Do you write in your books? You’re not alone–in our copy of Francis Bacon’s The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh (1622), one reader went beyond underlining key points or scribbling notes in margins, and created an index where there was none. Francis Bacon wrote The Historie of the Raigne of King…Continue Reading Notes in the Margins
As Mitt Romney famously said, “Corporations are people, my friend.” Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, corporations, at times, do act like people. This is most evident during the Holiday Season. Businesses, made up of people, mark this time of year in creative ways. Sometimes they try to increase sales, and sometimes they are…Continue Reading Corporate Christmas Greetings
A Texas icon and 41st president, George H. W. Bush (1924-2018) died November 30, 2018 at his home in Houston. Bush, the patriarch of one of the most influential political families in the U.S., was 94. Barbara, his wife of 73 years, died last April. They had six children, among them George W. Bush, 43rd…Continue Reading A Life of Service: George H. W. Bush
William Lewis Lester was born in Graham, Texas in 1910. In 1924, he moved to Dallas with his family and attended Bryan Street High School. Lester spent his senior year at Woodrow Wilson High School where he graduated in 1929. By 1931, Lester was already showing his work with other Dallas artists, such as Jerry Bywaters,…Continue Reading Collection spotlight: William Lester artwork and papers
Longtime Dallas businesswoman, philanthropist, and writer Caroline Rose Hunt passed away on Tuesday, November 13 at the age of 95. In 2008 Ms. Hunt donated her personal papers to the Archives of Women of the Southwest at the DeGolyer Library. Her papers include letters, photographs, scrapbooks, clippings, speeches, diaries, awards, and business related papers from…Continue Reading Primrose’s Past lives on in the Archives of Women of the Southwest
As a curator, I am always amazed at what I come across in the Jerry Bywaters Collection on Art of the Southwest. Upon recently discovering a small brochure entitled “Exhibition by Young Painters” published in 1932 in the archive, I noticed the names of two former SMU students listed among the ‘young painters’ – James…Continue Reading Discovery in the Bywaters’ Archive: 1932 Exhibition by Young Painters
News from the DeGolyer Library November 2018 Southern Methodist University Recent Events On November 13th, Andrew Dowdy spoke in the Texana Room about his new book, Wanderer on the American Frontier (Norman: University Of Oklahoma Press, 2018). Based in part on a long-lost manuscript that was acquired during SMU’s centennial to celebrate the Year of the Library…Continue Reading News from the DeGolyer Library-November 2018
The Jerry Bywaters Special Collections at the Hamon Arts Library is an archival collection of art, documents, and other rare or unique materials largely from the Southwest region. But who is the man for this eponymously-named collection, Jerry Bywaters? Jerry Bywaters (1906 – 1989) filled many roles in the development of the arts in Texas…Continue Reading Who is Jerry Bywaters?
Everette Lee DeGolyer was born October 9, 1886, in a sod house near Greensburg, Kansas. He was the first-born child of John and Narcissa (Huddle) DeGolyer. The couple had married April 17, 1883, at Iuka, Marion County, Illinois. John DeGolyer was a native of Indiana, born at Napoleonville, January 26, 1859. Narcissa Huddle was born…Continue Reading “I Was Born into a Red Land”
Reference, Access, Outreach. These words don’t mean much to the public, but for archivists, they describe how we interact with the public. People might understand that we collect old “stuff,” but then what happens? Reference happens. In the DeGolyer Library we help people find answers through phone calls, via email, and when they come…Continue Reading DeGolyer Library goes live at DFW Archives Bazaar