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.
526 linear feet — 2 oversize folders — 1 oversize volume — 18.22 GB (online) — 2 archived websites (online)
The records of the University of Michigan President contain the central files created and collected by the President and members of the President's staff. There is some content inherited from earlier presidents, but the record group effectively begins in 1967 with the administration of Robben W. Fleming and continues through successive administrations. (Records of Presidents prior to Fleming are cataloged under the name of the individual office holder).
The University of Michigan President's records are organized into the following series: Topical Files; Schools and Colleges Files; Supplemental Files; Search Files; Committee Appointment Files; Development; Facilities; Freedom of Information Act; Audio-Visual Material Files; Ephemera; Archived Website. Three first three series are major recurring series (Topical, Schools and Colleges, and Supplemental Files). The additional series (Committee Appointment; Searches; Development; Facilities; Freedom of Information Act; Audio-Visual Material Files; Ephemera; Archived Website) are not consistently created or predictably transferred.
Although the series are collectively described, the actual ordering of the boxes in the contents listing are not necessarily consecutive given the timing and sequence of transfers. For a summary bringing all boxes together under a particular series, see the Summary Contents list for a collective representation of boxes.
23.6 linear feet (in 25 boxes) — 4 oversize boxes — 306.94 MB (online)
The William J. Johnson papers document the professional and academic career of U-M faculty member and landscape architect William J. Johnson. Material is dated from 1953-2015 and includes clippings, correspondence, notes, photographic material, project files, publications, reports, reference and research files, teaching materials, and topical files.
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.