The adventures and various works of a photographer, road tripper, former patron of the local arts, aspiring app developer, and late night coffee drinker and conversationalist.
If you've spent any length of time scouring this blog, you'll know I'm always interested in collecting old photos of places I've been, especially places I've visited during my various road trips across the United States and Canada. But it's an especial treat to get my hands on antique, previously unknown photographs of my own hometown. And this time, I've managed to acquire a couple of really unique ones. These two glass negatives date to the late nineteenth century, and as of this writing are the oldest physical photos I've acquired of the city of Dallas. Original photos of this vintage depicting Dallas are pretty rare, especially previously unpublished ones.
Here is another selection of rare and mostly one-of-a-kind photos of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, drawn from my personal collection of prints, slides, and film negatives.
C.H. Edwards' Music House, 1890s
Charles Hodge Edwards moved to Dallas in the 1870s and opened a piano store at 407 Main Street. He set up shop in at least three locations before settling by 1884 at 733-735 Main. This cabinet card photo, most likely from the 1890s, captures that final location, the address having been changed in 1891 to 265-267 Main Street as part of a citywide address renumbering initiative. C.H. Edwards' younger brother, James H. Edwards, is identified at the bottom of the photo as the third from left of the six people pictured. Today, the old site of the music house is occupied by the Westin Hotel/One Main Place.
C.H. Edwards Music House at 265-267 Main Street, 1890s
Continue reading "DFW in vintage photos, take II"
