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The Alexander family papers document the family, life, and early career of pianist Margaret June Alexander (also known as Vonya Alexandre) throughout the early 1900s. The collection is made up of two journals kept by her mother, Myrilla M. Anderson, plus letters, writings, artwork, family photographs, printed programs, sheet music, and other materials related to this Decatur County and Indianapolis, Indiana, family.

The Alexander family papers document the family, life, and early career of pianist Margaret June Alexander (also known as Vonya Alexandre) throughout the early 1900s. The collection consists of two journals kept by her mother, Myrilla M. Anderson, plus approximately 1 linear foot of letters, writings, artwork, family photographs, printed programs, sheet music, books, newspaper clippings, and other materials related to this Decatur County and Indianapolis, Indiana, family.

Margaret's mother, Myrilla Anderson Alexander, wrote two journals during Margaret's early life and stages of her musical career. The first, kept between 1894 and 1896, documents Myrilla's experiences during Margaret's infancy and a list of musical lessons, associated fees, and required books. The second journal covers 1907 to 1917, and focuses primarily on Margaret's musical performances, complemented by enclosed newspaper clippings, correspondence, and programs.

The Alexander family papers include Myrilla M. Anderson Alexander's sketchbook of ink, watercolor, and charcoal illustrations. A hand bound book appears in the collection, written for Myrilla Alexander by R. E. Sylvester, which contains poetry and sketches.

The collection includes 4 letters by Myrilla Alexander, picture postcards, calling cards, 2 blank living wills from the state of Florida, and a 1945 marriage certificate for Carl F. Grouleff and Vonya Kurzhene. A typed document titled "Remembrances of Anna Stover and Edith Surbey" recounts the friends' lives from their early education through their ongoing religious charity work. Other items include a handwritten description of Margaret June Alexander's 1913 performance at Carnegie Hall, a list of quotations, and a certificate regarding the eligibility of Mary Alexander Tarkington and Caroline Anderson Haugh to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Approximately 110 photographs depict Margaret June Alexander, her performance partner Mischel Kurzene, and members of the Alexander, Anderson, and Tarkington families. An address book kept by Myrilla Alexander includes addresses and birthdays of family and friends.

The collection's printed items include programs for musical events, sheet music, newspaper clippings, and two books. Approximately 50 programs reflect Margaret June Alexander's musical career between 1907 and 1927. Obituaries for members of the Alexander and Tarkington families appear within the collection's newspaper clippings. Multiple copies of an undated, printed advertisement for "Dr. Alexander's Effervescing Headache Powders" are also present. The collection's 2 books are G. W. H. Kemper's A Medical History of the State of Indiana (Chicago: American Medical Association Press, 1911) and Joseph Tarkington's Autobiography of Rev. Joseph Tarkington (Cincinnati: Curts & Jennings, 1899).

Zoologist, college professor, president of University of Michigan, 1929-1951. Professional files relating to his career with the University Museum and as a professor of zoology, and presidential files containing correspondence, reports, speeches, and other University materials, including budget and legislative files, material relating to changes in University administration, his relationship with faculty, students and alumni, and photographs.

The Alexander Ruthven papers consists of two series of records. The first is the papers of Ruthven as president of the University of Michigan, 1929 to 1951. The second, and smaller, series is the files maintained by Ruthven as a zoologist with the University Museum and as professor of zoology. This latter series dates largely from 1908 to 1929 but also includes collected earlier files from the 1870s.

President of the University of Michigan, commencement speeches, addresses, articles and miscellaneous publications on academic and administrative issue at the University of Michigan and higher education generally.

The Ruthven speeches and publications collections consists of commencement speeches, addresses, articles and miscellaneous publications on academic and administrative issue at the University of Michigan and higher education generally.

Ret. Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, pilot and ex-P.O.W., collection of personal papers and records from the Tuskegee Airmen national organization and Detroit Chapter, and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum in Detroit, Michigan.

The Alexander Jefferson papers are divided into five series: Personal Papers, Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated, Tuskegee Airmen Detroit Chapter, Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum, and Photographs.

Republican regent of the University of Michigan. Files and photographs relating to his election campaigns, his regental activities, especially as member of the Association of Governing Boards of State Universities and Allied Institutions; also papers concerning his work as price specialist with the Office of Price Administration during World War II, and as Michigan campaign manager for Wendell Willkie, 1943-1944.

The papers in the Alfred B. Connable collection, covering the years 1925-1992, document Connable's political and business careers, and also include biographical information. Included in the collection are newspaper clippings, correspondence, a diary, and photographs. The collection is organized into six series: Biographical Information, Board of Regents, Business Career, Political Career, Miscellaneous, and Photographs.

Professor of political science at Michigan State University and at the University of Michigan; director of the U-M Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies; specialist in communist ideology and the Soviet political system. The collection is composed of four series. The personal series consists of biographical information including autobiography detailing flight of his family from Nazi Germany, his education, and his academic career; the series also contains files relating to his education and to the history of his family; including extensive family correspondence, partially in German, primarily in the period of 1924-1945. The other, smaller, series in the collection pertain to his career and to his writings.

