Collections

The Albert D. Noble, Jr., glass negatives collection consist of 92 glass plate negatives made by photographer Albert D. Noble, Jr. as well as 33 photographic prints, 2 newspaper clippings, and a computer disk with 180 digital images (including additional photographs by Noble, Jr. and copies of older family portraits).

The glass plate negatives are contained in two boxes and include images of Noble, Jr.'s childhood home in Grand Rapids and other private residences and public buildings in the area as well as views taken in Detroit of Noble, Jr.'s family's Christmas decorations, community ice skating, bicycling in the countryside, rural buildings, and regional parks including Belle Isle Park. The majority of images depict people, activities, and scenes from summer vacations to places like Orchard Lake and Upper Straights Lake; a group visit to the French Lick Springs Hotel in Indiana in 1902; views from the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901 (misidentified in Bayard C. Schoettle's publication Glass Negatives: Albert Dewitt Noble, Jr. as an event based in Grand Rapids); and numerous studio portraits of family members, acquaintances, and the noted elocution teacher Edna Chaffee Noble (no relation to Noble, Jr.). The glass plates are in a variety of sizes (16.5 x 21.5, 12.5 x 20.5, 11.5 x 16.5, and 10 x 12.5 cm) and each is stored in individual paper slipcases. Some but not all of the splipcases provide information regarding an image's subject matter. Most of the plates are in good condition, with only a few displaying cracks and none being broken. 33 photographic prints (31 unmounted and 2 mounted) are also present and include an image of several cows near a body of water, two mounted albumen prints of "Orchard Lake Cottage," two silver platinum prints showing an unidentified house and a sailboat, 16 unmounted gelatin silver prints showing various domestic, industrial, social and architectural scenes (most of which are represented in the glass negatives), and a series of 11 unmounted snapshots and 1 negative transparency showing scenes from Roseland Park Cemetery and the gravesite of Edna Chaffee Noble. Two newspaper clippings from the July 16 1899 Detroit Free Press Art Supplement related to Noble, Jr.'s second place finish in a photo competition are also included.

The CD-R accompanying the collection contains about 180 scanned images including all 92 of the glass plates present in the collection, approximately 75 additional photographs produced by Noble, Jr., and several photographs of trophies awarded to Noble, Jr., by the Grand Rapids camera club. The CD-R also includes images of early Noble family portraits that were scanned and retouched by Schoettle during his preparation for Glass Negatives: Albert Dewitt Noble, Jr.

Andrew Tanner was photographer, born in Missouri, who traveled about the United States. He lived for a time in Ann Arbor, Michigan and on Coryell Island (part of the Les Cheneaux Islands) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The collection consists of glass plate negatives of images taken while in different parts of the United States and Mexico.

The Andrew Tanner Photograph Collection includes glass plate negatives from his travels across the United State and in Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Images in the collection demonstrate in a vivid way life in the United States, the natural environment, and the photographic processes of the time. The plates are in excellent condition and images are of very good quality. Tanner's original plate numbers are indicated on the slides, and where known, are indicated on the sleeves containing the plates; some plates were also assigned numbers by their intermediate owner, Jack Kausch, and, where known, these are also indicated on the envelopes. The images in the collection (14 boxes) date from 1894 to 1909, and are organized into three series: 5x7 Plates, 1894-1909 (13 boxes), 8x10 Plates, ca. 1900 (1 linear foot), and Miscellaneous (1 linear foot).

The Arnold Transit Company is the longest operating ferry line on the straits of Mackinac. Founded in 1878 by George T. Arnold, the line continues to transport thousands of passengers and tons of freight every year. The record group consists primarily of early financial records, various property interests of Arnold Transit, and the estates of the Arnold family.

The record group consists primarily of early financial records, dating back to 1850, before the company was founded. Other records document the various property interests of the Arnold Transit Company (ATC), and the estates of the Arnold family. The vessels themselves are represented through various certificates, manifests, and logs. Historical advertisements of Arnold Transit have been preserved, as well as promotions of the straits of Mackinac and surrounding area in general. Architectural plans, documents of area organizations, information on competing lines, and a fair number of photographs round out the collection.

The record group is comprised of seven series: Administration, Union Terminal Piers, Topical Files, Area Organizations, People, Visual Materials, and Vessels.

Journalist, historical researcher from Kalamazoo, Michigan; Correspondence, research articles and notes, and photographs.

The Weissert collection includes correspondence, 1893-1947, including letters from Joseph Bailly, Clarence M. Burton, Gurdon S. Hubbard, Chase S. Osborn, Albert E. Sleeper, and George Van Pelt. There are also speeches, and writings mostly on Michigan history topics, including Indian history and the history of Kalamazoo and Barry County. The series of research notes illustrates the variety of Weissert's interests: historical personalities, forts, Michigan cities, and early state history. The photographs and snapshots pertain to Weissert's interest in Michigan history, especially homes, churches, mills, hotels, businesses, and other sites primarily in western Michigan, but also including Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island. There are also photographs of Michigan pioneers, particularly from the Hastings, Michigan area.

