Flashback : Dallas

“On Exall Lake”

by Paula Bosse

In my job working in the Dallas History & Archives of the downtown Dallas Public Library, I am constantly amazed by everything that’s there — the collection is so vast that no one could ever see it all. Books, maps, posters, periodicals, newspapers, a hallway of clipping files, microfilm, manuscript archives, and — the collection that speaks to me loudest — the photographs. The Dallas History & Archives has over a million photos (!). A roomful of prints and a staggering number of negatives. So much to see, so little time!

One of my favorite collections of photos is found in a subscription publication that was issued in 1895, in 1910, and in 1925: The Art Work of Dallas. Each of these is comprised of about 72 photos of buildings, streets, residences, and natural vistas. The photographs are beautiful — they are collotypes, and they have a soft, almost dreamy quality. I’m not sure why, but the photographers have gone uncredited in these collections (I suspect many of the photos from the 1895 edition were probably taken by Clifton Church).

The 1895 edition has recently been painstakingly scanned by Adrianne Pierce, our photo archives digitizer extraordinaire. The entire edition is available on the DPL Digital Collections site here (this “collection” page has the pages in order with the text included — to advance through the collection, click the “right” arrow at the top right of the page) (if you want to see only the images, with additional information about each photo, go here).

Pro tip: If you want to zoom WAY in and explore the photos (totally worth it!), go to the vertical “Tools” bar directly to the left of the photo, hover your mouse over the buttons, then click the button for “Zoom to 100%.” (By the way, you’ll see a “download” button. Unfortunately, the images on the Digital Collections site are not downloadable.)

I’m going to put a few of my favorites from the 1895 edition in this post — to see more information about them, click the title in blue to go to the DPL site. The photos below are larger when clicked.

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At the top, “On Exall Lake.” Below is a detail from the photo. When’s the last time you saw a windmill in Highland Park?

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“Scene on Akard Street.” It took me a while to figure out where this was shot, but it is on Akard, about half a block south of Main, looking north. Ludwig Philipson’s cigar store at the right once stood at what is now 1500 Main (southeast corner). The Rowan Building, which later housed the Marvin Drug Co., is at the top left, on the northwest corner.

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“Dallas Opera House.” On Commerce, near, I think, what is now Record Street.

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“The Dallas Club Building.” Commerce and S. Poydras. There’s a lot of architecture going on there. A detail is below the full photo.

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“Looking East from the Court House Tower.” A view of Commerce Street.

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“Gaston Building.” Commerce and S. Lamar. And a detail.

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“A Main Street Scene.” Main looking east. The Knepfly Building — seen on the right, with the tall clock standing on the sidewalk in front — was on the southwest corner of Main and Poydras. I love seeing the very high curbs from this period (in the detail below).

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“Hughes Bros. Manufacturing Co.” Still standing! 1401 S. Ervay, in The Cedars.

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“Scene on Ewing Avenue, Oak Cliff.” I love the two women walking down the sidewalk.

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“Residence of John Bookhout.” On the corner of what is now N. St. Paul and Munger.

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“Scene on Trinity River.” I love this.

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Sources & Notes

All images are from The Art Work of Dallas, W. H. Parish Publishing Co., 1895, with text by Dallasite Paul Giraud; from the Dallas History & Archives, Dallas Public Library (call number 976.42812 A784 1895).

See how collotypes are made in a very short video here.

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Copyright © 2026 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.