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Collection

Edith Staebler Kempf papers, 1857-1970s

0.3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Ann Arbor, Mich. musicians and music teachers, and businesspeople. Correspondence, clippings and memorabilia, photographs, and a scrapbook collected by Edith Staebler Kempf relating to the Kempf, Widenmann and Staebler families of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

This collection consists of a scrapbook, 1880-1897, on musical performances of Reuben H. Kempf and his wife Pauline Widenmann Kempf; and miscellaneous correspondence, clippings and memorabilia.

It also includes a photograph of the cast of University of Michigan Junior Girls' Play, 1921 and a print made in 1960 of 1894 photo of the Lyra Gesangverein of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Collection

Frank and Peggy Bach Papers, 1964-2003

9 linear feet (in 10 boxes) — 2 oversize folders — 1.1 GB (online) — 1 phonograph record — 4 film reels — 1 artifact

Frank and Peggy Bach were involved with the counterculture in Detroit and Ann Arbor beginning in the 1960s as musicians, performers, graphic designers, promoters, and activists for area jazz, blues, and pop acts. Frank Bach was also involved in community organizations supporting housing and economic development activities in Detroit. The collection documents the Bach's numerous professional activities and organizations, groups, and individuals with whom they were associated, including Rainbow Corporation and Rainbow Multi-media, Allied Artists Association of America, Strata Associates, Detroit Jazz Center, Grande Graphics, Morda-Sinclair & Associates, and John Sinclair. Detroit community organizations documented in the collection include the Creekside Community Development Corporation, the Jefferson-Chalmers Citizens' District Council, and the Jefferson East Business Association.

The Frank and Peggy Bach collection consists of six series including Professional Ventures, Detroit Redevelopment, Arts and Culture, Newspaper Clippings, Visual Materials, and Audio Materials. These are in alphabetical order except for the Professional Ventures series, which follows its original chronological organization according to the Bachs' careers. The majority of the collection includes finished products of their graphic design and advertising careers and photographs of jazz musicians. Another substantial portion of the collection includes materials documenting the inner workings of Detroit community development organizations.

The Bachs are long-standing friends and business colleagues of John and Leni Sinclair. Therefore, the Bach collection closely compliments the John and Leni Sinclair Papers at the Bentley Historical Library, both containing extensive material regarding the 1960s and 1970s youth movement and later business ventures. Additional material about many topics within the Bach collection may be found with the Sinclair papers. Frank Bach was a journalist for the Sun, Fifth Estate, and Creem. Each of these publications is available for research at the Bentley Historical Library. Additional information about many topics within the Bach collection may be found with the Sinclair papers.

Collection

Gilbert Ross Papers, 1911-1975

5 linear feet

Professor of music at the University of Michigan, and founder and first violinist with the Stanley Quartet. Correspondence relating to music and musical performance and to his career at the University of Michigan; publications; photographs; scrapbooks containing clippings, programs, correspondence, and an occasional photograph; files relating to his violin performances and work with the Stanley Quartet.

The Gilbert Ross papers serve to document Ross' growth and development as a violinist, as well as the growth and development of the Stanley Quartet. With the exception of the alphabetical correspondence files the collection is in chronological order, wherever feasible. Some overlap of dates exists in the clippings files as well as the scrapbooks. The papers are arranged in eight series reflecting the various events and activities in Ross' life. These include: Correspondence, Teaching Career, Publications, Violin Performance, Stanley Quartet, Photographs, Scrapbooks and Notebooks, and Printed Music.

Collection

John and Leni Sinclair papers, 1957-2003

66.5 linear feet (in 82 boxes) — 1 oversize folder (UAl) — 1 oversize volume — 33 open reel videotapes — 727.7 GB (online)

Online
John and Leni Sinclair were leaders of the counterculture movement in Michigan, organizers of radical social, political, and cultural endeavors primarily in the areas of music, poetry, graphic design, and community welfare projects. Papers and photographs (1957-1979) relating to all phases of their careers, including participation in the Artists' Workshop in Detroit, the Rainbow Multi-Media Corporation, the White Panther Party and its offshoot, the Rainbow Peoples Party; also materials concerning the legalization of marijuana, radical politics, and prison reform. Also material, 1979-2000, relating to John Sinclair's work as a writer, performer, radio show host and music promoter.

