Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Blanchard family papers document the lives and careers of several members of the Blanchard, Cobb, and Proctor families from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth century. Includes visual materials, publications, personal writings, and extensive correspondence files.

The Blanchard Family Papers document the professional achievements and personal lives of several generations of a scientifically minded and artistically gifted family. The papers focus heavily upon the eminent plant pathologist and nematologist Nathan A. Cobb, his wife Alice Vara Cobb, their daughter, biologist Frieda Cobb Blanchard, and her husband, herpetologist Frank Nelson Blanchard (the latter two of whom were professors at the University of Michigan). In addition to the photographs, drawings, correspondence, journals, and writings of these four individuals, the collection is rich in family correspondence, diaries, and personal papers from other members of the Cobb and Blanchard families (and their forebears and branches, including the Bigelow, Proctor, Ross, White, and Randall families). The Blanchard Family Papers will be of value to researchers interested in a variety of topics: scientific endeavors and methodologies (and in particular those related to agronomy, nematology, botany, and herpetology); the visual arts and the development of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; colonial and provincial life in Australia and Hawaii (respectively); and the daily affairs of American (and Michigan) families throughout the twentieth century. The Blanchard Family Papers consist of seven series: Nathan A. Cobb, Alice Vara Cobb, Frieda Cobb Blanchard, Frank Nelson Blanchard, Blanchard and Cobb Family Letters, Other Family Members, and Isaac G. Blanchard.

The Carl E. Guthe collection contains the papers and photographs of a noted professor of anthropology and director of the Museum of Anthropology and University Museum of the University of Michigan, primarily concerning expedition to the Philippines, 1923-1925.

The collection, which was received in two accessions, contains papers and photographs documenting Guthe's work at the University of Michigan, including the 1922 expedition to the Philippines and other expeditions and materials relating to his teaching and administrative activities. The collection is organized into eight series: Philippine Expedition Papers, University Files, Philippine Expediting Photographs, Journals, Writings, Clippings, Other, and Correspondence. The 1944 accession includes the series Philippine Expedition Papers, University Files, Philippine Expedition Photographs, and Correspondence. The 2006 addition includes the series Journals, Correspondence, Writings, Clippings, Other, and Photographs. .

Civil servant with Chinese Maritime Customs Service, later professor of Far Eastern art at the University of Michigan. Letters to his mother describing his experiences in China, other related papers, and photographs from his years in China.

The Plumer collection has been arranged into the following series: Letters to his mother from China; Other Materials; and Photographs. The letters to his mother are bound together in seven volumes with occasional descriptive photographs. The letters describe his experiences in Nanking, Manchuria, Shanghai, and Hankow, and his vacation trip to India in 1928. Also included are typescripts of selective letters. The Photographs series consists of people, buildings, and views in China, especially in Nanking and Manchuria. There are also photos of visits to Hong Kong, India, Japan, and the Philippines.