Collections

Back to top

Search Constraints

Start Over You searched for: Level Collection Remove constraint Level: Collection Subjects Children. Remove constraint Subjects: Children.
Number of results to display per page
View results as:

Search Results

Collection

Newspaper and periodical scrapbook, 1860-1890

1 volume

This self-adhering scrapbook contains a blend of illustrated and non-illustrated clippings from various printed sources (newspapers, periodicals, books, etc.), originating mostly from New England in the 1860s-1890s. Topics include religion, politics (American and British), the assassination of U.S. President James A. Garfield (1831-1881), health and wellness, eulogies, and other articles. The volume is bears the printed manufacturers label "Mark Twain's Scrap Book Registered April 23rd. 1878 . . . Published by Slote, Woodman & Co."

This self-adhering scrapbook contains a blend of illustrated and non-illustrated clippings from various printed sources (newspapers, periodicals, books, etc.), originating mostly from New England in the 1860s-1890s. Topics include religion, politics (American and British), the assassination of U.S. President James A. Garfield (1831-1881), health and wellness, eulogies, and other articles. The volume is bears the printed manufacturers label "Mark Twain's Scrap Book Registered April 23rd. 1878 . . . Published by Slote, Woodman & Co."

A selection of topics represented in the scrapbook include:
  • Material relating to religion (primarily Christianity, but also Islam, Mormonism, etc.). Some clippings are derogatory towards non-Christian groups or peoples. Enclosed is an issue of Our Prison Missionary (Vol. II, Dec. 1890, no.2), a publication from the Christian Aid Association "devoted to Christian work in penal institutions." Hymns, religious poetry, baptism, and Martin Luther's will (page 56) are also present.
  • Politically related clippings include stories about the U.S. Congress and senators, the British House of Parliament, Queen Victoria, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and General Grant's illness. Many of the volume's pages are dedicated to the assassination of President James A Garfield, with updates on the President's health after he was shot (page 33). Additional clippings with messages from world leaders expressing their sympathies, information about Vice President Chester A. Arthur, and the background of President Garfield's assassin Charles J. Guiteau.
  • Health and wellness-related content ranges from life advice, the dangers of children eating snow, mental health, vaccination, and more. An issue of the Land of Hope Review includes a brief article warning "juveniles" of the danger of smoking tobacco.
  • Eulogies for President Garfield, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and other "In Memoriam" articles and hymns are spread throughout the volume. A music sheet of a song called "Rest, Sweetly Rest" (credited to a publication called The Watchword is noted as being suitable for the death of a scholar.

An advertisement for the scrapbook itself includes information and prices about other variations of "Mark Twain's Self Adhering Scrap Book," such as a druggists' prescription book, a child's scrapbook, and a pocket scrapbook.

Collection

Cross-County photograph album, 1896-1907

1 volume

The Cross-Country photograph album contains photographs taken in various locations throughout the United States, including travel photographs of scenery and buildings in Washington, Colorado, Louisiana, and Massachusetts, among other states, and family photographs taken in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

The Cross-Country photograph album (26cm x 32cm, 59 pages) contains around 340 photographs taken throughout the United States between 1896 and 1907, including 15 cyanotypes and 10 panoramas. The items represent numerous printing processes in a variety of sizes. Some have captions, often providing information about the place and the date. Several reference the Gill family. The album has the title "Photographs" printed in gold on its front cover and its pages are bound with a thick string.

Many of the photographs are casual group portraits of men, women, children, and family dogs taken outdoors, often in front of large houses and cottages; some of the same individuals are present in multiple pictures. Included are a portrait of an African American woman holding a Caucasian infant (p. 1), two young boys in dress military uniforms with a collection of toy soldiers (p. 3), and a wedding party (p. 46). Some men and women are pictured golfing at Bass Rocks in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Most of the remaining images are views of landscapes, city streets, buildings, and natural scenery in locations such as Spokane, Washington; Tacoma, Washington; Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Pikes Peak, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Hampton, New Hampshire; Boston, Massachusetts; Gloucester, Massachusetts; Beacon Falls, Connecticut; and Washington, D.C. Included are a small number of commercial photographs of the area around Pikes Peak in Colorado including views by William H. Jackson. City views often feature prominent buildings and other landmarks. Other photographs show the rocky coast of New England, harbors, sailing vessels of various sizes, and large homes. Of note are a group portrait of Spokane Native Americans (p.14); views of the Tacoma waterfront (p.15); the New England coast, with aspects of the Gloucester fishing industry including a view of salted cod laid out to dry (p.24-29); pictures of Victorian home interiors (p. 20, 34, 47, 55, 56); and panoramic landscape views taken near Spokane (p. 47, 48). The album includes one print and a hand-colored collotype of the home of Senator George Turner in Spokane, Washington (inside front cover).

