Russell Smith visual materials collection, circa 1922
1 folder
This collection consists of pen-and-ink cartoon drawings prepared for use in the Ann Arbor High School student yearbook, Omega.
1 folder
This collection consists of pen-and-ink cartoon drawings prepared for use in the Ann Arbor High School student yearbook, Omega.
0.5 linear feet (in 2 boxes) — 1 oversize box
The photographs in this collection were received from various sources. Subjects include carriages, automobiles, Great Lakes shipping, railroads, and mass transit, especially street railroads. There are also images documenting activities within the mining, forestry, and lumber industries, mostly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Also included are photographs of various ethnic groups and their societies, notably of Native Americans (1870s-1930s) of the Manistee and Ludington, Michigan, areas. Some of the images are street views and private residences in various Michigan towns and cities. Of interest are photographs of Michigan units taking part in the Spanish-American War and the "Polar Bear Expedition" of World War I. There is also a series of bookplates, [acquired from?] William H. Bicknell, many of which relate to the University of Michigan.
49.5 linear feet (in 50 boxes) — 1400 glass photographic plates (in 10 boxes)
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.
2.5 linear feet (in 3 boxes)
The Powrie family papers have been divided into three series: Emerson F. Powrie papers; Gwendolyn Sutton Powrie papers; and Visual Materials.
The Emerson F. Powrie's papers represent the bulk of the collection. The collection follows Powrie's career as an educator and Ann Arbor Public Schools Principal, and reflects on challenges and developments that took place in Ann Arbor Public Schools system in 1950s-early 1970s. Materials shed light on process of racial desegregation in schools among students as well as faculty; important demographic, social and economic changes in the area, and their effect on the student body, (i.e., school enrollment, racial and socio-economic composition of classes, etc.). Topics of teachers' education and training, and religion in public schools are prominent in correspondence.
The Gwendolyn Sutton Powrie's papers include her writings and research materials on the subject of teaching the hearing-impaired children.
0.1 linear feet (1 folder)
The collection consists of two series, Correspondence and Photographs.
Correspondence includes primarily letters two Professor White, especially around the time of his retirement in 1953. The series also contains a few reports on the research activities in engineering at the University of Michigan.
Photographs contains images from different stages of Professor White's career, including the groundbreaking of the Engineering building on North Campus, and social events associated with the American Society of Metals.
0.2 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 2 film reels (16 mm)
The Elzada Clover collection consists almost entirely of material relating to the 1938 Nevill's Colorado River Expedition. Included are Clover's journals, motion pictures of the trip, photographs, plant list, and drawings of plant habitats both from the 1938 Expedition and from later travels in 1939. There are also articles written about the expedition.
In 2009, DVD use copies were made of the motion pictures.
3 linear feet
The Meyers papers include both business and personal material. Materials relating to Meyers' contributions in aviation are likely to be of interest to researchers. Included is correspondence from the 1930s through the 1951s with the Civil Aeronautics Administration concerning development of the OTW, 145, and 200. There is also extensive material relating to design, testing, and production of Meyers aircraft. The papers also may be of use to researchers interested in the fate of the small manufacturer. Those papers of a personal nature reflect Meyers' interest in fishing and in aviation as a hobby as well as business. In addition, the papers throw light upon social and political attitudes of the period. Of interest here is material concerning legal action against Mrs. Meyers, a former member of the Young Communist League, who was deported during the 1950s.
7.6 linear feet (in 8 boxes) — 3.85 GB (online) — 3 oversize folders — 2 tubes — 1 oversize poster — 1 oversize box
The George Vargas papers present a look at the interests, work, and activities of artist and historian George Vargas. The material is dated from approximately 1933-2016 and includes topical files, artwork, and correspondence.
The strength of the collection is found in the numerous lectures written by Vargas, which reveal the depth of his research, the original artwork, and the broader view of multi-cultural and, particularly, Latino art activities in Michigan. Also of note are his extensive files of artists that were of interest to him as well as his own papers and publications.
The researcher should note that many items in the collection overlap various series. As a result, researchers should—in addition to reviewing multiple series—be sure to look for the "see also" notes that help identify some of these overlaps.
3 linear feet
The papers of Milt Kemnitz have been divided into three series. The first series, ARTWORK, focuses on the artwork itself, and its reproduction and dissemination. This includes the following subseries: Drawings of Buildings, Other Projects, Publications and Galleries, Exhibits, Auctions & Art Fairs. The second series, called SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS, has three subseries, Art Organizations & Associations, Correspondence and Miscellaneous Personal Material. Much of this material concerns his career as an artist but relates less directly to the actual artwork than the material in the first series. The third series, SOUTHERN WHITE MIGRATION TO DETROIT IN THE 1930s, consists of research materials and reports resulting from Kemnitz' research as a member of a University of Michigan sociology seminar on metropolitan community organization.
4.4 linear feet — 1 oversize folder
The Ruth Buchanan collection consists largely of letters received from University of Michigan students and alumni serving in the military during World War II and the Korean War. Other letters commending her service during the war were received from Dwight Eisenhower and Chester Nimitz. A smaller portion of the collection includes research material on covered bridges in Michigan. Within her other non-war related correspondence, there is a letter from Jane Addams, Nov. 4, 1931. The photograph series includes portraits and informal photographs of Buchanan in the museum where she worked for thirty years; photos of university students, alumni, and Ann Arbor residents in military service during World War II and the Korean War; photos of NROTC and Navy V-12 students at the University of Michigan during World War II; photos of covered bridges and of Michigan National Guard exercises at Camp Grayling; and a drawing of Elbridge F. Bacon.