Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

This collection includes 86 sketchbooks of the Detroit artist, Sam Karres as well as miscellaneous items and publications that either discuss or correspond with his artwork.

The Sam Karres Archive largely consists of sketches of the Detroit area during the 1980s as well as other types of documents that relate to the drawings. It has been divided into six series: guidebooks, small sketchbooks, medium sketchbooks, large sketchbooks, printed materials, and miscellaneous items.

Guidebooks: In this series, there are three binders composed by Sam Karres' friend, Denny Stavros that provide background on the artist as well as discuss the content of his sketchbooks that were donated to University of Michigan's Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library for The Modern Greek Studies Collection. Following the descriptions of the sketchbooks, there are indexes and appendixes that include some of Karres' writings, photographs that complement the drawings, and photocopies of pages from the sketchbooks. The binders are divided up by the dates the sketchbooks were given: December 9, 2011, September 28, 2012, and June 20, 2013. The sketchbooks have been designated as small, medium, or large by Stavros in addition being assigned individual numeric identifiers. There is also one hand-written list of periodicals and ephemera donated by Stavros on September 28, 2012. A few of the articles and all of the ephemera relate to Sam Karres.

Small Sketchbooks: This section consists of ten sketchbooks ranging in size from 3.5 by 4. 75 inches to 5.5 by 8 inches. The majority of these sketchbooks from this series dates from the late 1970s and contends with a variety of subjects including: restaurant scenes, animals, human forms and faces, boats, and especially Greek Orthodox religious figures and practices.

Medium Sketchbooks: This series consists of twenty-two sketchbooks, ranging in size from 6 by 9 inches to 9 by 12 inches, completed between 1977 and 2009. Some of the themes depicted in the drawings are: restaurants, dogs, horses, wrestling, daily life activities, Karres' family, and characters like Greektown Stella, International Cowboy, and performers that could be found in Detroit's Greektown.

Large Sketchbooks: This series consists of forty-seven sketchbooks, ranging in size from 11 by 14 inches to 14 by 17 inches. Although the drawings in this section were completed between 1955 and 1991, the majority of the images were executed in the 1980s. Some of the themes reflected in these sketchbooks are: human forms, restaurant scenes, tug boats, factories, weightlifting, performances, Detroit's Greektown, vacations, and Karres' aging parents.

Miscellaneous: The items in this series consist of letters, news articles, exhibition catalogs, a flyer, an awards booklet, and photocopies of photographs. These assorted materials that range in date from the late 1950s to 2004, were donated by Sam Karres' friend, Denny Starvos to the University of Michigan's Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library for the Modern Greek Studies Collection on September 28, 2012. They are arranged in numerical order according to the numbers Starvos assigned to them.

The Alternative Press was a literary and artistic small press started in Detroit in 1969 by Ken and Ann Mikolowski. The press initially focused on publishing the work of Detroit artists and later became international in scope. The collection documents the press's management and publication processes, including those for its acclaimed subscription mailings, which contained poetry, bookmarks, bumper stickers, drawings, paintings, collages, and postcards.

The Alternative Press Records held by the University of Michigan Special Collections Library is the founders' full set of press records up until 1996. It contains items such as correspondence from poets, artists, and friends, manuscripts of poems and other writings, sketches, Christmas cards, event announcements, the press' printed products, subscription renewal requests and more. Records from all three operating locations of the press are included, although the records from business done from Grindstone City predominate.

The Alternative Press Records is divided into ten series: Artists and Poets: Correspondence, Writings and Ephemera; Business Records; Ephemera; Events and Organizations; Original Postcards; Printed Materials; Printing Process; Small Presses; 1996 accretion; and 2018 accretion. Records sorted by individual or organization (primarily Artists and Poets and Small Presses) are arranged in alphabetical order. Other series and subseries (primarily those containing correspondence, business records, artwork/writings, and event announcements) are arranged in chronological order to preserve evidence of the creative process and organizational decisionmaking.