Collections

The David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography consists of over 100,000 images in a variety of formats including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visite, cabinet photographs, real photo postcards, stereographs, and mounted and unmounted paper prints. The collection is primarily made up of vernacular photographs of everyday life in Michigan taken by both professional and amateur photographers from the 1840s into the mid-twentieth century. In addition to supporting local history research, the collection has resources for the study of specific events and subjects. Included are images related to lumbering, mining, suburbanization; the industrialization of cities; travel and transportation; the impact of the automobile; the rise of middle-class leisure society; fashion and dress; ethnicity and race; the role of fraternal organizations in society; and the participation of photographers in business, domestic, and social life. The collection is only partially open for research.

The subject contents of different photographic format series within the Tinder collection vary, depending in part upon how each format was historically used, and the date range of that format's popularity. For example, cartes de visite and cased images are most often formal studio portraits, while stereographs are likely to be outdoor views. Cabinet photographs are frequently portraits, but often composed with less formality than the cartes de visite and cased images. The postcards and the mounted prints contain very diverse subjects. The photographers' file contains many important and rare images of photographers, their galleries, promotional images, and the activities of photographers in the field. See individual series descriptions in the Contents List below for more specific details.

Included throughout are images by both professional and amateur photographers, although those by professionals are extant in far greater numbers.

The Starbird family papers contain the incoming and outgoing correspondence of three of the Starbird siblings: Solomon and George, who served in the Civil War in the 127th New York Infantry and 1st New York Mounted Rifles respectively, and Marianne, who operated a struggling art school in New York City.

The Starbird family papers contain approximately 345 items, spanning ca. 1845 to 1864. The Correspondence series contains approximately 331 letters, arranged chronologically, with undated items at the end; the letters cover 1848 to 1864. Thirty letters in the collection predate the Civil War; these primarily concern the schooling and careers of the Starbird siblings, Marianne Starbird's health, social visits, religious observations, and various family matters. The bulk of the collection centers on the years 1862 to 1864, when Solomon and George served with the 127th New York Infantry and the 1st New York Mounted Rifles, respectively. George wrote to Marianne quite frequently during his service, at which time he was mainly stationed in Virginia and North Carolina. He participated in a number of skirmishes in southern Virginia, as well as the Siege of Suffolk, but otherwise did not see much heavy fighting. His outgoing letters, as well as those he received from fellow soldiers, are notable for their frankness about camp life and the war experience, as well as for their content regarding African Americans. Solomon Starbird wrote less frequently to his siblings, but produced very lengthy letters, which cover numerous topics, including the war camp activities, and duties.

The war-era letters open with a discussion of George's enlistment in the 1st New York Mounted Rifles, including his own rationale for enlisting (July 30, 1862). George's early letters primarily document his daily activities at Camp Dodge in Suffolk, Virginia, and a few skirmishes nearby. He frequently gave accounts of his participation in scouting parties and pickets, as well as his pastimes during quiet periods. Among the skirmishes in which he participated are one near Blackwater, Virginia (October 5, 1862); an attack by "bushwhackers" (December 28, 1862); and a skirmish at Providence Church (December 29, 1862) near Windsor, Virginia. He also gave a lengthy description of being fired on during a picket, when, at the same time, a sergeant was mortally wounded (January 15, 1863). In a letter of September 2, 1862, he described the capture of 112 Confederate prisoners on their way to Richmond, and noted that they were given coffee and generally treated well by their Union captors. He also mentioned the explosion of ordnance stored at Yorktown, Virginia, (December 17, 1863) and the search for a Confederate spy near Williamsburg (January 16, 1864).

George's letters are especially significant for the attention that they give to African Americans. He found himself in frequent proximity to slaves near Suffolk, Virginia, where he recorded their stories and noted the assistance that they provided to his company. On October 10, 1862, he recounted a conversation with the slave whom he paid to wash his clothes and cook sweet potatoes for him. The "old negro" told Starbird about his master, Nathaniel Redden, a member of the Congress of the Confederate States. Redden had left Suffolk, but tried to persuade his slaves to stay on his plantation by telling them that northerners would work them three times as hard as southerners and deny them food. According to the unnamed slave, Redden also told him, "Lincoln is going to take you to Cuba and sell you off to pay off his soldiers." In another letter, dated October 25, 1862, Starbird told his sister about a slave Tom, who "lays awake nights heaps worrying for fear the rebels have carried off his wife he left down in Carolina." Starbird also noted the work performed by contraband, such as building stables (January 15, 1863), and the assistance given to Union troops by African Americans, which included giving them corn and making them coffee (October 14, 1862).

