Susannah Broyles discusses “The Ramón Hernández Tejano Music Collection.”

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The Wittliff has recently acquired the extensive Tejano music archive of Ramón Hernández, a San Antonio publicist, journalist, and photographer. The collection includes music memorabilia consisting of various artist’s costumes, records, original marketing posters, handwritten sheets of music, personal photographs, and more, and will soon be available for research at The Wittliff. This accumulation is …

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The Wittliff expands its legacy of Native American photography with Will Wilson acquisition.

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In 2017, The Wittliff exhibited a selection of images from Edward Curtis The North American Indian. Soon thereafter, we were contacted by Dr. John Mckiernan-Gonzalez, Director of the Center for the Study of the Southwest, who recommended that we look at the photographs of Will Wilson, a Native American photographer. We are excited to share the news …

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Naomi Shihab Nye wins Prestigious Literary Award.

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The Wittliff is proud to share the news that Naomi Shihab Nye has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Institute of Letters. This is the highest honor given by the TIL, which was established in 1936 to recognize and celebrate the state’s literary artists. The award will be presented to Nye at the …

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Major Dobie collector’s extraordinary new gift.

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Last November at the annual “Dobie Dichos” literary festival in South Texas, I got to meet William Allison, a Houston attorney who specializes in environmental law and who has emerged as one of the great modern collectors of J. Frank Dobie material. Bill told me that his grandfather introduced him to Dobie, which set him …

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“Recuerdos” And Souvenir Postcards From Mexico

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In 2013, Susan Toomey Frost donated her collection of Mexican Border Town postcards representing 22 Mexican cities and towns along the 1,969-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico. The collection consists of 3,857 images, including real photo postcards and printed postcards. Many are identified by photographer, including such notable names as W.H. Horne and Robert …

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“Keith Carter Fifty Years” celebrated at The Wittliff

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Recently The Wittliff played host to hundreds of fans eager to meet famed photographer Keith Carter. The room was filled to capacity with dignitaries, authors and respected photographers from across the state. Among the photographers in attendance were Wyatt McSpadden, Matt Lankes, Kenny Braun, Bill Wright and Amanda Smith. They were all there to celebrate …

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The making of Wyatt McSpadden’s traffic-stopping photo of Abra Moore

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It’s a face that’s launched a thousand conversations at The Wittliff Collections. Wyatt McSpadden’s iconic photograph of singer-songwriter Abra Moore has been a conversation piece since it was first published in Texas Monthly in January 1996. The framed print — showing in that long-ago magical moment the impish-looking singer holding a guitar and on her …

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A new Wittliff “Bookmark” on the radio

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The Wittliff is excited to announce that you will soon be able to hear in-depth interviews with your favorite Wittliff authors, thanks to a new partnership with “Bookmarked,” the weekly radio program hosted by Priscilla Leder on San Marcos radio station KZSM. “Bookmarked” presents a lively literary discussion led by Leder, who is a Distinguished …

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Funeral for a friend: Rita Vidaurri

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Golden Age ranchera singer Rita Vidaurri, who died January 16 in San Antonio at age 94, was a friend of The Wittliff Collections. Thanks to the Ramon Hernandez Collection, and a 2017 exhibition “Legends of Tejano: Highlights from the Ramon Hernandez Archives” curated by Hernandez and journalist Joe Nick Patoski, Vidaurri’s contribution to Texas music …

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Teen Canteen letters shed light on ’60s youth culture

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Sam Kinsey’s fabled Teen Canteen, a teen dance club which operated from 1961 to 1977 at various locales in San Antonio, wasn’t only an important rock venue of the era – the Sir Douglas Quintet, Mike Nesmith (pre-Monkees), Mike Post, Gene Thomas, Bubble Puppy, the Moving Sidewalks, ZZ Top and dozens of legendary teenage garage …

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