NEWS FROM THE DEGOLYER

Not much changes at the DeGolyer (we continue to collect, organize, catalog, preserve, interpret, and promote the use of primary materials) and at the same time, there’s something new and different every day.

We’ve recently acquired the only recorded copy of The Home Cook Book. Compiled under the Auspices of the Missionary Society of the M.E. Church, South (Ennis, Texas: Ennis Printing & Publishing Co., 1915), truly a treasure! San Francisco bookseller John Crichton has given us a nice collection of what we’re calling railroad fiction, i.e. stories and novels in which railroad characters or settings figure prominently (and not be confused with the “railway fiction” produced by publishers, especially in the 19^th century, to be sold at train stations and read by passengers). There are some gems in the Crichton collection, such as Overheard on the Train [cover title].  (Boston): (Burdett College, n.d.), an advertising pamphlet using the conceit of an “actual” dialogue, wherein one man tells another of his financial success with the “Burdett College of Actual Business from the Start.”  Also included is The Little Pilgrim; or, Jesus Paid the Fare [cover title] (New York: J. E. Jewett, Publisher, 77 Bible House), [1870-1899?], an allegorical poem describing the train one takes to Heaven.  Jesus, naturally, pays the fare. Over 75 others of a similar nature are also included. All can be found on PONI (thanks to CIP and John Milazzo) by doing a keyword search for “John Crichton gift 2007”.

Cynthia Franco has almost finished cataloging the James Phillips Memorial Collection, a truly splendid grouping of over 600 imprints, most from the 18^th century, most printed in Dublin. Phillips took his BA from SMU in 1937, his library degree from Columbia, and his PhD from Trinity College, Dublin (hence his interest in the Dublin book trade, the subject of his dissertation). In 1959, Phillips was the first cataloger hired by the DeGolyer Foundation, and he continued to work at the DeGolyer Library for the rest of his life. His book collection contains some extraordinary materials, many of great rarity, and it is especially strong in Irish editions of English plays, such as Thomas Betterton, The Amorous Widow, or, The Wanton Wife: A Comedy (Dublin, 1725). Marna Morland has all but finished the oddities from the Stanley Marcus collection and has recently cataloged the Carter Taylor Collection and is at work currently on the Whitney and Vaida Montgomery Collection, an exceptional group of 20^th century regional poetry. The Montgomerys operated the Kaleidograph Press in Dallas for decades. Nancy Rubenstein continues to create authority records and add subject and genre terms to the PONI records for archival collections. She’s also begun the creation of PONI records for the “Museum Collection” as well as, with Cynthia Franco, the reorganization of the map department. The DeGolyer Working Group has begun to migrate the “ephemera” collection to PONI, starting with books and pamphlets that Betty Friedrich sends their way, after she deletes records in our old Filemaker database. Numerous finding aids have appeared recently on TARO [“Texas Archival Resources Online”], with links from the DeGolyer web page and from the individual records in PONI. For a sample, see

http://www.smu.edu/cul/degolyer/

And click on “Blackie Sherrod Papers.” Special thanks to Lara Corazalla, Joan Gosnell, Nancy Rubenstein, Anne Peterson, Cynthia Franco, Susan Schmidt, Paul Santa Cruz, Dale Topham, and others who’ve worked on these electronic documents over the past 2-3 years.

            On the exhibition front, we’ve been especially busy. Anne Peterson has curated (with Bill Plaisance from Neiman Marcus) the retrospective exhibit at the Hall of State in Fair Park: “Neiman Marcus Fortnight: Travel the World,” which features drawings and photographs from the Stanley Marcus Collection and the Alvin Colt Collection. Colt was the Broadway designer Mr. Stanley hired to create the lavish Fortnight displays in the downtown store. To mark the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Neiman Marcus and the 50^th anniversary of Fortnight, the exhibit helps to convey some of the excitement that was generated by these cultural events. Back at the DeGolyer, we’ve continued the theme with a somewhat related exhibit, “Merchandise for the Millions: American Trade Catalogs.” DeGolyer Library has a strong (and still growing) collection of about 5,000 trade catalogs. These are useful in a variety of fields—business history and economic history, primarily, but also cultural history more broadly. Our current exhibit presents several hundred examples, most from the period 1865-1965, arranged by general subject, such as agriculture [see the Lomo Alto Stock Farm!], machinery [see the Texas Steam Foundery!], kitchen appliances [see “The Eden” washing machine!], fashion [see Fredericks of Hollywood!], gardening [see the Peter Henderson catalog!], transportation [see the 1949 Chryslers!], bookselling [see the Scribners list for 1902!], and medicine [“Are you bald?”]. Highlighted as well are catalogs from JCPenney, Neiman Marcus, and The Horchow Collection.

Kathy Rome supervises a steady stream of readers in the reading room as well as maintaining good order in the stacks. Betty Friedrich makes sure all bills are paid, letters are written and mailed, caterers organized, phone calls answered, students are paid, visitors are welcomed, acquisitions are present and accounted for, papers are filed, and books are published [call Betty to purchase your very own copy of Herb Robertson’s The ABCs of De: A Primer on Everette Lee DeGolyer, 1886-1956 (Dallas: DeGolyer Library, 2007). She’ll even gift wrap.

LaGail Davis will start Monday, Oct. 15. in the Library Specialist position in CIP.

LaGail has worked for both the Coppell and Irving Public Libraries accumulating over 8 years of library experience. She has worked in public services, has experience with automated systems, and has additional office and retail experience. Please welcome her to CUL and especially to CIP!