George provided descriptions of camp life, including the soldiers' enjoyment of the barracks at Camp Suffolk, their roughhousing, and their heavy drinking. In a letter of January 1, 1863, he noted that the officers got "beastly drunk" and could barely stay on their horses; indeed, several had fallen and could not perform their duties later in the day. He also described a soldier who was nearly 60 years old and had dyed his hair and beard to appear young enough to enlist (February 9, 1863). Other topics covered in his letters include the lack of pay to the soldiers (January 18, 1863), his duties (which included compiling the monthly returns, November 5, 1863), and the hiring of substitutes (August 18, 1863). He also called his fellow soldiers a "Hard Crowd" and described their vicious brawls with one another (August 9, 1862).

George received correspondence from friends in other regiments. One man in particular, Jesse Kimball, who called himself "Barnes," wrote very frankly about the sex available to soldiers from white and black women. He mentioned rampant venereal disease (March 3, 1863), whores in Virginia (November 17, 1863), and sex with girls in his hometown (March 11, 1864).

Solomon Starbird wrote less frequently, but his letters tended to be long, rambling, and filled with details of camp life. On January 23, 1863, he wrote to Marianne concerning the lack of pay to soldiers and the slovenliness of the privates. In his letter of August 21, 1863, he described a military gathering on Folly Island and Union positions in South Carolina. In other letters he gave accounts of being fired on during picket duty (September 30, 1863) and Christmas celebrations in camp (December 22, 1863). A talented sketcher, he included in a letter of October 8, 1863, a penciled map of Cole's Island, South Carolina, labeled with the "old fort;" the 127th Regiment's camp; and the surrounding marshes.

Marianne's letters to her brothers are notable for their accounts of the administration of a struggling art school in New York City during the period. On March 8, 1863, she described her studio and enclosed a flier for the school. In another letter, she shared the necessity of supporting herself by painting portraits, though her greater talent lay in other areas (March 29, 1863). Her later letters reveal increasing health problems, and the difficulty of attracting pupils (February 22, 1864), as well as her attendance at a Sanitary Commission Fair in Brooklyn (February 7, 1864).

The Essays and Poetry series contains 14 essays and poems covering 92 pages. Marianne wrote many of these items, and submitted them in the 1840s to a Norridgewock, Maine, journal called the Social Repository. Of particular interest is an essay, likely written by Marianne, entitled "My School Days," which describes the small schoolhouse that she had attended as a girl. Also included are poems on the topics of love, autumn, the death of a mother, and friendship, and a piece by "C.B.E." entitled "The Mission of Woman." The latter defends the education and ambitions of women and notes that their rightful place in life is as "the equal, not the toy of men," but urges them to dismiss "the sneers, the prejudice, the conventionalities of the world."

Founded in Fall 2016, the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (ODEI) is a University of Michigan unit that oversees and evaluates the implementation of the university's five-year strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion. ODEI is led by the Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer and houses several other offices and programs, including the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives (OAMI), Wolverine Pathways, and the Center for Educational Outreach. The collection consists of annual progress reports.

The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (University of Michigan) records consists of progress reports for the second and third year of the University of Michigan's DEI strategic plan.

University of Michigan student organization that advocates on issues relating to food security, health, housing, and workers' rights. Consists of two versions of the crowdsourced publication, "Being Not-Rich at UM: A Guide" as well as a related "Chronicle of Higher Education" article about the guide.

The Michigan Affordability and Advocacy Coalition (University of Michigan) records includes two versions of the publication, "Being Not-Rich at UM: A Guide." Both versions—which are dated to April 2018 and October 2018—provide information on a range of topics, including employment, housing, food, on-campus resources, and finances. Also included is a related "Chronicle of Higher Education" article on the guide.

The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor and Teach-In on the Environment oral histories is a collection of recordings conducted by the University of Michigan students and faculty. The interviews primarily focus on Environmental Action (ENACT) and the Teach- In on the Environment in 1970, and the history of the first Earth Day that same year. In addition, past and present staff and collaborators of the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor discuss environmental activism in Michigan, with topics ranging from toxics disposal, recycling, waste disposal, and affordable energy. The oral history interviews were featured in-part and in-whole in digital exhibits hosted by the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Faculty member Matthew Lassiter was the advisor for these projects and was responsible for collecting all the related oral histories into a single collection for archival preservation.