The John Sinclair papers came to the library in 1979. Jointly donated by John and Leni Sinclair, this initial accession, covering the period 1957-1979, included textual material, sound recordings, and photographs relating to all phases of their careers, including participation in the Artists' Workshop in Detroit, the Rainbow Multi-Media Corporation, the White Panther Party and its offshoot, the Rainbow Peoples Party; also materials concerning the legalization of marijuana, radical politics, prison reform, and rock and jazz music.

The Sinclair papers provide a rich and unique source for the study of America's radical movement in the nineteen sixties and seventies. Beginning with a remarkable series of correspondence that includes letters from Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, and Jerry Rubin, and continuing on through extensive subject files, the collection details the cultural, political and business activities of a man whose energy and charisma made him a local and national leader of the counterculture. In addition, the collection documents the support and creativity of his wife and partner, who as writer, photographer and publicist helped to showcase the lifestyle which he symbolized.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, John Sinclair added to his papers with materials relating to his career as a writer and performer. In the winter of 2000, he donated a second large accession relating mainly to the period since leaving Detroit for New Orleans.

The Sinclair collection has been divided into four subgroups: Textual Files, Printed Material, Sound Recordings, and Visual Material.

Collection

Media Resources Center (University of Michigan) films and videotapes, 1930s, 1948-1986

2500 films and videotapes (approximate)

Online
The television production studio and media services unit of the University of Michigan, commonly referred to as "Michigan Media." It was formed in 1978 through the merger of the university Television Center and the university Audio-Visual Education Center. The Television Center began producing educational programs for broadcast on commercial and public stations in 1950. The Audio-Visual Education Center produced films for the university and operated a film distribution library. The Media Resources Center closed in 1986. The collection consists of documentary type film and video and film and video of television programs produced by the Media Resources Center and its predecessors.

The University of Michigan Media Resources Center Films and Videotapes collection consists of "archives" film footage produced or collected by the Center and television programs and films produced by the Center. The "archives" films are divide into three series; Archives Film (Series AF), Film File (Series AF) and Audio-Visual Education Center Film File Series AVEC Film File. The television programs are organized based on the

Archives Films

The "archival films": consist of documentary style, 16mm film footage of a variety of University of Michigan events, buildings, and personalities. The series originated in 1959 when the Television Center began a project to create a "university film archives." Some of this footage was shot for the purpose of being incorporated into television programs, but much of the filming was done simply to create a film record of the university. Filming was done on a regular basis through about 1972. After that date the Michigan Media collection includes comparatively few "archival" films.

The subject matter of the archival films falls into several broad categories:

  1. Series AF -- Archives Films and Series FF -- Film File
    • Ceremonial - including footage of awards ceremonies, inaugurations, graduations, building groundbreakings and dedications
    • Campus scenes - buildings and construction sites, students on the Diag, and general activity on campus
    • Athletic events and marching band performances
    • Student activities -- including protests, fraternity/sorority activities, homecoming, course registration, and social events.
    • Faculty and administrator interviews
    • Visiting dignitaries and participants in special programs and conferences on campus.
    • Films collected by the Television Center - these include several films from the 1920s and 1930s
  2. Series AVEC Film File
    • Original footage shot for use in Audio-Visual Education Center films

Films in the three archival series range from a few minutes to more than an hour in length. The films may be negatives, original positives, or work prints. Some are identified as "trims," i.e. original footage edited out of finished productions. The work prints have often been cut and spliced and portions may be missing. Several titles were originally recorded on either two- or one-videotape reels or directly on 3/4-inch videotape cassette.

The early films, ca 1953-ca.1963, are generally black and white. After 1963 color film is more common. Many of the films, especially, from the early years, are silent. For some of these there are accompanying 16mm magnetic sound tracks or 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audio tapes.

The film description part of the finding aid is arranged by series film number or titles. Film numbers were assigned by the Television Center in an approximate chronological order. The description of individual films is based on a card File created by the Television Center and on a viewing of each film by Bentley staff.

The descriptive record for each film includes the film number; title; date; a brief summary of the content of the film; a listing of significant persons appearing in the film; and technical information on the color, sound, polarity, and length of the film.

The films are stored in canisters, usually on a core rather than a reel. A film number generally refers to an individual film title. There is sometimes more than one film number in a canister and occasionally more than one film number on a single reel or core. Alternate versions of a title are indicated by a lower case letter.

The Television Center gave the films titles which are more or less descriptive. These titles have been retained except for a few instances in which a more descriptive title was assigned or in which a uniform title was created for all parts of a multi-reel film. The individual reels of multi-part titles are designated by a lower case letter, e.g. 98a, 98b, 98c. For some titles the may be more than one film, possibly a negative, positive, work print, or other version. A few tittles have been digitized and are available on DVD and streaming files.