Collection

Holmes-Keyes Children's letters, 1896

6 items

Three young girls named Lillian Holmes Keyes, "Mildred," and "Edith" wrote these 6 letters to their grandparents in the summer of 1896. Edith's letters were penciled by her mother, Fannie. The girls wrote on illustrated children's stationery and commented on scenery, wildlife, health, and family news. Mildred addressed one of her letters from East Tilton, New Hampshire.

Three young girls named Lillian Holmes Keyes, "Mildred," and "Edith" wrote these 6 letters to their grandparents in the summer of 1896. Edith's letters were penciled by her mother, Fannie. The girls wrote on illustrated children's stationery and commented on scenery, wildlife, health, and family news. Mildred addressed one of her letters from East Tilton, New Hampshire.

Lillian Holmes Keyes wrote 2 letters to her grandparents on July 19 and 22, 1896, about her ongoing recovery from scarlet fever. Though she could not interact with other children, she did enjoy a trip to a nearby lake with her Aunt Alice. "Mildred" sent 2 letters (July 9, 1896, and undated), describing a picnic and other outdoor activities such as swimming. She also thanked her grandmother for throwing her a 7th birthday party. The final 2 letters are attributed to a child named Edith, though they are written by her mother, Fannie. The first letter reports family news, such as the recent sale of their store and an anticipated August vacation. The second offers greetings to various family members and bears scribbled drawings by a young child (possibly Edith).

Each letter is written on illustrated children's stationery with images of children writing, accepting a letter from a dog, riding in a cart, and repairing a doll.

Collection

Plympton (Mass.) First Parish petition, [ca. 1840s-1850s]

1 volume

An undated petition from eighteen men requesting admittance to the first parish in Plympton, Massachusetts, appears on the first page of an otherwise empty nineteenth-century blank book produced by Tappan & Whittemore of Boston, "Wholesale dealers in School Books, School Stationery, Drawing, Letter, Writing and Fancy Paper, Envelopes of every description, Slates, Gold and Steel Pens, Ink, Quills, Wafers, etc." It has printed covers with illustrations of Boys and girls fishing, boating, and flying kites on a riverbank, and "Lessons In Drawing" with sixteen various images of fruit, animals, body parts, and a house and boat.

An undated petition from eighteen men requesting admittance to the first parish in Plympton, Massachusetts, appears on the first page of an otherwise empty nineteenth-century blank book produced by Tappan & Whittemore of Boston, "Wholesale dealers in School Books, School Stationery, Drawing, Letter, Writing and Fancy Paper, Envelopes of every description, Slates, Gold and Steel Pens, Ink, Quills, Wafers, &c." It has printed covers with illustrations of Boys and girls fishing, boating, and flying kites on a riverbank, and "Lessons In Drawing" with sixteen various images of fruit, animals, body parts, and a house and boat.

Collection

Visiting Card specimen book, [circa 1890s]

1 volume

This visiting card specimen book contains 48 printer's sample cards pasted into the volume, including "hidden name" examples with movable die-cut flaps and other devices.

This visiting card specimen book contains 48 printer's sample cards pasted into the volume, including "hidden name" examples with movable die-cut flaps and other devices. Predominant visual themes are flowers, birds, hands, children, and cherubs. Others include a dog holding a guitar, a quill pen, a G.A.R card, and an "Imp Card" showing a devil holding a sign to read "I AM ___ WHO THE [DEVIL] ARE YOU."

A "Gold Escort" card has the text "I beg the blissful felicity of being honored with your gracious condescension to the extent of allowing your humble servant to escort you to your leafy bower this balmy eve. Say yes, fair lady!"

Collection

Charlotte LeBreton Johnson Baker photograph collection, circa 1890-1923

1 envelope

Dr. Charlotte LeBreton Johnson Baker was a University of Michigan alumna (M.D., class of 1881) and San Diego, California physician who specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. Widely regarded as San Diego's first female physician, Baker was a prominent suffragist who also participated in numerous San Diego organizations. Consists of individual and group photographs of Baker and family members.

The collection consists of individual and group photographs of Baker and family members.

Collection

Barry County Health Department records, 1909-1954

2 linear feet — 3 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder

Monthly and annual reports, photographs, newspaper clippings, communicable disease record, dangerous disease record, and tuberculosis record.

The record group includes annual and monthly reports and minutes of the Michigan Community Health Program and the Hastings Health Service Committee. In addition, there are record books detailing the incidences of communicable diseases, tuberculosis, and "dangerous diseases" in the county. The photograph series includes photographs illustrating department activities. Of interest is an album, 1942, with photos of one-room schools in Barry County.

Collection

C. Earle Beckwith photograph album, [ca. 1885]

1 volume

The C. Earle Beckwith photograph album contains images of rural living and farming activities, possibly in Michigan.

The C. Earle Beckwith photograph album (17 x 22 cm) contains 18 photographic prints of rural living, possibly in Michigan. Includes two views of a mill; a photograph of two women in a boat; a photograph of a crowded event at a rural residence; a group shot of a brass band; two men and a boy holding farm implements; two images of a railroad track and water tower; and candid photographs of family at home. Also included are several photographs relating to farming activities; one is of a roadside display of vegetables after the harvest.

