collection. These items sent from Cox to his family in Dallas discuss his experiences during training at Camp Callan in California, and occasionally include newspaper clippings, postcards, or photographs.

30 obsolete and canceled Texas currency notes ca. 1820s-1864, from the Rowe-Barr Collection of Texas Currency. Notes originate from various governments and civil institutions, including the interim government of Texas, the Corporation of the Town of San Felipe de Austin, the Republic of Texas, and Dallas County.

Volume 42, Numbers 1 and 3 of the Dallas Archaeological Society’s The Record. These issues, from 1987 and 1988, document the activities and excavations of the club and its members. Included is the 50^th anniversary issue, featuring a large number of articles from members past and present and short histories of the club.

2 cartes de visite, 1866, by Louis de Planque from Early Texas Town Views. One card shows a city and street seem of Matamoros, as viewed from Brownsville, Texas. The other card shows the ferry landing and buildings in Santa Cruz, Mexico, viewed from across the Rio Grande River in Brownsville. The ferry provided international crossings between Mexico and the United States before the Gateway International Bridge was built in 1928.

39 newsletters and 2 fliers, 1985-1999, from the Southern Methodist University Office of Information Technology records collection. These newsletters discuss various technology and computing issues, advances, and events on campus. Highlights include a 1986 issue discussing new legislation defining “computer crimes” and a 1987 issue with an article celebrating the addition of “on-line” searchable databases to the SMU Libraries’ offerings — charges for which could be paid by personal check or departmental account to reimburse the university for computing time based on the search. There are also numerous reviews of computer hardware and software throughout.

Bridwell Exhibition:

The Shape of Content in Christian Books, Broadsides, and Devotional Objects is the featured online only exhibition for Bridwell Library. The exhibition originally was exhibited August 24–December 18, 2015. From the late Middle Ages through the twentieth century, books produced for Christian worship, study, or private devotion have taken a great variety of shapes. Their many sizes, configurations, systems of organization, and special features have varied widely according to the requirements of their contents and the needs of their owners. Shorter texts intended for ephemeral purposes often appeared as single-sheet broadsides, while certain devotional objects functioned much like books yet conveyed their meaning in innovative ways. This exhibition explores how handwritten or printed examples of Christian texts from past centuries have transcended traditional expectations, bringing new meaning and enhanced understanding to their readers.