THE VISUAL ARCHIVE

Traces on
paper.

Original notices, directory entries, maps and photographs. Open an image to look closer, then follow its source into the research.

The period product marks belong to Dixie Wax Paper Company. An authentic Garden Villa or Shady Nook logo has not yet been found.

23 items in the visual archive

The Garden Villa notice↗

1935

The Garden Villa notice

Dallas Morning News, September 19, 1935, p. 11. A benefit is advertised at Garden Villa Club, 1404 South Polk. Crop of the family-supplied NewsBank screenshot, IMG_1287.jpg.

Source & provenance [18] ↗
Shady Nook, in print↗

1937

Shady Nook, in print

Dallas City Directory, printed p. 1169. Shady Nook is a restaurant associated with Karl Bellew at 1404 South Polk. The neighboring Northwest Highway cafe entry belongs to a different business. Dallas Public Library / UNT Libraries.

Source & provenance [22b] ↗
Karl and Ruby Bellew↗

1937

Karl and Ruby Bellew

Dallas City Directory, p. 124. Karl and Ruby are listed at the address, with Ruby working as a waitress at Shady Nook. Dallas Public Library / UNT Libraries.

Source & provenance [22a] ↗
Six rooms, two stories↗

1939

Six rooms, two stories

Dallas Morning News, September 24, 1939, p. 9. A frame house is advertised at 1404 South Polk. The separate nine-room listing below it is not this property.

Source & provenance [19a] ↗
A duplex in a garden↗

1951

A duplex in a garden

Dallas Morning News, July 28, 1951, p. 11. Asking $9,600, with a fish pond, garage, pecan trees and peach trees. The advertised acreage is not a verified survey.

Source & provenance [19b] ↗
“Rustic Acre With Creek”↗

1962

“Rustic Acre With Creek”

Dallas Morning News, April 24, 1962, p. 13. Bettye Byrd’s advertisement identifies South Polk at Elmwood Boulevard and describes pecans and a detached garage.

Source & provenance [19e] ↗
A place of work, too↗

1955

A place of work, too

Texas Sign Service’s business listing, Dallas City Directory, p. 1119. Wm is the abbreviation for William, not Win. Dallas Public Library / UNT Libraries.

Source & provenance [5b] ↗
The Williams household↗

1961

The Williams household

Richard A. and Kathryn W. Williams at 1404 South Polk. The entry identifies Richard with Western Union Telegraph. Dallas City Directory, p. 1759; Dallas Public Library / UNT Libraries.

Source & provenance [23b] ↗
Polk, creek and railroad↗

1927

Polk, creek and railroad

Northern portion of Sanborn’s Dallas sheet 713, Elmwood. Neighborhood context only: the present house has not been securely matched to a footprint. Supplied scan credits the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

Source & provenance [31] ↗
Looking down on Oak Cliff↗

1930

Looking down on Oak Cliff

October 1930 Fairchild aerial, grid 043, item 133. Roof forms appear near the wooded tract, but this crop is not a georeferenced parcel match. Foscue Map Collection, SMU Libraries.

Source & provenance [8] ↗
The creek in a legal record↗

1949

The creek in a legal record

Excerpt from the Barnards’ original sewer easement, Deed Records vol. 3175, p. 329. It names the Elmwood Branch of Cedar Creek and recites an earlier Miller conveyance. Dallas County.

Source & provenance [26] ↗
Following the parcel backward↗

1962

Following the parcel backward

Williams-to-Vaughn deed, vol. 5806, p. 339. The parcel description matches the current legal parcel and cites the 1954 predecessor deed and 1949 easement. Dallas County.

Source & provenance [25] ↗
The 1992 survey exhibit↗

1992

The 1992 survey exhibit

DART-era Exhibit A with a September 9, 1992 fax line, naming Barrera and Lewis and the neighboring Dixie Wax Paper tract. A historical exhibit, not a current survey or an executed easement grant. Family-supplied scan.

Source & provenance [7] ↗
The factory up the street↗

1922–1947 anniversary

The factory up the street

Dallas plant rendering from Dixie Wax Paper Company’s 25th-anniversary booklet, reproduced across images A485014–A485015. This is an artist’s rendering, not a 1925 photograph. Supplied Tyler Station historian archive.

Source & provenance [30] ↗
Inside the Dallas office↗

Exposure date unverified

Inside the Dallas office

Office photograph reproduced in the anniversary booklet, image A485013. No person has been identified as Karl or Ruby Bellew. Supplied Tyler Station historian archive.

Source & provenance [30] ↗
A machine on paper↗

1941

A machine on paper

U.S. Patent 2,253,036, Means for Sealing Packages, drawing sheet 1. Louie C. Kimple and Floyd Gaines; assigned to Dixie Wax Paper Company. Filed June 2, 1939; patented August 19, 1941. This is packaging machinery, not a building plan.

Source & provenance [33] ↗
Fresheen↗

Anniversary booklet

Fresheen

Original Dixie product lettering from booklet image A485026. This belongs to Karl Bellew’s employer; it is not a Garden Villa or Shady Nook logo.

Source & provenance [30] ↗
Brad-Tite↗

Anniversary booklet

Brad-Tite

Original Dixie product mark, image A485026. Registration dates printed with a mark do not necessarily establish the design’s first use. Not a house or restaurant logo.

Source & provenance [30] ↗
Waxsheen↗

Anniversary booklet

Waxsheen

Documentary crop of Dixie product lettering from image A485026. Supplied Tyler Station historian archive. Not a Garden Villa or Shady Nook logo.

Source & provenance [30] ↗
Celoshine↗

Anniversary booklet

Celoshine

Documentary crop of Dixie product lettering from image A485026. The original printed mark is preserved; it has not been reconstructed as house branding.

Source & provenance [30] ↗
The house beneath the trees↗

Family archive · date unverified

The house beneath the trees

Family-supplied exterior photograph, IMG_1798 2.JPG. A view of the house and wooded setting, not an authenticated early photograph of Garden Villa Club.

Source & provenance [21] ↗
The detached garage↗

Family archive · date unverified

The detached garage

Family-supplied garage photograph, IMG_3468.JPG. Advertisements document a garage in earlier decades, but this photograph does not establish the structure’s age.

Source & provenance [21] ↗
The initials in the garage↗

Undated

The initials in the garage

J.V. painted on a garage post, IMG_3473.JPG. Johnny Mack Vaughn is a research lead because he appears in a deed, but neither the painter nor the date has been established.

Source & provenance [21] ↗

Open full-size image ↗