The Alfred G. Meyer Papers richly document both Meyer's personal and family history and his professional career, while providing considerable insight into the effects of Nazism and World War II on a German-Jewish family. The collection is arranged into four series: Personal (ca. 1860-1998); Professional (1956-1997); Writings (1952-1998); and Audio-Visual (1998).

Algernon Charles Swinburne was an important Victorian poet and critic. The collection documents Swinburne's literary affairs and friendships, plus critical reactions to the poet. It consists of correspondence, writings, photographs, artworks, and printed material produced by Swinburne, his friends and associates, and present-day scholars. Over 200 pieces of holograph correspondence and manuscript material, over half of which is by Swinburne, are included. Also prominent is material by Theodore Watts-Dunton, Swinburne's friend and legal advisor.

This finding aid encompasses accessions of single manuscripts and small groups of manuscripts and other papers by or pertaining to Algernon Charles Swinburne, which the library has chosen to gather into one collection.

Much of the material in this collection forms part of the Kerr collection, formally titled the "Evelyn and Lowell Kerr Collection of Swinburne Books and Manuscripts in the Library of the University of Michigan." The Kerr collection was assembled by Lowell Kerr, a dedicated Swinburne collector. (See biographical entry.) In addition, Kerr worked for many years on the compilation of a descriptive catalog to the collection, which was, unfortunately, never completed. More information on arrangement of the Kerr collection can be found at the end of this section. All of the books from the Kerr collection, and many of the pamphlets, have been removed and cataloged separately.

The works and correspondence of Swinburne are well-represented here. Much of the selection of verse is fragmentary in nature--in some cases, leaves of a single work are spread across repositories; but Swinburne's prose pieces are notable in their completeness and number. Also showcased are the letters and works of important figures in the Pre-Raphaelite movement, as well as other literary luminaries of the day. The publishing interests of Swinburne and his circle are also detailed.

The collection is made up of six series: Works, Correspondence, The Swinburne Circle, Photographs and Art Images, Printed Material, and Swinburne Research and Collecting. Unless indicated otherwise in the contents list, items in the Works and Correspondence series are holograph works by Swinburne (or, rarely, in the hand of an amanuensis). Items in the Swinburne Circle series are letters or manuscripts in the hand of their respective authors, or their secretaries. In some cases, autograph material originally laid into books has been removed and added to the collection; in other cases, such items have been left in the books. Either way, a note to such effect has nearly always been made in the book's catalog record or in the contents list below. Moreover, for purchased material, copies of dealer descriptions often have been retained and may offer further details not included here.

A Note on the Kerr and Lang Numbers:

Since many of the pieces in this collection have already been cataloged individually, further details can often be found in the catalog records for those items. Furthermore, "Kerr numbers" have been assigned to many items. These numbers refer to entries in Lowell Kerr's catalog, in which he described the items that were originally from his collection. Along with library staff members, he continually updated and reworked the catalog up until his death. Library staff continued to revise the work through the 1980s, but it was never completed.

Although every effort has been made to respect the provenance of items from the Kerr collection, in some cases a Kerr number may have been assigned but is not noted in the finding aid. Researchers wishing for more information on items originally from the Kerr collection should consult the various drafts of the Kerr catalog, which are available in the Swinburne Research and Collecting series. The Kerr numbers in this finding aid refer to the most recent available draft of the Kerr catalog. The researcher should note that the Kerr catalog, while containing a wealth of information, is heavily anecdotal in nature, with a number of guessed-at facts and dates still in need of verification.

Cecil Lang, professor emeritus at the University of Virginia, is an eminent Swinburne scholar. Professor Lang is the author of the six-volume The Swinburne Letters (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1959-1962). In this work, he assigns numbers to every item of Swinburne correspondence which he was able to locate, across repositories; thus, many items have both Kerr numbers and Lang numbers. Both numbers, where extant, are generally noted in the contents lists below.

Landscape designers based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Planting and landscape plans, elevation drawings, and various other sketches for projects designed as students at the University of Michigan and subsequently for clients in Ann Arbor, Michigan and other residences in southeastern Michigan; files relating to Jessie Bourquin's work with the Michigan Department of Economic Expansion and Alice Bourquin's work with the Michigan Department of Transportation; also papers relating to joint projects and activities, including their association with Jens Jensen and their Hillwood subdivision in Ann Arbor; and photographs.

The Bourquin collection consists of landscape architectural drawings, professional papers, and visual materials documenting the careers of Alice and Jessie Bourquin. The collection has been divided into the following series: Landscape Architectural Drawings; Jessie Bourquin Papers; Alice Bourquin Papers; Joint Projects and Activities; Hillwood Subdivision; and Photographs and other Visual Materials.

Arab-American community leader in the Dearborn-Detroit area of Michigan. Articles, manuscripts and poems on Islamic topics; topical files, 1948-1991, relating to Arab community affairs, including files concerning the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, 1986-1991 and the Federation of Islamic Associations of the U.S. and Canada; also correspondence and articles of Malcolm X; and photographs.