The album's brown cloth cover has an embossed title "Photographs." The album is inscribed "C. Earle Beckwith, Merry Christmas" and is housed in a light blue box.

Collection

Margaret Bell papers, 1919-1956

6 linear feet

Correspondence and other files of Margaret Bell, chairman of the Department of Physical Education for Women of the University of Michigan, and physician in the University Health Service. Materials relate to University activities, conferences and speeches, copies of articles and other writings, and photographs.

The papers support the work and activities of Margaret Bell as Professor of Physical Education, Chairman of Department of Physical Education for Women, and a physician in Health Services at the University of Michigan from 1923 to 1956, and are divided into two sub-groups of personal activities and those specific to the University of Michigan.

The strength of the papers is found in the correspondence and reports which show the growth of physical education programs for women at the University and the identification of issues important to physical education and health in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, with the correspondence, speeches, and publications of Margaret Bell. Historical records about the Women's Athletic Building and the Women's Athletic Association are also important.

Significant correspondents include: Amos Alonzo Stagg, John Dewey, and Elmer D. Mitchell, as well as other physical education professionals: Elizabeth Halsey, Ernest Jokl, Julian Smith, Ruth Glassow, Jay B. Nash, Charles Harold McCloy, Mable Lee, Vance Blanchard, and Charles Forsyth.

Topics of special note include the article, "Athletic Competition for Women," written for AAU March, 29, 1954, as well as other articles about the physiological effects of exercise and sport for women. During the 1950s and early 1960s college women participated in playdays and sportsdays, rather than the organized intercollegiate athletic programs of the present day. There was concern that women were not physically capable of such strenuous demands of full-court basketball and were limited by the rules to half-court play during the 1950's, with two rovers being added in the 1960's.

Collection

Fred E. Benz motion picture collection, 1929-1950

62 reels (in 5 boxes)

Amateur photographer; sixty-two reels of film shot by Benz on various trips.

When the University of Michigan Media Resources Collection was accessioned by the Bentley Historical Library, a number of films were discovered in the vault that were not related to that collection. Within that material were travel films shot by Fred E. Benz. These films document Benz's travels around the world between 1929 and 1950. The films had been edited together and were probably used by Benz for presentation to local groups and as home entertainment.

The Fred E. Benz Collection contains sixty-two, 400 foot reels of silent 16mm film. It is made up of eight series, one for each trip taken. The series are: Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Guatemala, Havana, Mexico, Russia, South America, and a World Cruise. The contents of each reel are described in the finding aid. Benz has included handwritten descriptions of the images found on the Russian and World Cruise series attached to the inside lids of each can of film. Benz was careful to document most of the locations with a handwritten note displayed before the camera. When cities or natural markers are noted in the finding aid, the identifying information was taken from that supplied by the film maker on the screen or from his notes in the can lids. The spelling of geographic locations in the finding aid reflect the information on the film and not current spellings.

Short notes found with the Mexican footage indicate it was the result of two different trips. The reels retain their original numbering because the numbered reels (1,2,3,4) appear to comprise one trip and numbered/lettered reels (1a, 3a, 4a) comprise the second trip.

The value of the collection is that it captures moments in time, documenting lifestyles, architecture and modes of travel which no longer exist or have evolved over time. Footage exists of London on the eve of war and Shanghai one year before being destroyed by the Japanese invasion.

Perhaps the greater value lies in the depiction of the indigenous lifestyles captured on film. Benz, as an amateur photographer, was interested in the common events that he experienced as he traveled. The collection features extensive recordings of people working or playing, and children of different cultures going about their daily activities. The films show barren huts in remote areas of Russia in the 1930s, families living under stone bridges outside of Buenos Aires, life-saving competitions in Sydney and the plethora of street markets found in most cultures and countries that he traveled through.

Because these are travel films, the scope of the footage included often extends beyond the geographic area used to identify the series. For example, the Australia footage includes material filmed on various Pacific islands, the Asian continent and Japan. The Russian trip contains footage of England and Northern Europe, and the South American films contain shots of the departure from New York. Each series should be examined for additional geographic content.

Special attention should be given to the Mexican series containing film recordings of Mt. Rushmore with construction only partially complete. Included as well are extensive shots of bullfighting in addition to other Mexican scenes. Also of note is the extensive depiction of women throughout all of the series. On the canister containing reel 5 in the Russia series is a receipt from United States Navy Department stating that this reel was being forwarded to Chicago for study of the shots of Kirkenes, Norway.

The color in the Africa, Guatemala, Havana, Mexico and South America series is excellent. The wide, clean, lush cityscapes of Havana and Capetown are richly captured in color and give an indication why they were popular travel destinations at this time.

In addition to the eight travel series, the collection also included one reel of World War II footage assembled by Castle Films from public domain footage. This type of film was sold through camera stores and mail order houses and Benz probably purchased a reel for his own use. The identifying writing on the film can is in Benz's handwriting and clearly belonged with his collection.