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The University of Michigan Herbarium, started in 1837, is home to over 1.7 million species and is one of the world's leading botanical collections. The U-M Herbarium records collection includes correspondence, photographs, and research materials documenting early Herbarium history, U-M's ethno botanical research practices, and the international professional discourse surrounding botanical research.

The collection represents the Herbarium's actions as a collector of the historical correspondence and photographs of botanical researchers. The records contained within this collection primarily document the research methods and professional conversations of American botanists. Through the correspondence and papers of Michigan and U-M botanists, this collection also documents the development of the Herbarium, its activities, and its status as a collector of botanical specimens and historical records. Researchers should note that there are photographs and plant specimens scattered throughout the correspondence series, and whereas the plant specimens are noted in the box listing, the photographs are not. The collection's four series include Harley Harris Bartlett Papers, Herbarium Historical Correspondence, Herbarium Historical Photographs, and Archived Website.

Organized in 1879 to "cultivate the public taste for music," the Society sponsors concert series, opera, dance and theater performances at the University of Michigan. The records consist of director's files of Albert A. Stanley, Charles A. Sink, Gail Rector, and Kenneth Fischer; include correspondence relating to performances and management of the Society; ledgers and account books, board of directors minutes and packets; files concerning the Choral Union, the University of Michigan School of Music, the Henry S. Frieze Memorial Organ Fund, and Hill Auditorium; also visual materials and audiotapes of Board meetings.

The records of the University Musical Society document its founding in 1879, governance and administrative restructuring through the years, its activities sponsoring musical, dance and theatrical performances on campus, and its role in music and arts education. The records include directors' correspondence files, board of directors minutes, ledgers and financial records, photographs, sound recordings and videotapes.

Intellectually, the records are organized into eight series: Directors' Correspondence, Financial records, Historical file, Board of Directors, Committees, Topical File, Contracts, Photographs, President's Correspondence, Staff Files, Executive Directors' Files, and Motion Pictures (film, videotape and digital materials).

The records were received in several major and numerous small accessions and the physical arrangement of the records (the order in which they are arranged in boxes/folders) reflects this. In this finding aid, the records are described in term of their intellectual organization regardless of the particular accession in which they were received. As a result, the box number order in which the descriptions are displayed in the contents list will not always be consecutive.

Portraits of some members of the University of Michigan Board of Regents.

This collection contains portraits of about 65 members of the University of Michigan Board of Regents. Most of the portraits are of regents who served between about 1870 and 1970, although a few earlier regents are also included.

Other portraits of regents are found in the papers of individual regents.

The Class Albums collection consists of photograph albums compiled by University of Michigan students. The albums include individual and group portraits of class members, faculty portraits, and views of university buildings, the campus, and Ann Arbor scenes.

The albums are arranged under series which are listed here chronologically by volume. Arrangement of photographs within volumes often begins with portraits faculty and administrators followed student portraits. Some volumes also include photos of campus buildings and other individuals. The portraits in each section are sometimes arranged alphabetically, but frequently there is no apparent order. Photos in most volumes have been given sequential identifying numbers. In the contents list below, the portraits are generally listed in alphabetical order with the identifying number in square brackets.

Portrait photographs of University of Michigan faculty, administrators and staff.

This collection contains portraits of about 750 University of Michigan faculty members. It is strongest for people who served on the faculty during the nineteenth century and in the 1930s, although a few portraits as late as about 1960 are included.

In addition to faculty, librarians, and research staff, the collection contains portraits of a few nineteenth-century campus characters, including Robert Howard, the bellringer, Jolly the Janitor, "Doc" Gregor Nagele, the Medical School janitor, and Jimmy Ottley, the campus postman.

The photos are arranged alphabetically. Outsize portraits listed in this finding aid are found in the medium-size photograph collection (UAm) under the name of the person.

Faculty portraits are also found in a number of other collections, including:

1. Rentschler's Studio (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2. Shaw, Wilfred Byron.
3. Swain, George Robert.
4. University of Michigan class albums.
5. University of Michigan. Alumni Association.
6. University of Michigan. News and Information Service. Series D.

The original negatives of some prints in the Faculty Portrait collection may be found in the Rentschler, Swain, and News and Information Service collections. In addition to these collections, faculty portraits can be found in the records of many schools, colleges, and departments, as well as in the papers of individual faculty members.

Photographs collected from various sources, depicting buildings, faculty, students, and other topics relating to the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan Photographs Vertical File represents a miscellaneous assemblage of U of M-related photographs from many different sources, mainly prior to 1950. The vertical file is especially strong on the earliest photographic images of the campus, university buildings, and class activities. While the vertical file contains many images of individuals, researchers should first consult the library's on-line catalog for images of faculty, administrators, and other University personalities. Most photographs originally accumulated by a University department or other unit are kept with that unit's records.

