Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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Collection

Patrick Mullaly photograph collection, circa 1971

1 item

Patrick Mullaly (born circa 1946) was a Michigan resident. One photograph of houses along Murray Ave., part of Ann Arbor's Old West Side.

The Patrick Mullaly photograph collection consists of one photograph of houses along Murray Ave., Ann Arbor (Michigan), which was part of the Old West Side.

Collection

Bates Real Estate (Ann Arbor, Mich.) records, circa 1955-1980

10 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan, real estate business. Information card file of homes for sale, including price, details about the house and the property, and photograph of the house.

This collection consists of information file cards used by the Bates Real Estate company in its business of selling homes in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Each card contains information about the physical characteristics of homes for sale in period of approximately 1955 to 1980. The cards also include a photograph of the house. The collection is arranged alphabetically by the name of the street where the house is located.

Collection

Ivory Photo photograph collection, circa 1927-1971

31 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan, photography firm. Photonegatives, and some photoprints, of images largely relating to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, but including Ypsilanti and other Michigan cities: buildings, businesses, houses, street scenes, community activities, and organizations; also photos of automobiles, storm damage, etc. taken to support insurance claims.

The Ivory Photo collection consists of an impressive array of negatives and prints taken by Ann Arbor photographer Mel Ivory from the 1920s to the early 1970s. Most of the photographs were taken by Ivory for customers, whether the University of Michigan, local businesses, or private citizens. The collection is probably most valuable for its extensive documentation of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, the two areas in which it bulks largest. However, because it spans a relatively long time period, the collection is also useful for illustrating changes in photography as an art and as a business, and for documenting social trends in twentieth-century America. Finally, the collection documents the career of a commercial photographer.

As a photographer for the University of Michigan in the 1920s and 1930s, Ivory took the standard pictures of campus events, buildings, and people, but the value of many photographs from this period is as much aesthetic as informational. Producing cover art for the Michigan Alumnus allowed him to experiment with unusual angles, lighting, and subject matter. (See, for example, photographs of the Clements Library and of students strolling through the Diag in the 1930s.) In stark contrast to these images is a large group of photographs of car wrecks that Ivory took for insurance companies between 1937 and 1969.

Besides providing thorough documentation of the physical plant of the University of Michigan, the Ivory collection evokes the flavor of life on campus in the 1930s and 1940s through photographs of football games and crowds, dance bands, social events, professors at work in laboratories, the Michigan Daily staff at work, and students in classrooms, libraries, and dormitories.

The Ann Arbor subseries includes numerous photographs of houses and businesses, filed by address to facilitate research into a particular building or site, as well as a rich assortment of photographs depicting life in Ann Arbor through more than four decades. There are numerous photographs of men and women at work in factories, stores, and other settings. Some show women at work in unusual settings (as cab drivers for Ace Cab Company, for example) while others depict women in stereotypically female occupations (as secretaries, store clerks, and ditto machine operators). Photographs of drug and department store display windows and of products in grocery stores illustrate trends in merchandising.

The Ivory collection is also remarkable for its documentation of social mores. Wedding photographs taken from the 1930s to the 1960s depict a variety of settings, fashions, wedding rituals, and even fads, such as a 1940 wedding at a roller rink. There is also a small group of photographs of funerals and an extensive series of portraits of children, families, and individuals.

Photographs of a depression-era hobo cooking near a railroad car, of lawn parties and country clubs, of the soap box derby and sports teams reflect diverse aspects of life in Ann Arbor. The home front during World War II is documented in views of an aluminum drive, a blitzkrieg game in a local tavern, a commuter bus with a female conductor, and the Judge Advocate General's school exercises in the Law Quad.

