Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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Collection

Arthur Geoffrey Norman Papers, 1947-1972

4 linear feet

Professor of botany at the University of Michigan, director of the Botanical Gardens, later vice-president for research. Correspondence, speeches, publications and reviews, and topical files relating to scientific interests, atomic energy, and the work of the Phoenix Project.

A. Geoffrey Norman's papers date from 1947 to 1972 and measure four feet. They have been divided into three series, correspondence, speeches, publications and reviews, and topical. The correspondence series dates from 1951 to 1960. It is subdivided into two groups, general and personal. Each group is arranged chronologically. Speeches, publications and reviews are arranged alphabetically. They date from 1957 to 1972. The topical file is also arranged alphabetically, and dates from 1947 to 1965. It is particularly strong regarding the Ford Agricultural Plant Nutrition Project, which Norman headed when he first came to Michigan.

Collection

Frederick K. Sparrow papers, 1925-1977

1 linear foot

Professor of botany at the University of Michigan. Correspondence and subject files relating to his professional activities, notably his specialization in mycology; and photographs.

The Frederick K. Sparrow Collection has been organized alphabetically by topic. Correspondence is filed under the letter "C" and is in chronological order. In the biographical folder, the researcher will find a summary of the disposition of Dr. Sparrow's botanical effects, listings of his personal mycological library and his holdings of rare mycological books and publications, and a detailed bibliography of his works.

Dr. Sparrow corresponded with friends, mentors, and fellow mycologists and botanists from around the world on a variety of topics. His correspondence comprises over one-half of the collection. The researcher should note that letters dealing with the Second International Mycological Congress are included with the rest of the materials from the Congress.

Collection

Harley Harris Bartlett Papers, 1909-1960

11 linear feet — 13 film reels (in 4)

Professor of botany and director of the Botanical Gardens at the University of Michigan. Correspondence, research notes, forty-nine volumes of diaries, and other papers relating to his professional career, including his botanical expeditions to South America and the Philippines and his interest in the Phoenix Project of the University of Michigan; also a history of the botany department of the University containing material on Mark W. Harrington, professor of astronomy and director of the University Observatory; and photographs.

The collection has been divided into the following series: Correspondence; Phoenix Project of the University of Michigan; Miscellaneous; Diaries; and Other Bound Records.

A significant portion of the collection is the diaries that Bartlett maintained from 1926 to 1960. Included are detailed diary entries for the period 1934-1935 when he was an exchange professor of botany at the University of the Philippines. While in the Philippines, Bartlett also compiled Philippine English vocabularies and a two-volume Sambali-English-Tagalog vocabulary.

Collection

Matthaei Botanical Gardens (University of Michigan) records, 1905-2012 (majority within 1965-2004)

20 linear feet — 2 microfilms — 3 oversize volumes — 5 oversize folders — 569 MB (online)

Online
Established in 1897, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, with its mission to study and disseminate knowledge of plants as they exist in nature, serves as an educational resource for the university and local community. In 2004 the Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum were joined as a single administrative unit. The records document the Gardens' various organizational, research, and community service activities.

The Matthaei Botanical Gardens records comprise 21 feet of materials spanning the years 1905 to 2012. The records document the Gardens' various organizational and community service activities ranging from administration work to special events for the public. The records have been divided into 11 series: Administrative, Correspondence, Topical, Photographs and Scrapbooks (except for Friends and Docents), Friends of Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Docents, Events, Plans, Projects, Research, and Topical Files. Unfortunately, due to multiple accessions and different processors, these series are not exclusive and researchers are advised to examine the entire finding aid carefully.

Collection

Stewart family papers, 1890-1991 (majority within 1950-1991)

3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Papers of R. R. Stewart, United Presbyterian missionary in India and adjunct research investigator of the University of Michigan Herbarium, and papers of his wife, Hladia Porter Stewart, educator at Kinnaird College in Lahore and later Gordon College in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Reminiscences and other autobiographical writings, correspondence, diary, articles concerning flora of India and Pakistan, and files relating to teaching and missionary work of R. R. Stewart; also letters, memoirs and poetry of Hladia Porter Stewart; and photographs

The Stewart Family Collection consists of two linear feet of documents and photos relating to the life of Ralph Randles Stewart and one linear foot relating to the life and writings of Hladia Porter Stewart. Both spent most of their lives on the northern Indian subcontinent.

Collection

University Herbarium (University of Michigan) records, 1744-1755, 1851-1981, 2001-2014 (majority within 1890-1955)

36.5 linear feet

Online
The University of Michigan Herbarium, started in 1837, is home to over 1.7 million species and is one of the world's leading botanical collections. The U-M Herbarium records collection includes correspondence, photographs, and research materials documenting early Herbarium history, U-M's ethno botanical research practices, and the international professional discourse surrounding botanical research.

The collection represents the Herbarium's actions as a collector of the historical correspondence and photographs of botanical researchers. The records contained within this collection primarily document the research methods and professional conversations of American botanists. Through the correspondence and papers of Michigan and U-M botanists, this collection also documents the development of the Herbarium, its activities, and its status as a collector of botanical specimens and historical records. Researchers should note that there are photographs and plant specimens scattered throughout the correspondence series, and whereas the plant specimens are noted in the box listing, the photographs are not. The collection's four series include Harley Harris Bartlett Papers, Herbarium Historical Correspondence, Herbarium Historical Photographs, and Archived Website.

Collection

William Randolph Taylor Papers, 1918-1987

7.5 linear feet

Professor of botany at University of Michigan, curator of algae at the University Herbarium, and biologist with the atomic bomb test program in Marshall Islands in 1946. Correspondence and other papers relating to his scientific interests and activities.

The Taylor papers are arranged into two principal series; correspondence (1918-1980) and Topical and Subject Papers. Taylor corresponded with most of the significant figures in the field of cytology and algae. The papers do not date beyond 1980 when Taylor left Michigan and retired to the Farlow Herbarium at Harvard in Cambridge.

Collection

William S. Benninghoff papers, 1943-2000 (majority within 1968-1986)

3.5 linear feet

Botany professor and Director of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens at the University of Michigan; records include administrative and research files related to his positions with the university.

The W. S. Benninghoff collection consists of three series: Botany Department, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, and University of Michigan Biological Station. The strength of the collection is its documentation of the administrative aspects of the Botany Department and Matthaei Botanical Gardens in the 1970s and 1980s.