This collection is comprised of interviews with members of Environmental Action for Survival (ENACT), the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, and other environmental justice activists. Broadly, the interviews cover environmental justice in Michigan. In 2017, student interviewers spoke to members of ENACT who organized the 1970 Teach-In on the Environment, as well as activists who organized the first Earth Day. In the 2019-2021 partnership with the Ecology Center that followed, the Environmental Justice HistoryLab conducted interviews with current and former members and collaborators of the Ecology Center on all aspects of local environmental activism, including waste management, toxics disposal, energy programs, and environmental policy in the state.

The collection is organized into three series: Environmental Activism in Michigan, the Ecology Center, and Digital Exhibitions. These series are based on the project that the recorded interviews and clips were associated with, as well as which groups sponsored the interviews. Digital Exhibitions contains links to the final digital exhibits associated with each project, where available. While the interviews do not currently have transcripts, most of the recordings have an associated timestamped index.

Established in 2012, Michigan Media is the University of Michigan's video production unit. In addition to producing creative and instructional videos, Michigan Media also offers event coverage services. The record group consists of digital video recordings of University of Michigan events that occurred during the Fall 2016 through Fall 2019 terms, excluding the Spring summer session of each year. Particularly well represented are recordings of events associated with the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; Physics Department of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Wallace House, home of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships; and TEDxUofM conferences.

The collection consists of digital video recordings of University of Michigan events that took place during the Fall 2016 through Fall 2019 terms. These events include lectures and lecture series, conferences, symposia, and commencement ceremonies. Particularly well represented are recordings of events associated with the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; Physics Department of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; and the Wallace House, home of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships. The collection does not include recordings of events that occurred during the spring-summer terms.

Group of University of Michigan students, faculty, and staff studying how Islamophobia affects campus climate and working to create a safe and inclusive community for all community members impacted by Islamophobia. Reports, email correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, student resources, photographs, project files, and an archived website.

The Islamophobia Working Group records (266.4 MB and 1 archived websites) contains progress reports, email correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, photographs, student outreach resources, project files, and an archived website. The materials are organized into two series, the Islamophobia Working Group records series and the Islamophobia Working Group website series.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor chapter of the National Council for Negro Women (NCNW). Includes a digital copy of the organization's 2017 constitution as well as digital outreach materials captured from their Twitter account.

The National Council of Negro Women, University of Michigan Ann Arbor Collegiate Section records consists of a digital copy of the organization's 2017 constitution obtained from their Maize Page as well as digital outreach materials captured from their Twitter account, @ncnw-um. The outreach materials include event fliers, images of students at events, and advertisements for open positions in the NCNW-UM section, among others.

Student led project to plan a new facility for the William Monroe Trotter Multicultural Center located on Central Campus. Meeting agendas and minutes, photographs, surveys, working papers, project reports and timelines.

The A New Trotter Initiative (University of Michigan) records contains digital files from the "Core Team", the group of students who directly collaborated with university staff and design contractors to plan the new facility for the William Monroe Trotter Multicultural Center. Materials include meeting agendas and minutes, working papers, presentation materials, photographs and survey data. The collection highlights the motivations behind establishing a new location for the Trotter House on Central Campus and the importance of the center as a multicultural space for students. It also highlights the collaborative process used to select a new location for the Trotter Center and the interior design of the center.

The collection is organized into one series of records. The Core Team series is further organized into two subseries, the Working Documents subseries which contains materials from 2015-2016 and the Retired Documents subseries which contains materials from earlier stages of the project in 2013-2014.

Ann Arbor Congregation founded in 1916. In anticipation of its 100th anniversary in 2016, Beth Israel initiated an oral history project to help tell the story of Jewish life in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Recordings were conducted in April 2013 by StoryCorps, a national non-profit organization dedicated to recording and collecting stories of everyday people. Includes digital recordings of interviews, transcripts, and digital photographs of participants.

The Beth Israel oral history project records consist of 18 interviews of congregation members that were facilitated and recorded by StoryCorps, a national non-profit organization dedicated to recording and collecting stories of everyday people. The interview participants were of a range of ages and experiences with subject matter centered on their experience of Jewish life in Ann Arbor. Common themes ranged from their life stories, their participation in Ann Arbor Jewish life, how they became involved in Jewish communal life, discussions of their Jewish identity, and any anti-Semitism they encountered.