Although the Ypsilanti subseries is considerably smaller than the Ann Arbor and University of Michigan subseries, it contains a number of valuable photographs, such as the Cleary College photographs showing rows of students at typewriters, students relaxing on boarding house steps and in Cleary lounges and recreation rooms, and annual graduation processions. The Washtenaw County subseries contains rural scenes such as farms, country roads, and a county fair. The remaining subseries consist of businesses, street scenes, railroad stations, and a variety of other photographs representing Michigan towns and counties.

A few copy negatives made by Ivory from existing photographs are scattered throughout the collection. A late nineteenth or early twentieth-century anatomy lesson in the Medical School, for example, is filed in the "Colleges, Schools, and other Divisions" section of University of Michigan 5"x7" negatives.

The contents of the various subseries and sub-subseries are for the most part self-evident, but a few words of explanation about the Ann Arbor subseries are in order. "Buildings and Views" consists largely of exterior views of buildings. However, there are many interior scenes of people and activities in the "Churches," "Hospitals," and "Schools" sections. For example, photographs of Ann Arbor churches include views of the pastor and congregation, choirs, recreation rooms, meetings, and athletic teams in addition to interior and exterior views of the buildings. "Schools" contains photographs of sports teams, classroom scenes, social events, and buildings representing Ann Arbor public and parochial schools, but also Ann Arbor Secretarial School and Concordia College.

Researchers seeking images of commercial enterprises will find material in the "Buildings and Views" sub-subseries (listed under the street address in the "Houses and Businesses" section) and in the "Businesses" sub-subseries (under the name of the enterprise).

The "Houses and Businesses" negatives within the "Buildings and Views" sub-subseries are arranged alphabetically by street name and then numerically by address. Most of these photographs are exterior views, but interior scenes of businesses have been filed here in order to keep exterior and interior views of a particular business together. Photographs of products, equipment, people at work, and special events are filed in the "Businesses" sub-subseries when no building exteriors exist or when the address of the business was unknown. Researchers should look both places for photographs of businesses. Although some "see also" references have been added, they are by no means exhaustive. Researchers may also wish to examine the "Motor Vehicles" sub-subseries, which contains photographs of trucks owned by Ann Arbor businesses.

In the University of Michigan subseries, "Buildings and Views" consists of exterior and interior views of buildings, whereas "Colleges, Schools, and Other Divisions" contains photographs of professors and students in laboratories and classrooms as well as group photographs of staff and students.

Collection

Martha Cook Building (University of Michigan) records, circa 1913-2016

22.65 linear feet (in 23 boxes) — 12 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder

The Martha Cook Building (MCB) opened in the fall of 1915 as the second all-women's dormitory on the University of Michigan campus. It was a gift of Mr. William Wilson Cook, a lawyer-philanthropist from New York City who was born and raised in Hillsdale, Michigan. The Martha Cook Building records are dated from circa 1913-2016 and include blueprints; chronological files; clippings; correspondence; financial records; minutes, particularly of both the MCB's Board of Governors and House Board; publications; reports; scrapbooks; subject files; and visual materials, such as negatives, photographs, and photograph albums.

The Martha Cook Building records (circa 1913-2016) document the activities of those involved with the Martha Cook Building and include blueprints; chronological files; clippings; correspondence; financial records; minutes; reports; scrapbooks; subject files; and visual materials, such as negatives, photographs, and photograph albums.

Significant people and groups featured in this collection include William. W. Cook; various House Directors, such as Sarah Rowe, G.J. Diekema, Olive Chernow, Josette Allen, and Rosalie Moore; the building's Board of Governors and House Board; and Martha Cook Building students and alumnae. Other notable topics include the construction, furnishing and remodeling of the Martha Cook Building; various scholarships; and activities, such as various anniversary events and the Messiah Dinner.

Collection

Letty M. Wickliffe papers, circa 1860-1992 (majority within 1960s-1976)

0.5 linear feet (in 2 boxes)

Teacher; Ann Arbor, Michigan, community activist; member of the North Central Property Owners Association in Ann Arbor. Articles written for the local newspaper, awards, scattered correspondence, biographical information, and photographs.

The Letty M. Wickliffe collection documents the life of a devoted educator, Ann Arbor community activist, and active member of the Republican party. The collection is divided into two series, Topical and Visual. Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series and the items inside the folders are in chronological order. Collections also includes Wickliffe's 1924 University of Michigan diploma.

Collection

Raab family papers, circa 1830-1969

1 linear foot

Michigan family from Adrian and Flint, Michigan. Family papers, sound recordings, and photographs.

The collection is arranged by family name: Tomlinson, Pomeroy, and Raab. The earliest item is an account maintained by Alexander Tomlinson of Sherwood, Michigan. Within the Raab family papers are diaries, 1891-1892, of Florence Raab concerning her life in Adrian, Michigan. In addition, the collection includes papers and audio-tapes of Irving T. Raab reminiscing about his student life at the University of Michigan in the years before 1900. These tapes also concern his life in Flint and career as Presbyterian clergyman. The photographs in the collection are of family members.

Collection

Peter Yates photograph collection, 1978-1990

5200 35mm negative strips (in 3 boxes; approximate)

Ann Arbor, Michigan photographer. Photographic images taken to accompany articles in the Ann Arbor Observer. Images include Ann Arbor businesses, buildings, neighborhoods, parks, landmarks; also photos of local personalities, politicians, business people, and University of Michigan faculty and staff members.

The Peter Yates collection is made up of approximately 5200 negative strips, or 26,000 images, of photographs taken for the Ann Arbor Observer between 1978 and 1990. The collection documents both the ordinary and the eccentric in Ann Arbor, as photographs of politicians, professors and business people are interspersed with images of local "characters" and unusual events. Neighborhoods, parks and buildings are also represented in the collection. The negatives are stored in chronological order, according to the date of the issue in which they appeared.

The index is arranged in alphabetical order by subject, and each entry includes the date of the Observer issue in which the photograph was published. The index is not comprehensive, but provides access to photographs of notable people, institutions and trends in Ann Arbor. For example, not every restaurant review photograph has been indexed, but "institutions" such as the Fleetwood Diner and the Gandy Dancer do appear on the list.

For further subject access to the Ann Arbor Observer, please consult the Index to the Michigan Alumnus, LSA Magazine and Ann Arbor Observer in the Bentley Library reading room.

Collection

Ann Arbor Sesquicentennial Commission records, 1972-1974

3 linear feet — 1 oversize volume

Agency established to plan and coordinate activities in celebration of Ann Arbor, Michigan's, sesquicentennial. Minutes, printed matter, and administrative files of Douglas Crary, commission chairman; scrapbook relating to celebratory events and projects; and photographs.

The records of the commission include minutes of meetings, project files, publications celebrating the history of Ann Arbor, a scrapbook of events, and photographs of activities.

Collection

Wystan Stevens papers, 1961-1973

2 linear feet (in 4 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

Ann Arbor, Michigan, local historian; collector of leaflets and photographs on local history topics.

The collection consists of leaflets, newsletters, and other miscellanea relating to activist organizations and events in Ann Arbor and at the University of Michigan during the period of the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. Other materials were added to the collection by staff members of the Michigan Historical Collections, 1969-1973. The collection, arranged alphabetically, provides an overview of the activities, personalities, and political debates of the time. Included is a small series of historical Ann Arbor photographs, either originals or photo prints of originals, collected from different sources.

Collection

Cecil O. Creal papers, 1958-1968

8.2 linear feet — 8 oversize volumes

Republican mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, and photographs, concerning the work of city departments and such issues as tax assessments, highway construction, the building of a new city hall, the fair housing ordinance and urban renewal.

The collection consists of topical files and other materials relating to his tenure as mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1959-1965. Some of the scrapbooks contains clippings relating to his campaign for office (1958-1959) and to Ann Arbor government issues after he left office (1965-1968).