0.25 linear feet
The collection consists of photographs taken by student members of the staff of the Michiganensian. The photographs were taken for the 1980 and 1981 issues of the publication and document student activities and organizations, athletics, and campus scenes.
0.4 linear feet
0.5 linear feet
Negatives made by J. Stuart Gildart as art editor of the Michiganensian. Includes campus views, buildings and student activities, particularly in publications. Gildart was later photographer for the Caro, Michigan Advertiser.
31 linear feet
The Ivory Photo collection consists of an impressive array of negatives and prints taken by Ann Arbor photographer Mel Ivory from the 1920s to the early 1970s. Most of the photographs were taken by Ivory for customers, whether the University of Michigan, local businesses, or private citizens. The collection is probably most valuable for its extensive documentation of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, the two areas in which it bulks largest. However, because it spans a relatively long time period, the collection is also useful for illustrating changes in photography as an art and as a business, and for documenting social trends in twentieth-century America. Finally, the collection documents the career of a commercial photographer.
As a photographer for the University of Michigan in the 1920s and 1930s, Ivory took the standard pictures of campus events, buildings, and people, but the value of many photographs from this period is as much aesthetic as informational. Producing cover art for the Michigan Alumnus allowed him to experiment with unusual angles, lighting, and subject matter. (See, for example, photographs of the Clements Library and of students strolling through the Diag in the 1930s.) In stark contrast to these images is a large group of photographs of car wrecks that Ivory took for insurance companies between 1937 and 1969.
Besides providing thorough documentation of the physical plant of the University of Michigan, the Ivory collection evokes the flavor of life on campus in the 1930s and 1940s through photographs of football games and crowds, dance bands, social events, professors at work in laboratories, the Michigan Daily staff at work, and students in classrooms, libraries, and dormitories.
The Ann Arbor subseries includes numerous photographs of houses and businesses, filed by address to facilitate research into a particular building or site, as well as a rich assortment of photographs depicting life in Ann Arbor through more than four decades. There are numerous photographs of men and women at work in factories, stores, and other settings. Some show women at work in unusual settings (as cab drivers for Ace Cab Company, for example) while others depict women in stereotypically female occupations (as secretaries, store clerks, and ditto machine operators). Photographs of drug and department store display windows and of products in grocery stores illustrate trends in merchandising.
The Ivory collection is also remarkable for its documentation of social mores. Wedding photographs taken from the 1930s to the 1960s depict a variety of settings, fashions, wedding rituals, and even fads, such as a 1940 wedding at a roller rink. There is also a small group of photographs of funerals and an extensive series of portraits of children, families, and individuals.
Photographs of a depression-era hobo cooking near a railroad car, of lawn parties and country clubs, of the soap box derby and sports teams reflect diverse aspects of life in Ann Arbor. The home front during World War II is documented in views of an aluminum drive, a blitzkrieg game in a local tavern, a commuter bus with a female conductor, and the Judge Advocate General's school exercises in the Law Quad.
Although the Ypsilanti subseries is considerably smaller than the Ann Arbor and University of Michigan subseries, it contains a number of valuable photographs, such as the Cleary College photographs showing rows of students at typewriters, students relaxing on boarding house steps and in Cleary lounges and recreation rooms, and annual graduation processions. The Washtenaw County subseries contains rural scenes such as farms, country roads, and a county fair. The remaining subseries consist of businesses, street scenes, railroad stations, and a variety of other photographs representing Michigan towns and counties.
A few copy negatives made by Ivory from existing photographs are scattered throughout the collection. A late nineteenth or early twentieth-century anatomy lesson in the Medical School, for example, is filed in the "Colleges, Schools, and other Divisions" section of University of Michigan 5"x7" negatives.
The contents of the various subseries and sub-subseries are for the most part self-evident, but a few words of explanation about the Ann Arbor subseries are in order. "Buildings and Views" consists largely of exterior views of buildings. However, there are many interior scenes of people and activities in the "Churches," "Hospitals," and "Schools" sections. For example, photographs of Ann Arbor churches include views of the pastor and congregation, choirs, recreation rooms, meetings, and athletic teams in addition to interior and exterior views of the buildings. "Schools" contains photographs of sports teams, classroom scenes, social events, and buildings representing Ann Arbor public and parochial schools, but also Ann Arbor Secretarial School and Concordia College.
Researchers seeking images of commercial enterprises will find material in the "Buildings and Views" sub-subseries (listed under the street address in the "Houses and Businesses" section) and in the "Businesses" sub-subseries (under the name of the enterprise).
The "Houses and Businesses" negatives within the "Buildings and Views" sub-subseries are arranged alphabetically by street name and then numerically by address. Most of these photographs are exterior views, but interior scenes of businesses have been filed here in order to keep exterior and interior views of a particular business together. Photographs of products, equipment, people at work, and special events are filed in the "Businesses" sub-subseries when no building exteriors exist or when the address of the business was unknown. Researchers should look both places for photographs of businesses. Although some "see also" references have been added, they are by no means exhaustive. Researchers may also wish to examine the "Motor Vehicles" sub-subseries, which contains photographs of trucks owned by Ann Arbor businesses.
