Birds-eye View of Texas Subject of Texas Collection Event

by Angela Best, student newswriter, (254) 710-1961

Dr. Kenneth Hafertepe, chair of Baylor University's department of museum studies, will speak on "19th-Century Birds-Eye View of Texas" at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, in the Carroll Library reading room on the Baylor campus in conjunction with the opening of a new exhibit of the bird's-eye view images.

The pictures depict Texas cities from the air between 1870 and 1900 and will be on display in the Carroll Library reading room.

"I have found these aerial views immensely useful in terms of providing evidence of buildings and landscape features that have been lost, moved or remodeled," Hafertepe said.

His specialty is architectural history and material culture. Hafertepe plans to discuss how the images can and cannot be used as historical evidence.

"People will find my lecture interesting if they have any interest in Texas cities in the Victorian era, Victorian architecture, or the way in which these images help us to understand the broader themes of Texas history," Hafertepe said.

The Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth had a large collection of the birds-eye view images in an exhibit earlier this year, and Hafertepe previously lectured on the images there.

Students and the public are invited to view the unique exhibit. Carroll Library hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 8:15 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the first and third Saturdays of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information about the event, contact Tom Charlton, director of the Texas Collection, at 710-1268.