Manuscript Collections

The Amon G. Carter Papers consist of correspondence, photographs, newspapers, scrapbooks, and artifacts. The papers document the history of Fort Worth and the Southwest, as well as Carter's personal and business interests.

The Bells were Mexican vaudeville artists who performed between the 1890s and the 1920s. The papers document, largely with photographs, the careers of the members of the Bell Vaudeville company.

Cartographic collection which includes maps of the world, the British Isles, Pacific Ocean, North and South America, the Western Hemisphere, and the United States. Dates range from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries.

Grace Halsell wrote for several newspapers, worked as a staff writer for Lyndon B. Johnson, and wrote thirteen books, the most well-known of which was Soul Sister (1969). The papers document her life and career.

Harold Maples was editorial cartoonist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 27 years. The collection consists entirely of Maples' original editorial cartoons published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 1954 through 1981.

Jim Wright was a member of Congress for thirty-four years, serving as House Majority Leader from 1976 to 1986 and as Speaker of the House from 1987 to 1989. The papers document his career in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, legal documents, and family genealogy document the life and career of John F. "Spade" Evans, founder of the Spade Ranch in West Texas. Manuscript writings include personal recollections of Spade on the early days of ranching in West Texas.

The collection includes a complete set of letters written by Joseph Warren Hays to his family while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II. The letters detail his aviation training across the United States and his service in Europe toward the end of the war. In his later years, Mr. Hays wrote recollections of his missions over Europe. The collection also includes printed publications, newspaper clippings, a scrapbook, a photograph of Hays, and ephemera.