A Texas Journey: The Centennial Photographs of Polly Smith
by Evelyn Barker Dallas Historical Society, 216 pp., $49.95 What it aims to do: Provide a unique and underseen look at what Texas looked like in 1935, the year it celebrated its 100th anniversary of independence from Mexico. The Texas Centennial Central Exposition planners sent photographer Polly Smith, then only 28, to the corners of the state to shoot the racetrack at Arlington Downs, the missions of San Antonio, and a basket weaver on the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation in Polk County. Smith traveled alone in a Ford pickup which doubled as a mobile darkroom.
What it says about you: You don’t need to read the placard to know that’s Dobie, Bedicheck, and Webb philosophizing in front of Barton Springs Pool.
The randomizer: Page 99 – a stark black-and-white photograph of oil-derrick workers in East Texas.
Best accessorized with: A pair of Tony Lamas kicked up on the coffee table.
This article appears in November 28 • 2008.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...
More by Kimberley Jones
