Collections

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. At least one volume was kept by an African American man, Lewis G. Mosebay. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

Civil engineer, served as Michigan state highway commissioner, chairman of the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority and president of Portland Cement Company. Papers primarily document work with highway commission and Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority.

The papers, 1928-1968, of G. Donald Kennedy document his career in civil engineering, his participation in professional organizations, his activities as a state official, and as a supporter of the Michigan Democratic Party. The collection Includes correspondence, speeches, minutes, reports, articles, clippings, and photographs. The files relate to his work as municipal engineer in Pontiac, Michigan, with the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority, the American Association of State Highway Officials, the Automotive Safety Foundation, and the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority. The collection also includes papers relating to highway and airport construction, to economic mobilization during World War II, the Willow Run Bomber Plant, state Democratic Party matters, particularly the campaign visits of President Roosevelt to Michigan in 1936.

News reporter at WJR radio station out of Detroit. Scripts and sound recordings from two influential news stories as well as general information about Fogel's reporting career.

The Gene Fogel papers contain sound recordings and transcripts from two news stories Fogel investigated as a news reporter for WJR 760 radio station out of Detroit, "Blind Justice" and "Bite Mark, Leaving the Wrong Impression.". The collection also includes information about Fogel's journalism career.

The Motors Liquidation Company was the company left to settle past liability claims from the government-endorsed General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization which sold the assets of automobile manufacturer General Motors and some of its subsidiaries to NGMCO, Inc. ("New GM"). The collection includes archived websites of the Motors Liquidation Company, containing court documents and a claims register.

Motors Liquidation Company bankruptcy website is evidence of the automotive industry crisis of 2008-2010, caused in part by the confluence of the global financial turndown of the late-2000s recession, record oil prices, a severe global automotive sales decline due to the global financial crisis of 2008--2009. This collection of archived websites contains court documents and a claims register for the company left to settle past liability claims from General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization, and is arranged in a single series, Archived Websites.

Judge of the Recorder's Court in Detroit and Frank Murphy's brother; contain correspondence, legal briefs, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning Detroit politics, 1935-1961, the grand jury investigation of Detroit street railways, 1936, arbitration of labor disputes, 1936-1941, investigation of the Charles Street housing project, 1939-1940, as well as materials illuminating the careers and personal affairs of both George and Frank Murphy, especially in relation to Detroit and the Philippine Islands.

The George Murphy papers, which encompass the years 1911 to 1961, are most comprehensive for the decade following 1932. During this period - the most politically active in Murphy's career - the correspondence is especially useful in illustrating George Murphy's role in his brother's emergence as a politician, especially his role as dispenser of patronage in the depression years. The papers, of course, illuminate the social function performed by the Recorder's Court and contain voluminous correspondence with state and federal judges, attorneys, prisoners, prison officials, probation officers, etc. Judge Murphy also maintained close contact with affairs in his home town, Harbor Beach. Included in the collection are significant materials on affairs in the Philippines during his brother's governorship there, particularly correspondence during the years 1933 to 1936 with his sister, Marguerite, Eleanor Bumgardner, and with leading Filipinos concerning conditions there.

Engineer on various Great Lakes steamship, photographer and collector of photographs; includes photos and some glass negatives depicting Grand Army of the Republic encampment in Detroit in 1891; photographs of war bond rally in Detroit, ca. 1918; photographs of downtown Detroit buildings and street scenes; some of the photographs of Belle Isle other water views.

The Merrill collection consists of photographs (with some glass negatives) depicting public events associated with a meeting of the Grand Army of the Republic organization in Detroit in 1891; photographs of war bond rally in Detroit, including patriotic displays, ca. 1918; photographs of downtown Detroit, including views of commercial buildings, modes of transportation, and people on the street; and some of the photographs of Belle Isle other water views.

News editor and vice president of Detroit, Michigan, radio station, WJR, moderator of radio program, "In Our Opinion". Correspondence, radio transcripts, scrapbooks, broadcast discs, and audio-tapes of discs; include material concerning career of Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg, the senatorial campaign of 1942 between Prentiss Brown and Homer Ferguson, and radio broadcasting in general.

The Cushing collection consists largely of sound recordings of a selection of the "In Our Opinion" radio program. There are also additional textual materials: clippings and other documents pertaining to the program and some transcriptions of particular programs.

The sound recordings of the "In Our Opinion" program were originally phonograph transmission discs. Nearly impossible to listen to because of their oversize format and the absence of appropriate players, the library applied for and received a grant in 1977 from the NHPRC to transfer a selection of the more than 600 discs onto reel-to-reel tapes. Many of the discs already showed signs of deterioration. The selection of what discs to preserve was based on the significance of the topics discussed and the importance of the interviewees. Among the guests were Senators Arthur Vandenberg and Homer Ferguson, automobile executive (later governor) George Romney, Congressman George Dondero, military historian General S.L.A. Marshall, political science Professor James K, Pollock, Governor Kim Sigler, Lowell Thomas, Thor Heyerdahl, Edward R. Murrow, and Episcopal Bishop Richard S. Emrich, among many others. Topics ranged from state and national politics, the impact of the war, foreign affairs, post-war re-conversion of the economy, and issues specific to Detroit and Michigan.

Chairwoman of the Detroit chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality from 1964 to 1967. Correspondence, news releases, and printed material relating to the activities of the Detroit C. O. R. E.

Correspondence, news releases, and printed material relating to the activities of the Detroit C. O. R. E.

The Great Lakes Region cities and rivers photograph album contains approximately 125 photographs of Detroit, Grand Rapids, Chatham, Minneapolis, and Saginaw from 1916 to 1919.

The Great Lakes Region cities and rivers photograph album contains approximately 125 photographs of Detroit, Grand Rapids, Chatham, Minneapolis, and Saginaw from 1916 to 1919. The images show many of the same people canoeing, skiing, and fishing. Most album pages include handwritten captions with date, location, and names, and some photographs have handwritten notations on the back. Individuals referred to as John, Mother, Wahnita, and Aunt Anna appear most frequently. Also included are images of a Peace Day and Armistice Day parade in 1918 and a Standard Oil fire in July, 1919. A few images show scenes from the Panama Canal Zone.

The album is 21.75 x 13.5 cm with dark brown cloth covers.

Delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention. Correspondence and other papers concerning his professional and public service activities.

The bulk of the collection concerns Norris' work as an officer with the National Lawyers Guild and as a delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962.