The listing for each film or program in includes a Title, date of production, and abstract/summary of the content of the film and ,when available, the names of persons or organizations featured in the film. University of Michigan faculty and staff are identified by departmental or administrative affiliation (e.g. Peter Gosling, UM-Geog. A list of abbreviations used is included in the Additional Descriptive Data Section of this finding aid.) Technical information for the films is provided in the format: Original: 16mm film, pos, b/w, sil, 343, 00:09:35. The order of the information is:

  1. Format -- film / videotape / magnetic sound track
  2. Polarity -- neg (negative) /. Pos (positive) / wp (work print)
  3. Color -- b/w or color
  4. Sound -- silent / sound / sof (sound on film)/ at (accompanying 1/4-inch audiotape)
  5. Length -- expressed in feet (footage value is sometimes an estimate)
  6. Running time -- in the form 01:33:25 (hours:minutes:seconds)
  7. (in cases where there are several versions of a title, there may be multiple values for each category)

Television Programs and AVEC Films

The Television Programs consist of 16mm kinescope films and two-inch and 1-inch videotapes of programs produced by the Center for distribution to commercial and educational television stations. The collection represents only a portion of the television programs produced by the Center. There were no extant copies of some programs when the library acquired the collection.

The films and videotapes in the Michigan Media collection were appraised and only a portion have been selected for permanent retention by the Bentley Historical Library. A number of appraisal criteria were used in determining which television programs and films were retained:

  1. subject matter relating to the University of Michigan;
  2. subject matter relating to the state of Michigan;
  3. subject matter of general, national interest;
  4. participation of prominent UM faculty or staff;
  5. participation of prominent Michigan personalities;
  6. participation of persons of national or international significance;
  7. programs marking significant technical or artistic developments at Michigan Media;
  8. award winning programs.

The television programs are organized by series created by the Center. The series for the most part reflect different type of programming the Center produced, from the earliest "telecourses" to the independent programs produced under the title "Understanding Our World". to the multi-part programs that were the core of the "University of Michigan Television Hour. See the History section for details on the different series.

The description for individual programs includes the title and date of the program, a unique id number, and an abstract of the content of the program with listing of the host and guests on the program. A program may exist in one or more formats: kinescope negative, kinescope positive and 1-inch or 2-inch videotape. Technical information for each program is recorded in the format16mm kinescope film, neg. #511, Pos. #665, 2-inch video #458. (the negative number was treated as a production and for some programs recorded originally on videotape a negative was not actually produced). The television programs were generally either twelve, fifteen or thirty minutes in length Most are black and white and all have sound.

In 2009 a selection of television programs and films and tapes were digitized. for each tape or film selected a preservation Beta SP tape was made as well as a DVD use copy and a streaming file (mpeg4 and Flash). For some films a high resolution digital copy was made as well (mpeg2). The finding aid lists the original format(s) and the derivative formats for the digitized items.

Collection

Media Resources Center (University of Michigan) records, 1948-1987, 1948-1987

35 linear feet — 2500 items

The television production studio and media services unit of the University of Michigan, commonly referred to as "Michigan Media." It was formed in 1978 through the merger of the university Television Center and the university Audio-Visual Education Center. The Television Center began producing educational programs for broadcast on commercial and public stations in 1950. The Audio-Visual Education Center produced films for the university and operated a film distribution library. The Media Resources Center closed in 1986. The record group consists of administrative records including Broadcasting Committee minutes, annual reports, unit review material, correspondence, and budget material; scripts for television programs and films; press releases; telecourse outlines and study guides; and brochures and catalogs; also photographs; and films.

The records of the University of Michigan Media Resources Center document the production of educational television programs and films at the University of Michigan, 1950-1988. The collection includes administrative records, scripts, press releases and program summaries, photographs, and films and videotapes. This finding aid describes in detail the paper and photograph portion of the collection and briefly describes the film and videotape. A companion finding aid entitled "University of Michigan. Michigan Media. Program Descriptions" provides detailed descriptions of the films and videotapes in the collection. The Program Description finding aid is stored at the reference desk in the reading room of the Bentley Historical Library.