The arrangement of the photographic images was intended to parallel the classification used with University of Michigan published materials and with manuscript materials. Both of these used a classification system using letters of the alphabet (A through N only) for groupings of published or manuscript material. This system was carried over for use with the library's photographic images though there are certain categories for which images are unlikely to be found (Category A, for example, which pertains to legislation affecting the University or Category I which is reserved for university publications of a scientific or literary nature). The classification is further broken down under each letter by a number code which refers to a more specific subdivision. The heaviest concentration of images will be found under C (for U-M schools and colleges, departments, and other units), D (for university buildings and views), and F (for class pictures, photos of student organizations, and images detailing aspects of student life and customs).

Each heading in this finding aid includes the letter classification plus a numbered subdivision. In addition, the individual envelopes are numbered sequentially. Headings for which there are oversized images (usually larger than 8x10) will be indicated by reference to medium or large size photographs. When requesting material, researchers must specify the heading and the classification and folder number.

This finding aid describes only a small portion of the Bentley Library's U-M visual images. The on-line catalog will direct the researcher to additional images.

Portraits of University of Michigan students, ca. 1860-ca.1950, gathered from a number of sources.

The University of Michigan student portrait collection has been brought together from a variety of sources, including the Alumni Office, the Law School, the College of Pharmacy, the Medical School and the Graduate Library. There are approximately 2000 images (formal portraits for the most part), and they have been arranged alphabetically. The dates of the photographs extend back to the 1850s, but the great bulk of the collection consists of cabinet photographs taken from the period of 1870 to 1900. The photographs consist mainly of graduation portraits, although there are also portraits or snapshots taken some time after the period when the individual attended the university. Photographs of this sort are indicated on the container listing by the notation (alumnus).

The researcher should note that this collection represents only one source of portraits of U-M students. The library has other collections with images of individual students. The researcher should first check the Visual Materials card catalog to ascertain whether or not there might be a more comprehensive collection of materials relating to an individual, such as a public figure. These larger collections are cataloged separately, and often contain portraits of individuals from their U-M days. Second, the library has a collection of class albums (cataloged as University of Michigan Class Albums) containing portraits of individuals from various classes in the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s. Not all class years are represented and not every individual in a given class is included in this collection, however. Third, the library has collections of student photographs found within the files of individual schools and departments, notably the Law School and the Medical School. Fourth, the researcher will find individual student portraits as well as class portraits within the library's photographic vertical file (filed under UBImu/F99), in both the regular (UBImus/F99) and oversize folders (UBImum/F99 and UBImul/F99). Fifth, the researcher should consult the library's file of the Michiganensian for more current photographs of students and for photographs of students as part of student organizations such as athletic teams, special interest clubs, and professional and social fraternities/sororities.

Papers of the Upjohn family of Hastings and Kalamazoo, Michigan, collected by Dr. E. Gifford Upjohn. Papers and genealogical materials of Upjohn and related families, especially the Mills family, Kirby family, and Clough family; include materials concerning family activities, medical practice, and daily life; also papers concerning the work of Clough family members as missionaries to southern India; and selected Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company historical records; and photographs.

The Upjohn family papers, collected and preserved by Dr. E. Gifford Upjohn, consist of materials brought together by various family members primarily for genealogical purposes. More than a "family archive" because of the importance of the Upjohns as founders of the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company in Kalamazoo, the collection includes material spanning the period from the early 1800s to the present. The Upjohn Collection consists of three feet of manuscripts, two feet of family related books and bound manuscripts, and two feet of photographs.

Because of its diversity, the collection has been divided into five series of papers: Upjohn family; Families related to the Upjohns; Upjohn Company; Printed Materials; and Photographs.

Primarily consists of fifty letters (1862-1864) written to his wife, Elise, while Comte was serving in Company C, 5th Michigan Cavalry. Many of the letters are written in a humorous vein as he tells of camp life, food, army clothing, picket duty, scouting and bushwhackers. He is much in earnest as he expresses his attitude toward slavery, foraging from destitute Southern families, and re-enlisting. There is an account of the battle of Gettysburg and the casualties among Michigan regiments, and also of Williamsport and Falling Waters where four Michigan cavalry regiments engaged eight infantry regiments of Lee's retreating army. Also includes a marriage certificate, miscellaneous items, and photographic portraits (tintype original and copy print).

Ironwood, Michigan businessman and local historian; include correspondence, research notes and writings largely concerning the history of Gogebic County and Upper Peninsula iron mining; also papers concerning his work with the Gogebic Industrial Bureau.

The Victor Lemmer Papers concerns the history of the western portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, particularly Gogebic County, as well as his work as the agent for the Gogebic Industrial Bureau. The collection has been divided into the following series: Correspondence; Photographs; Personal/Miscellaneous; Gogebic Industrial Bureau Files; Research Files; Collected Materials; and Writings/Speeches.