-By Ed Owens

 

   Mr. Bartlett, of 584 Swiss Avenue, was a Dallas lawyer during the late 19th and early 20th century, but his passion seemed to have been taking photographs of his family, 827 to be exact. I did much moaning as I plowed through the boxes containing Mr. Bartlett's 4x5 glass plates because they all seemed to have the same theme, "girl setting in wicker rocker on porch", or "woman and girl setting on porch". Then about a third of the way into the project I realized that what I was doing was watching a family grow up. I watched his daughter Gertrude grow from a tomboyish little kid with dirt on her face to a lovely young woman. I saw them move into their new home on Swiss Avenue, where on a very snowy day in December, they all huddled together on the porch while Father took another picture. The family dog, a black lab, knew one trick, setting up, which he did in every photograph.

   Mr. Bartlett and his brother Fred, also a lawyer, worked at the National Exchange Bank on Main Street, where in 1902 he took several great photographs of the Confederate Reunion Parade. Including one of an old fellow on crunches in a Confederate Veteran's uniform.

 When I began scanning the glass plates, I saw a number of photos of Mr. Bartlett mother and father, but those pictures stopped about half way through. I watched Gertrude and her sisters grow up and watch Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett grow old. The number of children in the photos got fewer as time when by. The black dog was replaced by a white with spots who also learned one trick, setting up.

At the end I of the project I was left with the words of an old song:

"  ... or are you a stranger without even a name

 Enshrined there forever behind a glass pane

 In an old photograph torn and tattered and stained

 And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame. "