People and organizations associated with either the creation of this artwork or its content.
Illustrator
Smithers, W. D. (Wilfred Dudley), 1895-1981.
W. D. Smithers, born in Mexico in 1895, was a photographer, amateur historian and botanist, and free-lance journalist of the Big Bend area of Texas. Between 1914 and 1919, he served with the U. S. Army in the Big Bend, first as a civilian muleteer, then as a wagon master. He later was an aerial photographer of the area and in the 1930s photographed the entire U. S. border with Mexico for the International Boundary and Water Commission. From 1936 to 1974, he operated a photography shop in Alpine, Texas, where he became known for lamp shades made of photographs. He recorded life along the Mexican border between 1914 and 1974 in maps, pictures, and a memoir, Chronicles of the Big Bend.
Provided By
Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library (Archives of the Big Bend)
The Archives of the Big Bend seek to preserve, arrange, and make available the University archive, manuscript collection, books, and other research resources that pertain to the area west of the Pecos River and east of present-day El Paso County in Texas as well as the areas of northern Mexico.
This work is part of the following collection of related materials.
Rescuing Texas History, 2006
Rescuing Texas History is a project that aims to digitize at-risk photographs, maps, artwork, and more. Funding was provided by the Summerlee Foundation of Dallas.
Smithers, W. D. (Wilfred Dudley), 1895-1981.The 4th Field (Mountain) Artillery before 1920. Picture,
artwork,
1920;
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth11937/:
accessed April 19, 2024),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu;
crediting Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library (Archives of the Big Bend).