Collector of materials documenting Michigan Polish-American individuals and organizations, especially in Detroit and Hamtramck. Included are records of the Detroit Board of Water Commissioners, the Polish Army Veterans Association, and the Polish Sea League. The collection also contains photographs from various Polish photography studios in Detroit and Michigan, including portraits and topical photographs.

The Edward Martin collection consists of papers and photographs, accumulated from various sources, relate to Detroit organizations and individuals. Except for a small series of Detroit Board of Water Commissioners documents, the collection concerns Michigan's Polish-American community and the activities of Polish-American organization, including the Polish Army Veterans Association and the Polish Sea League. Much of the collection consists of photographic portraits from studios catering to the Polish-American community in Detroit and Hamtramck.

The collection consists of seven series: Detroit Board of Water Commissioners, Polish Army Veterans Association, Polish Sea League, Printed Polish Materials, Waclaw S. Jakubowski papers, Miscellaneous, and Photographs.

Emerson Frank Greenman was a prominent Michigan archaeologist who served as Curator of the Great Lakes Division of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan from 1945 to 1965. The Greenman papers include correspondence, administrative materials related to the Camp Killarney field school in Ontario, Canada, site files for archaeological sites in Canada, research and topical files, scrapbooks and photographs.

The Emerson Frank Greenman Papers are comprised of six series: Correspondence, Camp Killarney, Research and Miscellaneous Files, Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Canadian Site Files.

St. Ignace, Michigan local historian; correspondence, genealogical and historical materials concerning Native Americans and the French in and around the Straits of Mackinac, particularly in St. Ignace and on Mackinac Island.

The Emerson R. Smith papers mostly consist of correspondence and reference materials pertaining to the history of the Straits area of Michigan (St. Ignace, Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island).

Professor of architecture at the University of Michigan; includes correspondence, professional organizational activities files, documentation, photographs, and architectural drawings accumulated during his work with the Michigan Historic Buildings Survey

The Emil Lorch papers are valuable for their documentation of the career of this important architectural educator and for that material about Michigan architecture and historic structures that Lorch accumulated in the course of his professional study and organizational involvement. The collection includes extensive correspondence with many of the country's leading architects, most notably members of the "Chicago School," and architectural educators, and manuscript and photographic documentation resulting from Lorch's involvement with the Michigan Historic Buildings Survey and various restoration projects, including Mackinac Island.

Bishops files, records of executive and administrative bodies and of diocesan organizations, staff files, parishes and mission's materials, and visual materials and sound recordings.

The records of the diocese of Michigan have been arranged into the following series: Bishops' files, Executive and administrative bodies, Diocesan organizations, Diocesan programs, Diocesan staff, Parishes and missions, Clergy, Audio and visual material, and Miscellaneous.

The record group is most valuable for its documentation of the history of the diocese and the individual churches within its administration, with a lesser amount of material pertaining to religious functions performed and to the operation of diocesan administrative groups and departments. For a number of reasons, there is scant material pertaining to the administration of the diocesan office or to the special programs that have been initiated by it over the years. Some of this material may be found in the papers of individual bishops whose papers have also come to the library and are separately cataloged. These include Samuel McCoskry, Samuel Smith Harris, Charles D. Williams, Herman Page, and Richard Emrich.

William Montague Ferry served as missionary to Indians at Michilimackinac, Michigan for the United Foreign Missionary Society, 1822-1834 and as clergyman in Grand Haven, Michigan. William Montague Ferry, Jr. served in the 14th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War, as University of Michigan Regent and later moved to Park City, Utah where he was active in Democratic Party politics. Thomas W. Ferry served as congressman, 1865 to 1871, and as U.S. Senator from 1871 to 1883. Papers include correspondence describing missionary work of William M. Ferry, Sr., civil war letters of William M. Ferry, Jr., some political correspondence of Thomas W. Ferry, and letters of Amanda White Ferry, wife of William Sr.

The Ferry family collection consists of letters and typescripts of letters from William Montague Ferry and his wife Amanda White Ferry describing their trip from Ashfield, Massachusetts, to Mackinac Island and their missionary work among the Indians; letters, 1862-1901, of Colonel William M. Ferry, University of Michigan regent, particularly to his wife and other relatives while serving in the Fourteenth Michigan Infantry during the Civil War; speeches and letters from contemporary politicians to Thomas White Ferry, lumberman and U.S. Senator; and two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings on the Ferry family. Correspondents in the collection include: Susan B. Anthony, Henry P. Baldwin, Zachariah Chandler, Schuyler Colfax, William M. Evarts, Hamilton Fish, Rutherford B. Haye, Whitelaw Reid, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton