Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan. Correspondence and other papers relating to his research in physics, and his interest in his family genealogy and his activities with the Sons of the American Revolution in Michigan.

The papers of Dr. Arthur Whitmore Smith consist of correspondence and other papers relating to his research in physics, and his interest in his family genealogy and his activities with the Sons of the American Revolution in Michigan. The papers are arranged in four series: Biographical Information, Genealogical Activities, Physics Research, and Photographs.

Professor of architecture at the University of Michigan. The series in the collection are: Architectural Research, 1932-1983; College of Architecture and Urban Planning, 1967-1985; Correspondence, 1962-1972; Development Index, 1947-1984; and Published Materials, 1930-1982.

The papers of C. Theodore Larson measure 4.0 linear feet and date from 1930 to 1985. The bulk of materials, however, are from 1951 to 1974. The papers contain five series: Architectural Research; College of Architecture and Urban Planning; Correspondence; Development index and Published materials.

University of Michigan microbiologist; correspondence, student notebooks, San Francisco Plague Commission records, research files and laboratory notebooks, visual materials

The Frederick G. Novy collection documents the career and research interests of this noted bacteriologist, including information from the period of time when he was a member of the San Francisco Plague Commission (1901).

The collection has been divided into the following series:

1. Biographical/Personal
2. Correspondence
3. University of Michigan Student Notebooks
4. University of Michigan Medical School
5. San Francisco Plague Commission
6. Research Files/Laboratory Notebooks
7. Reprints and Writings
8. Miscellaneous; and Visual Materials.

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.

Architect; professor of architecture at the University of Michigan. Client files, topical file, and miscellaneous presentation drawings.

The George Brigham collection consists of three linear feet and 10 oversize drawers of architectural drawings, photographs, correspondence, and subject files relating to his career as a practicing architect in southeastern Michigan (mainly Ann Arbor), but also including some materials when he was based in Pasadena, California.

The collection has been arranged into five series: Client Files; Client Drawings Files; Prefabrication Drawings Files; Miscellaneous Drawings Files; and Topical Files

The Client Files and the Topical Files have been placed together in the collection (boxes 1-3). The Client Drawings Files, the Prefabrication Drawings Files, and the Miscellaneous Drawings Files, consisting of oversized architectural materials, have been placed together in flat storage drawers.

The Client Files and the Client Drawings Files will be discussed here together as the distinction between them is primarily one of size rather than content. Each of these series is arranged alphabetically by the name of the client for whom Brigham either designed a structure (mainly private residences), additions to existing structures, or proposed a design for which the structure was never built. As a rule, the Client Files consist of photographs, specifications, smaller original drawings, correspondence, and other materials relating either to the project or to the client, while the Client Drawings Files, as the name states, consists of the original designs from conception to final revisions as given to the contractor. There is some mixing of materials between the two series with an occasional oversize photograph located in the Client Drawings Files and with some smaller-sized drawings located in the Client Files. The researcher should also note that while the lists of names for the two series are basically the same they are not identical. The disparities depend upon whether a structure was actually built or not and whether all of the materials have survived. As a group, these two series document Brigham's creative process from first contact with a client through to the construction phase. The series also documents the introduction of a new style of domestic architecture into the Ann Arbor community, particularly areas where the faculty of the University of Michigan resided such as Barton Hills.

The Prefabrication Drawings Files and the Miscellaneous Drawings Files are not client-based files and instead concern Brigham's design innovations in the area of low-cost, prefabricated structures. Unfortunately with the passage of time and the transfer of material about, the original order of these drawings has been lost. An attempt has been made to put the drawings into a subject arrangement but there are still many items imprecisely identified or fragments that were once part of a series of drawings. Some identification is of course possible with clearly defined units of material carrying such labels as 12 panel recreation shelter, a square folding portable shelter and plank wall construction. The largest grouping of drawings here is for Brigham's modular designs, which he called "Unit Built Structures." Perhaps the most significant portion of the Miscellaneous Drawings series relates to the Youtz Unit System of building on which Brigham worked during World War II.

The final series - Topical Files - contain a miscellanea of personal materials, speeches and articles, subject files on his general interest in architectural design. Of interest here in this series are several files relating to Brigham's work with Philip Youtz and his design work on the Youtz Unit House. As mentioned previously, there are also complementary drawings on the Youtz system.

University of Michigan staff photographer, 1913-1947 and commercial photographer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Collection includes some manuscript material but is primarily photographic prints and negatives made by Swain. Photo subjects include university buildings, faculty, and student activities, archeological expeditions to the Near East and, Ann Arbor scenes and landscapes form his travels in the western United States and Canada.

The papers and photographs of George R. Swain mainly document Swain's accomplishments as university photographer at the University of Michigan from 1913 to 1947. Researchers should note, however, that this is only a sampling of the photographer's work during these years. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan has an extensive collection of Swain's archaeological negatives and prints, and researchers interested in his full career will want to also look at the Kelsey collection. The Bentley Library material, while including several folders of fine photographs Swain made on his travels with Professor Frances Kelsey, for the most part documents Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.

The collection at the Bentley Library consists of three series: Miscellaneous Papers; Photographers Log; and Photographs (prints; negatives; and lantern slides. Since the bulk of the collection is comprised of early twentieth century images of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, the materials will be of most interest to researchers searching for visual documentation of this part of the state in that time period. There are very few materials beyond the visual, although the lengthy captions attached to many overseas images and the essays, diaries, and letters, are extremely interesting and offer insight into how Swain approached his craft, both as a professional photographer and in his personal work.

Landscape architect, professor of landscape architecture at the University of Michigan. Files relating to various Michigan projects, notably in Ann Arbor, Hartland, Hillsdale, and Highland Park; subject files on professional activities; and photographs.

The papers of Harlow O. Whittemore have been divided into the following series: Projects; Topical Files; Family Papers; and Photographs.

Artist, art critic, director of the University of Michigan Art Museum. Scrapbooks with clippings of Ann Arbor News art reviews, scrapbook, 1905-1907, concerning University of Michigan student life, topical files relating to his interest in art and cultural organizations, original scripts of lectures and radio talks.

The Slusser papers document only portions of this artist/critic's life. The majority of the collection consists of scrapbooks containing his art review columns for the Ann Arbor News. These were written in the period of his retirement, 1963 to 1978. There is also one scrapbook from his years as a student at the University of Michigan, 1905-1907. The remainder of the collection consists of such personal materials as a diary he kept of a trip to Europe in 1909 when he went to study in Munich, a selection of some of his lectures and radio talks, and miscellaneous topical files relating to art and artists. Of interest is a series of letters written to his brother Herbert and letters received from artist William H. Littlefield.

Professor of economics at the University of Michigan, director of the Center for Research on Conflict Resolution, fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and participant in the Society of Friends, the National Council of Churches Department of the Church and Economic Life, and peace and disarmament groups. Correspondence, notes, writings, photographs, recordings, and topical files; also materials concerning his wife, Elise Boulding, and his parents, William and Elizabeth Boulding.

The Boulding papers, consisting of approximately 46 linear feet, fall into the following series and sub-series.

1. Correspondence (boxes 1-10)
2. Miscellaneous clippings and printed materials (box 10)
3. Lecture and reading notes (boxes 11-13)
4. Published and unpublished writings (boxes 14-18)
5. Family and personal files (boxes 19-22)
   • Elise Boulding (boxes 19-21)
6. Topical files:
   • Economics (boxes 23-24)
   • Social Sciences (boxes 25-30)
     • California Water Resources Study, 1958-1959 (boxes 24-26)
   • Religion (boxes 30-31)
     • National Council of Churches of Christ, Department of the Church and Economic Life (boxes 30-31)
   • Peace, Conflict Resolution and Disarmament (boxes 32-38)
     • Center for Research on Conflict Resolution (boxes 32-34)
   • University of Michigan (boxes 39-42)
   • Travel (box 42)
   • Foundations (box 42)
7. Speaking Engagements (box 43)
8. Financial Records (boxes 44-45)
9. Sound recordings (box 46)
10. Photographs (box 47)

Mathematician, professor of mathematics at the University of Michigan. Correspondence and other papers relating to professional and family matters, to his association with the Bethlehem Church in Ann Arbor, and to his involvement with the American Mathematical Society, especially regarding the controversy over loyalty oaths in the 1950s; also letters from family members, notably sister Martha, a school teacher, who comments on her career and her life as a single woman; and letters from son Paul during World War II; and photographs.

The papers of T.H. Hildebrandt consist of seven linear feet of materials spanning the years 1887 to 1978. The bulk of the collection falls between the years 1930 and 1960. The papers have been arranged in ten series: Biographical Material, Bethlehem Church, Compositions, Correspondence, Lectures, Notes, Organizations, Universities, Writings, and Visual Materials.

As Hildebrandt was fairly well known in his field, he corresponded with other eminent mathematicians of his time, including Eliakim Hostings Moore (with whom he had studied) and Maurice Frechet. The Hildebrandt papers are also valuable for other topics: the development of mathematical ideas and the various pressures placed on academics during the Cold War to name both two examples.