Collection

Men's Glee Club (University of Michigan) Records, 1886-2012

16.8 linear feet — 7 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder — 460.1 GB (online)

Online
University of Michigan choral group founded in 1859; includes correspondence, administrative records, musical scores, publicity material, photographs, posters and sound recordings in addition to digitized versions of records and born digital audio, video, and still images

The records of the Men's Glee Club date from 1886 to 2012 and were received in several major accessions. The first accession, covering 1886-1985 and 1991, includes four linear feet of manuscript, printed, and photographic material as well as posters, scrapbooks, and sound recordings in a variety of formats. The first accession has been divided into five series: Chronological File, Philip A. Duey Material, Photographs, Sound Recordings, Scrapbooks, and Archived Website.

The 1995 accession of the records of the Men's Glee Club were comprised of two linear feet of correspondence, photographs, and topical files ranging from 1919 to 1994. Items of particular interest include a folder of historical writings, which provides anecdotes, reflections, and facts about the club prepared for an exhibit on club history. The Press Releases folder is also of note, as it reflects information given out by the club to newspapers and other media of the towns they visited. Both of these folders are found in the Topical series. The records of this accession are divided into 3 series: Correspondence, Topical, and Visual Materials.

The 2010 accession to the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club records is organized into one series. The Sound Recordings series, 1952-1987, (10 linear feet) is comprised of University of Michigan Men's Glee Club concert recordings, including its annual fall and spring concert series. Many of the boxes of tape reel also include a concert program and concert set list.

The 2012 accession consisted entirely of digital materials (scanned images, audio files, video files, and still images) that added content to the Chronological Files series and established a China Concert Tour series. The 2018 accession consisted of phonograph records, which have been added to the Sound Recordings series, and publications.

Collection

Mu Phi Epsilon. Gamma Chapter (University of Michigan) records, 1945-1995, 2011

1 linear foot — 2 oversize folders — 9 oversize volumes

Gamma Chapter at University of Michigan of Mu Phi Epsilon, established in 1904, part of professional music sorority. In 1976 membership opened to males. Organization is still active. Material includes minutes, correspondence, membership records, financial records, and scrapbooks.

The records for the Gamma Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon contain minutes, correspondence, membership records, financial records, scrapbooks, and nationally published materials. These records are divided into Administrative, Membership, Correspondence, Publications, and Scrapbooks. The earliest records date from 1945, leaving the first 40 years of the chapter undocumented. Materials are arranged in chronological order, starting with most recent date except where noted.

Collection

Pi Kappa Lambda, Chi Chapter (University of Michigan) records, 1931-1980 (majority within 1950-1980)

0.75 linear feet

The Chi chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, a national music honor society, was established in 1945 at the University of Michigan. The collection spans from 1931-1980 but primarily contains documentation from 1950-1980.

The Pi Kappa Lambda collection contains records documenting the biennial conventions at which adding the School of Music in Ann Arbor was discussed, and meetings following the induction of the Chi chapter at which a representative of the chapter was present. General information on the history of the national organization is briefly included. Also included are lists of the bylaws and initiation rituals that the chapter implemented. Documentation of students who transferred to or from the Chi chapter are included, as well as lists of honorary members, new members inducted into the organization, and copies of the program for the Honors Assembly at which new members were recognized. Between the member lists and the programs for the Honors Assembly, the only year for which there is no documentation of new members is 1976. The collection also contains financial reports, meeting minutes of the Chi chapter, lists of officers and faculty members, lists of events sponsored by the organization, and information on the scholarships that the Chi chapter awarded. Scattered years of the national newsletter printed by the organization are included, which are from years when a member of the Chi chapter served as a national officer, a specific member of the organization was mentioned, or newsletters contained lists of the officers for all the chapters. The correspondences are primarily to and from the chapter president and the chapter secretary, though there are also some letters from members. The collection also contains one of the keys, in pin form, awarded to members of the society. This particular pin was intended to be passed down through each of the presidents of the Chi chapter.

Collection

Richard Crawford (1935- )papers, 1893-1915, 1949-2001

3.75 linear feet

Professor at University of Michigan School of Music, papers largely related to the Music School's Honors Program and Crawford's teaching career.

The Crawford papers in the main date from 1949 to 2001. Historical material collected by Crawford dates from 1893 to 1915. The Crawford papers measure 3.75 linear feet. They consist almost exclusively of records from the School of Music's Honors Program, which Crawford administered in the 1960s, and Crawford's teaching material. The collection has been divided into four series, School of Music Records, Teaching Material, Other Professional Material, and Collected Historical Music Material.