Edward Gustav Eisenlohr was born in Ohio to a family of German immigrants. When he was two years old the family relocated to Dallas, where his father established Eisenlohr Drug Store. As a young boy living in Dallas, E. G. Eisenlohr showed a strong aptitude in art, a trait which continued into his adult life….Continue Reading Collection Spotlight: Edward Gustav Eisenlohr art work and papers
The Vivian L. Aunspaugh Art Club was organized in 1945 by former and current students of Miss Vivian Louise Aunspaugh and others interested in studying art in Dallas. Miss Aunspaugh, a native of Virginia, studied art in New York and France prior to moving to Dallas in 1891. She soon taught art classes in local…Continue Reading Collection Spotlight: Vivian L. Aunspaugh Art Club records
The Bywaters Special Collections staff are happy to announce that SMU’s Central University Libraries is now a part of the Google Cultural Institute. BSC staff, Ellen Buie Niewyk, curated the first GCI exhibition with archivist, Emily George Grubbs. Octavio Medellin: Maya-Toltec Temples and Carvings, 1938 is an exhibition curated from the holdings of photographs and documents of the artist from Bywaters…Continue Reading GCI online exhibition – Octavio Medellin: Maya-Toltec Temples and Carvings
George Joseph Signaigo was a prominent Dallas businessman who co-owned the Brannon-Signaigo Cigar Company of Texas. The majority of the material in this collection consists of theater programs that were collected over the course of Signaigo’s life. The collection includes correspondence, ephemera, manuscripts, publicity and published works relating to the theater ca. 1910-1930. Most of…Continue Reading Collection Spotlight: G. J. Signaigo collection of theater materials
Evaline Sellors (1903 – 1995) was an artist and teacher active in the Dallas and Fort Worth area mainly from the 1930s through the 1960s. Primarily known as a sculptor, she also worked in ceramics, mosaics, and stained glass. Her work can be found in museums and private collections in the north Texas area. Sellors…Continue Reading Collection Spotlight: Evaline Sellors Art Work and Papers
The Tyler, Texas Black Film Collection is one of the signature collections of the G. William Jones Film & Video Collection. This collection of race films from the 1930s and 1940s were discovered in an East Texas warehouse in 1983 on miraculously well-preserved nitrate stock and transferred to safety film in 1985. With the advent of…Continue Reading Gems from the Tyler, Texas Black Film Collection
One of the most significant of the Tyler Race Films is The Blood of Jesus, written by and starring Spencer Williams. As with many of Williams’ films, this is a study of the continuing conflict between good and evil, holiness and godlessness, church and juke joint. Williams filmed it with a largely amateur cast and…Continue Reading The travels of The Blood of Jesus
Please stop by the second-floor gallery outside of Bywaters Special Collections and view how the portfolio XTOL by Octavio Medellin was researched by the artist in 1938 and later published in 1947 by the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, which preceded the Dallas Museum of Art. Work began in 1938 when Octavio Medellin spent six months…Continue Reading Octavio Medellin: Maya-Toltec Temples and Carvings, 1938 on display
Does Fondren have ghosts? Some say yes. As far as we know, the only entities haunting Hamon late at night are SMU students. Let’s get on with the second installment of Collecting the macabre….Continue Reading Pictorial: Collecting the macabre, Part 2
In the spirit of Halloween, we’ve gathered here some of the most macabre items from Central University Libraries’ special collections….Continue Reading Pictorial: Collecting the macabre, Part 1