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The Correspondence series (1889-1949; 99.5 linear feet) is by far the largest series in the Osborn papers. As a public figure, Osborn corresponded widely and frequently with other notables, business associates, and a legion of acquaintances and admirers who had known him as newspaper publisher, governor, businessman, mining and land speculator, and author. The total of Osborn letters in the collection probably numbers close to 200, 000 items. Osborn corresponded with nearly every major Republican political leader in Michigan, as well as with many minor politicos within the party, prominent Democratic Party leaders, and other newspapermen. Osborn's business and political interests and his research projects are obviously principal topics within the letters. Included are correspondence from every president from McKinley to Truman. Of special note is correspondence with many prominent Progressives including Theodore Roosevelt concerning the campaign of 1912, and material on the elections of 1904, 1908, 1910, 1912, 1916, 1918, 1920, and 1930. Osborn's own campaigns for governor in 1910 and his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in 1930 are also well documented.

The chronological arrangement that Osborn maintained for his files, especially in a collection of this size poses some difficulties for the researcher. As his correspondence is not arranged by topic, the researcher must display some diligence in uncovering the great wealth of information that Osborn's communications contain. Essential is a sense of the chronology of Osborn's life. With that, the researcher will be rewarded with correspondence with significant individuals discussing the issues of the day: progressivism, conservation, Upper Peninsula development, state government, and national politics. There is, for example, correspondence showing progressive concern over business-government relations (cf. correspondence with Frederick D. Underwood, president of the B & O, and the Pennsylvania). The correspondence also includes much discussion of foreign relations: British colonial policies, the Boer War, British-German, British-United States, Canadian-United States relations, the Russo-Japanese War, China, and Chile and the Philippines. Other topics include contemporary political, social and intellectual issues: imperialism, nationalism, Anglo-Saxon racism, regulation of utilities and railroads, monetary and international trade policies, conservation, radicalism and socialism, German immigration, Anti-Semitism, Anti-Mormonism, Anti-Catholicism, prison reform, urban redevelopment and beautification, prohibition, and woman's suffrage. To aid the researcher, the library has prepared a separate index to the correspondents and a selective index to topics. This card inventory is located in the Reading Room of the library. Topics indexed in this file include Anglo-Saxon racism (1898-1899), progressivism and anti-progressivism (1908-1919), prohibition (1914-1926), forest conservation (1907-1926), labor and labor unions (1910-1921), and woman suffrage (1901-1917).

The Correspondence for the period of 1889 to 1908 is arranged alphabetically within a specific period of time, usually a few months. Apparently, Osborn maintained his correspondence in letterboxes. When one filled up, he started another. The correspondence for 1909 to 1949 is arranged only by chronology. These files might have been arranged alphabetically like the earlier files and then rearranged at a later date into a solely chronological sequence.

The Correspondence series also includes card index to correspondence (1 small box).

The Correspondence series dates from 1891-1935 and comprises the bulk of the collection. The first files in the general correspondence contain various letters from individuals and organizations that were not regular correspondents of Williamson's. The rest, and majority, of the correspondence is organized by correspondent. These files contain letters from the foremost odonata experts working contemporaneously with Williamson, as well as early luminaries in the field of museum studies working at museums as diverse as Chicago's Field Museum, the British Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum. While the majority of this correspondence relates to the identification and classification of dragonfly specimens, the collection also contains letters from Alexander Ruthven and Frederick Gaige relating to the U of M Museum of Zoology, and epistolary exchanges with friends and colleagues that give insight into Williamson's personality beyond his entomological interests.

The Correspondence series is dated 1892 to 1973 and is arranged chronologically. Most of the letters date in the period of 1947 to 1969 when Blanshard was a full-time professional writer. The content of the letters relates to his research and writing, especially to the topic of the Catholic Church in America. A selective index to Blanshard's correspondents has been prepared and is appended to this finding aid.

The Correspondence series (1895-1925; 2.8 linear feet) is significant for those exchanges with individuals (American and Filipino) important to Philippine history in the period after the 1898 war. This correspondence came to the library in two accessions. There is a selective index to the significant correspondents in each accession Additional Descriptive Data section of this finding aid.

The Correspondence series covers the full gamut of topics relating to intercollegiate athletics at Michigan, ranging from broad policy issues to facilities construction and management, scheduling of games, relations with the conference and other schools, relations with the university administration and faculty, and requests for and complaints about tickets. The series is arranged chronologically, generally with several folders for each year.

The Correspondence series is divided into three subseries. The first subseries, dated 1896-1966, also the first to be processed, is heavily weighted toward the period when Cramton was a member of Congress and in the period when he served in the Interior Department, roughly from the mid-1920s to 1933. There is a partial index to correspondents appended to this finding aid for the materials in this first portion of the collection. Cramton corresponded with a wide range of important public figures and notable organizations, such as the American Indian Defense Association, the Anti-Saloon League of America, Hiram Johnson, Mordecai Johnson, Michigan governors Kim Sigler and G. Mennen Williams, U.S. Senator Arthur Vandenberg, and conservationist Gifford Pinchot. This first subseries, though largely correspondence, also includes a scattering of other materials such as memoranda and speeches. The second subseries, though it covers much the same period as the first, 1920-1966, was received following Cramton's death, and includes more personal materials, such as letters of appreciation and letters that Cramton chose not to donate when he was alive. The last subseries consists of letters that Cramton exchanged with members of his family, mainly with his son Louis Kay Cramton, with whom he had a close relationship.

The Correspondence series (1897-1965, undated) includes letters, memos, and some postcards and is organized by accession and chronologically. The first accession includes earlier correspondence and postcards, while the second accession contains letters predominantly exchanged between Randall and Smith during their collaborative work in the 1950s-1960s. Other correspondents include Niels Bohr, J. C. Bose, Walter Colby, and George Kubica. Topics related to research projects are covered, including summaries, meeting notes, progress reports, questions about data, and equipment concerns.

The Correspondence series dates from 1899 to 1936 with some scattering of family and estate materials dating up to 1943. It is the largest series in the collection and concerns family matters, highway transportation, the automobile industry, general economic conditions, foreign trade, World War I, national defense, state and national politics, the Republican Party, and University of Michigan affairs. Correspondents include national and state political and business leaders.