Special Format Collections
Special Format Collections
Special Format Collections are unique collections of materials brought together based upon special characteristics of the items. An item may have been received specifically for a special format collection or may have been transferred from another collection due to its special characteristics. For example, the Maps collection (not in the TDA) contains both maps originating from other collections and Maps acquired specifically for the maps collection.
Artifacts | Broadsides | Texas Constitutions | Historic Flags of the Texas State Library and Archives
Artifacts collection, Cretaceous Period, 14000 BCE-1987 CE, bulk 1860-1970
Texas State Archives and Library Building model (ATF0515)
Title: Artifacts collection
Dates: Cretaceous Period, 14000 BCE-1987 CE
Dates (Bulk): bulk 1860-1970
Abstract: The Artifacts collection at the Texas State Archives is an artificial collection consisting of approximately 590 three-dimensional objects related to Texas history. Primarily dating from 1860 to 1970, the collection comprises objects dating from possibly 1500 to 1987 as well as fossilized items that are likely from the Cretaceous Period and arrowheads that may date as early as 14000 BCE to 1600 CE. This wide assortment of artifacts helps document in material form the lives of those who have resided in Texas over the centuries, from the prehistoric and Pre-Columbian eras to the time that Texas has existed as a colony, republic, and state. Digital images of these artifacts are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
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Texas State Archives Broadsides and printed ephemera collection, 1645-1999, undated, bulk 1835-1930s
Go To Texas! Rapid Development of a Glorious Country (br0591)
Collector: Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Archives and Information Services Division.
Title: Texas State Archives Broadsides and printed ephemera collection
Dates: 1645-1999, undated
Dates (Bulk): bulk 1835-1930s
Abstract: The Broadsides and printed ephemera collection is an artificial collection assembled by Texas State Archives staff beginning in the early 20th century. It consists of approximately 700 documents related to Texas and United States history. Printed ephemera was produced to distribute information as events unfolded, and it offers unique snapshots of Texas’s and the nation’s past. The ephemera in this collection includes both originals and copies of various formats, dating 1645-1999, bulk 1835-1930s. The original documents in this collection have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
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Texas Constitutions
Collections of records of the constitutional conventions of 1866, 1868, and 1875. Only the constitutions have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive.
Constitution of 1866
Constitution of 1868
Constitution of 1876
Historic Flags of the Texas State Library and Archives
Lone Star Flag (Modern)
Lone Star Flag (Modern)
Beautiful as a flower to those who love it, terrible as a meteor to those who hate it.
– George Frisbie Hoar
Flags are among the world’s most powerful symbols. Perhaps no other man-made object carries such power to move our emotions.
Many of the flags in this collection were carried by Texans into America’s bloodiest battles. These flags have caused Texans to salute them with pride; for other Texans they may engender feelings of outrage. Such symbolism continues to evolve over time, and each flag may mean different things to different people.
The flags represented in this special format collection in the TDA represent the recreation of an online exhibit of flags at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). In the exhibit, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission presents its collection of historic flags, forty in all. Information on each flag includes a high-resolution image and the documentation held by this institution. Many of these flags are too large and too endangered to be exhibited or handled. The exhibit makes possible the most extensive exploration yet of these rare treasures of Texas history.
