The Texas-Mexico Border in 1916

[Texas-Mexico Border]: [Mexican Revolution]:

[Annotated Panoramic Photograph Picturing the Texas-Mexico Border at Brownsville in the Midst of the Mexican Revolution].

Des Moines, IA: Hebard-Showers Company, September, 1916. Panoramic photograph, 8 x 37.5 inches, with numerous captions in the negative. Rolled tightly. A few soft creases, minor wear at bottom right corner. Very good. Item #12895

An unusually informative panorama of Brownsville and Matamoros taken from the American side of the Rio Grande during the heat of the Mexican Revolution. The photograph was produced by the form of Hebard-Showers (here spelled Hedard-Showers, likely scratched backwards in the negative) of Des Moines, Iowa. The image captures the scene along the Red River from a portion of Fort Brown in the east, west to Brownsville's Union Station, with the International Bridge visible downriver. Directly across the river from Brownsville is labeled "Santa Cruz, Mexico" with Matamoros a bit further south. Other landmarks identified on the Brownsville side include the aforementioned Union Station and the International Bridge, as well as Fort Brown, a river landing, the customs house, and various locations for American state guard units. Near the landing is the Brownsville Transfer Company's building.

More pertinent to the Mexican Revolution are some of the captions identifying locations on the Mexican side. These include "Casa Mata Fort or place of execution," "Blanco's Battlefield June 3rd 1913," and "Villa's Battlefield March 27 - Apr. 13, 1915. 100 Killed." Also identified on the Mexican side are a Mexican bull ring, the "Bone yard," and a river landing. Interestingly, a small rowboat containing a few people can be seen approaching the Mexican side on the Rio Grande.

Naturally, Hebard-Showers Company mainly documented Des Moines and its surrounding areas, but they shot a handful of Brownsville border views over several years, at least between the present example and about 1921. SMU holds an example of the later panorama; comparisons between the present example and SMU's does reveal some changes in the area over the course of those five years, and the present example includes many more detailed captions in the negative.

Price: $1,250