Major Collections

Baldwin Locomotive Collection is devoted to the largest and most influential manufacturer of steam railroad locomotive engines in the world. This collection includes books, specifications, engineering drawings, blueprints for engines, advertising and corporate publications, manuscripts, and photographs. A finding aid for the records, detail part drawings, and erecting card drawings is available online.

Doris A. and Lawrence H. Budner Theodore Roosevelt Collection consists of thousands of books, periodicals, broadsides, photographs, manuscripts, and ephemera documenting the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. & Mrs. Budner donated this extraordinary collection to SMU in a series of annual gifts, with the bulk of the collection coming to the library after the death of Mr. Budner in 2008. The Budner Roosevelt Collection has been featured in two DeGolyer exhibitions: "The Incredible Theodore Roosevelt" (1988) and "Theodore Roosevelt and America's Rise to World Power" (1998). Exhibition catalogs are available from the DeGolyer Library. The Budner books and pamphlets are fully catalogued; access to them is through the SMU library catalogue. A finding aid is available online.

Everett Lee DeGolyer, Jr. Railroad Photographs encompass 15 filing cabinets of photographs and film negatives on U.S. and foreign railroads. The collection is arranged alphabetically by name of railroad and further subdivided by locomotive number or car type. The extent of the collection for each railroad line varies, from a single photograph to hundreds of images.
Checklist of over 4,000 railroads represented in the collection

Horton Foote Collection comprises close to 200 boxes of material documenting the career of the Academy Award winning screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright. The collection includes manuscripts, scrapbooks, handwritten drafts of screenplays, diaries, letters, photographs, and family memorabilia of the Wharton, Texas native who spent over 60 years in film, stage, and television. In 2003, DeGolyer Library mounted an exhibition, "Horton Foote and The Trip to Bountiful, 1953-2003," accompanied by a publication by Ronald L. Davis, Roots in Parched Ground: An Interview with Horton Foote.

Paul Horgan Collection illuminates the life and work of the two time Pulitzer Prize winner known for his literature, history, and art based on the Southwest. The collection includes Horgan's books, as well as his watercolors, drawings, manuscripts, and correspondence. A catalogue is available for an exhibition based on the collection.

Lawrence T. Jones, III Texas Photography Collection contains a comprehensive overview of Texas photography representing 30 years of collecting. The accession consists of over 5,000 images and is one of the most important and valuable Texas-related photography collections in existence documenting all aspects of Texas photography, including various formats from its earliest introduction to the state: daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, stereographs and paper print photographs. There is an array of subjects and styles, and examples by numerous photographers, both professional and itinerant, who documented Texas, the contiguous states and Mexico. The images range from portraits of such important figures as Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Cynthia Ann Parker, and Civil War soldiers to those showing fleeting moments and ones that document Texas history. The collection can be utilized in many ways: research, publication, exhibitions, and education on all levels. Subjects for research include the Civil War and other military history, biography, African Americans, Indians, women's history, social and domestic history, architecture, transportation, ranching, agriculture, commerce, material culture, and urban and rural history. Finding Aid available online.

Stanley Marcus Collection comprises an archive of over 400 boxes containing correspondence, speeches, reports, advertising material, newspaper clippings, posters, films, memorabilia, and printed materials by and about Stanley Marcus (1905-2002), CEO Emeritus of Neiman Marcus. The Marcus collection documents the rise of Neiman Marcus, the growth of its famous printed catalogs, and its renowned series of Fortnight celebrations, as well as Mr. Marcus' involvement on the War Production Board and many other civic and educational boards. A printed finding aid is available for researchers in the DeGolyer Library. In 2003, Linda Marcus donated the private library of Stanley Marcus to SMU. In recognition of the significance of this gift, the DeGolyer named its reading room in honor of Stanley Marcus. The Marcus book collection, consisting of approximately 8,000 books, is currently being cataloged. Great strengths of the Marcus collection include art and art history, business history, English and American literature, and the book arts.

JCPenney Archives. In 2004, JCPenney donated its corporate archives and the papers of James Cash Penney (1875-1971) to SMU. The Penney Archives includes over 20,000 photographs, 1,500 linear feet of correspondence, speeches, ledgers, catalogs, and company publications documenting more than 100 years of corporate history as well as advertisements from 1903 to the late 1990's. Thanks to a grant from the JCPenney Company Fund, Inc., a selection of the company's earliest newspaper, The Dynamo, has been digitized and is available for scholars.

J. C. Penney papers, circa 1885-1990. Mr. Penney's personal papers include correspondence, speeches, photographs, travel logs, and diaries that document the philosophy of this remarkable man. Born in Hamilton, Missouri, Penney began his retail career in a small dry goods store in his hometown. His papers include records about the Company, his farming operations and his various philanthropies. In addition, there are also manuscript collections of Caroline A. Penney, his third wife, and correspondence of one of his nephews. These collections are open and available for research.

Muskogee Collection consists of general office records of this corporation and its several subsidiary and predecessor companies. The companies include the Midland Valley Railroad, the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway, Oklahoma City - Ada - Atoka Railway Co., the Osage Railway, Garland Coal & Mining Co., Bird Creek Co., Cherokee Construction Co., and others. A guide to the collection is available.

The Robert Yarnall Richie Collection consists of approximately 10,000 photographic prints, 15,000 negatives and dozens of films comprising the life work of a commercial photographer from 1932 to 1975. Richie worked for large corporations in the U.S. and abroad as a free-lance photographer in a range of industries: oil, railroads, aviation, automotive, shipping, and others. His imagery is significant for the documentary information it contains as well as artistic qualities.

The Texas Instruments Historical Archives was donated to SMU in 2005. As part of TI’s 75th Anniversary celebration, the leadership of the company recognized the value of making its archives accessible to future researchers. The TI Archives consists of over 1500 cubic feet of papers, photographs, and other artifacts. It is an especially rich source for students of business history, technology, and engineering. The Texas Instruments Historical Archives includes records of TI’s predecessor company, GSI; papers of the company founders; documents from key projects; early inventions; prototype products; and samples of consumer and business products. The TI Archives represent the extraordinary history, breadth, and success of Texas Instruments’ role as a leader in the technological revolution. Finding Aid available online.

Image: [Bennett Cerf, Everette L. DeGolyer, Stanley Marcus.] Photograph, A1992.1869

Finding aids online

Baldwin Locomotive Works.
Pocahantas Tanning Company "Frank"
Photograph, Ag2005.0003

Independent, January 18, 1919
Budner/Roosevelt Collection

Southern Pacific Co.
Employees, Apache and Navajo track workers hired during W.W. II. April 1943.
Photograph, Ag1982.0232

Deana Newcomb. Horton Foote and Matthew Broderick on the set of the film "1918" in Waxahachie, Texas.
Photograph, A1992.1810

Paul Horgan.
Egyptian Spearman for Men of Arms.
A1991.1728x

Neiman Marcus Treasure Book, Christmas 1940.
Catalog, A1993.1869

J.C. Penney Company records. Flint, Michigan exterior at Christmas, Ca. 1945-49. At Kearsley & Saganaw Streets.
A2004.0007

[James Cash Penney shaking hands with little girl.]
A2004.0006

Muskogee Corporation. Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf, 1925: Collapse of wooden trestle bridge and derailment of train; construction of steel bridge over Wapanucka River.
Photograph, Mss 0045

Robert Yarnall Richie. Phillips 66, Borgia Texas.
Photograph, Ag1982.0234