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Overview

Scope and Contents

Collection consists of an album of black and white and color photographic prints of Dallas city council members, mayors, city managers, and departmental leaders.  Collection also contains born-digital files.

Images between the years 1931 and 1992 were taken by the Gittings Studio.  Paul Gittings, Sr. was born in 1900 and at age 11 took odd jobs to help support his family.  He ended up at the famed Bachrach Studios in Baltimore, taking a job as a plate boy and eventually becoming an esteemed photographer.   In 1928, he moved to Texas and opened Gittings Studios in Dallas and Houston, purchasing the rights for these studios from Bachrach.

The studio developed a style with an attention to detail and a focus on delivering quality and in 1963, Gittings opened a studio within Neiman Marcus.  This location enabled Gittings to expand throughout the south, and the company became the official portrait studio of the Neiman Marcus brand.  Being affiliated with the most prestigious retailer in the nation turned into a clientele that included dignitaries, politicians, executives, and social elites.

During his career, he won many awards including the George Harris Award; Professional Photographers of America; Fellowship, Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain; Fellowship, Photographic Society of America; Fellowship, American Society of Photographers; and First American Licentiate Member, British Institute of Photography.   He also gave back to his profession and was instrumental in establishing the International Photography Hall of Fame.

Gittings passed away in 1988, and in 1998, Greg Lorfing acquired Gittings Studios.  [Source:  Gittings Company history]

Organization

Images are filed in approximate chronological order and include subjects' dates in office, followed by image negative number when available.

Access​

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from the Dallas Municipal Archives.  All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.  It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization for any images.

Citation

Portraits of City Officials, 1931-2025​ (Box <x>, Folder <y>), Dallas Municipal Archives.

Related Material

1992-018 Portraits of Park Board Members, 1905-1939
​2003-003 Dallas City Council Portrait, 1963​
2003-005 City of Dallas Mayor Portraits, 1894-2001

Index Terms

Dallas -- Texas -- History  
Dallas (Tex.) -- City Council 
Dallas (Tex.) -- City Managers 
Dallas (Tex.) -- Mayors​

Container List