In the University of Michigan subseries, "Buildings and Views" consists of exterior and interior views of buildings, whereas "Colleges, Schools, and Other Divisions" contains photographs of professors and students in laboratories and classrooms as well as group photographs of staff and students.
8 linear feet (in 9 boxes) — 4 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder
1 envelope
The collection consists of views of the University of Michigan campus, buildings, classrooms, faculty, employees, and various student activities.
0.5 linear feet — 155 negatives
The David LeFavour glass negatives collection documents a variety of activities, individuals, groups, and buildings in Ann Arbor and Bay City. As a member of the class of 1895, a year which was, coincidently, the first year of formal recognition for a Department of Engineering at the University of Michigan, LeFavour participated in an annual event for engineering students. A summer camp was set up outside the University to conduct field projects. The camp was periodically relocated and in 1895 a change was made from a grove on the outskirts of Leland, Michigan, at an outlet of Carp Lake (now Lake Leelanau), to a point further up the lake near the Fountain Point Hotel.
The scenes of the camp and the engineers depict several projects undertaken by the group, their campsite and equipment, and members of the entourage, including Professor Joseph B. Davis (Geodesy and Surveying) who was in charge of the operation. LeFavour also captured his peers at play, as a print of a baseball game at nearby Sutton's Bay reveals.
As a student, David LeFavour was also a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. He photographed his fraternity house, his room, an unidentified ceremony, and several group portraits of his fraternal brothers and their dates.
Although there is no indication of any personal participation by LeFavour in university athletics, he did photograph members of the university track team and local football games. Other negatives and prints detail several university buildings and more "artistic" views of the Huron River and local Ann Arbor streets.
Those negatives and prints focusing on Bay City, Michigan, provide an insight into another facet of LeFavour's life and interests. Several exterior views are present, which detail the various Shearer homes in the city as well as those of other prominent residents. Interior views of the James Shearer home (where David grew up), reflect the style of life and living conditions of a prosperous Michigan family at the turn of the century.
Many Bay City buildings, including schools, hospitals, and government structures are identified. As was done in Ann Arbor, LeFavour also photographed street views and individuals. Two favorite subjects for LeFavour were children and women. He frequently photographed young relatives and used his photographic skills to show his sister Helen in particular. Often the young lady (or ladies) were posed with bicycles.
The LeFavour negatives were randomly described and dated. Available information has been provided when possible, however. All negatives were produced between 1894 and 1895, but no dates have been attempted for undated negatives or prints. The print collection is numbered so that one can refer back to the appropriate glass negative. There are over 155 glass negatives and a corresponding number of prints.
191 linear feet
The Athletic Department Individual Files consist of three series: Coaches and Staff, Athletes -- Men, and Athletes -- Women. The files in each series contain background information, news articles, and photographs of individual University of Michigan Varsity athletes, coaches, and staff members from the University's athletic department. It should be noted that some files do not contain photographs. Also, some files contain compact discs (CD's) containing digital images. The bulk of the files date from around 1960 to 2002, but included are files from as early as the mid to late 19th century, to as recent as 2005. The files do not include members of the club sports teams. The number and extent of files varies by sport and over time, in part reflects varying degrees of effort by the Media Relations staff. Sometimes referred to by Media Relations staff as the "star files", the Individual Files are most extensive for football and basketball, but all varsity sports are represented. Beginning in the 1970 coverage all sports becomes more extensive. After 1982 when women's sports began competing in the Big Ten and management of publicity efforts became more fully integrated in the Media Relations office, the coverage of women's sports becomes more extensive.
The files in each series are arranged alphabetically. (Files have ben received at various times ad are physically arranged in several alphabetical run, but are listed in a single alphabetical run for coaches/administrators, men, and women athletes.) Each of the athlete entries is followed by a code for the sport(s) in which they participated.
Men's Sports Women's Sports bb – baseball bk – basketball bk—basketball cc – cross country cc -- cross country fho – field hockey fb – football go – golf go – golf gy – gymnastics gy – gymnastics row – rowing iho –ice hockey soc – soccer soc – soccer sb– softball sw - swimming-diving sw – swimming-diving te – tennis sy – synchronized swimming tr – track te – tennis wr -- wrestling tr – track vo – volleyball wp – water polo
8 linear feet
Alumni Association (University of Michigan),Individual Photographs forms part of the larger University of Michigan Alumni Association record group. As a convenience, it is described here in greater detail than in the finding aid for the full record group. The Individual Photographs includes portraits and activity photos of celebrities and other figures associated in some way with the University, including students (especially athletes), alumni, faculty, staff, and prominent visitors (especially honorary degree recipients).
0.5 linear feet
The Department of Recreational Sports publications (.5 linear foot) includes annual reports, pamphlets and brochures, calendars, manuals such as the Recreational Sports Program and Policy Guide, and schedules such as the Recreational Drop-In Schedule. Also included manuals from the intramural sports program. The Publications are organized into two series: Unit Publications and Sub-Unit Publications.
