Dallas – George W. Cook spent most of his life collecting around 20,000 artifacts relating to Dallas and the history of Texas. Considered a treasure trove of research for the city of Dallas, Cook’s collection is currently being featured on SMU’s campus in the DeGolyer Library, January 30-May 15, 2015.SMU’s DeGolyer Library director Russell Martin, who spoke with Cook on several occasions said, “Collecting was in George’s genes. He began collecting at a young age.”

Cook was born in Oak Cliff in 1949. After graduating from Highland Park High School, Cook attended the University of North Texas in Denton where he earned a BBA and MBA. During and after his career in banking and investments, Cook spent much of his time collecting some 20,000 items relating to the city of Dallas and Texas. While most of Cook’s collection is visual images, included in his collection are manuscripts, diaries, albums, banknotes, and even a promissory note signed by Davy Crocket.

Cook’s collection provides a picturesque look at the history of Dallas, including the Dallas skyline, State Fair of Texas, Exall Lake, and historic downtown. Before his death in 2012 Cook spoke with staff at the DeGolyer Library about arranging for his collection to be displayed there.

After his, Cook’s collection was donated to the archives at the DeGolyer, where staff arranged for it to be displayed to the public. Library photo curator Anne Peterson spent hours alphabetizing and arranging post cards from several different cities in Texas, along with her favorite section of Cook’s collection, the stereographs. This was the “news media of the 19^th century,” Peterson said.

While stereographs have faded from the popular evening pastime that they once were, there is still a unique and firsthand experience that comes with the 3-D images. Cook’s diverse collection of postcards from numerous cities and sights in Texas, as well as a small number of original picture postcards, range from a welcome sign in Hondo, Texas that reads, “this is God’s country please don’t drive through it like hell”, to the original Neiman Marcus building.

Included in the display was a picture of the first Baylor hospital building; it boasted nothing more than a few steps and two pillars on the front, much different from the extensive system of Baylor hospitals now. Cook’s collection includes a display from the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition held at Fair Park. The collection provides an intense and very real glimpse into the history of Texas and of Dallas.

While there are several items in the exhibit that have long since lost their meaning, they are a reminder of how quickly things can come and go, and the important lesson that history teaches. Even though some of the items still carry significance for today, for instance, a picture of Highland Park’s Armstrong Avenue which is very different from the mansions and elegant homes that now reside there, to a coupon book from the early 1900s for Reddy Ice.

Cook’s collection provides a nostalgic view for many, and a vivid look at how the city of Dallas has changed and progressed. After the end of the exhibit in May, Cook’s collection will be stored in the library archives, but will remain available to the public by appointment only. Cook’s extensive collection tells a story through artifacts that would be hard to find anywhere else. While we live in a world that revolves around technology, there is still a certain historical significance that artifacts carry. “To fully understand something, you must be able to touch it,” Martin said.