Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Architectural photographer based in Troy, Mich. Photoprints and copy negatives, chiefly a portfolio entitled "Man's Presence," a study of Michigan's manmade environment.

Representing but a tiny fraction of Korab's oeuvre, the collection held at the Bentley Library will nevertheless appeal to a broad range of researchers. Especially in a collective sense, Korab photographs are not only about architecture and architectural photography, but also about art, technology, modernism, photography's history, the environment, urbanism, ruralism, and the creative process itself. They also document one individual's spirited commitment to a life's work -- work expressed both analytically and emotionally.

The essence of the collection is a Korab portfolio entitled Man's Presence, a study of Michigan's man-made environment that drew him to dozens of towns, cities and rural areas in the upper and lower peninsulas. Photographs capture the quiet magnificence of silos and barns, the elegance of 19th century mansions, the utilitarian architecture of iron foundries and grain elevators. There are also pictures depicting ways man has wasted resources (an abandoned lumber mill, a barren tract of bulldozed land. A superb example of Korab's lifelong fascination with vernacular architecture, Man's Presence is a deliberate effort to capture on film Michigan worlds that otherwise might go unnoticed or become lost to future generations.

The collection is comprised of three series: Biographical Materials; Man's Presence Contact Sheets; and Man's Presence Copy Prints and Copy Negatives.

Administrative files, including board and finance minutes, agendas, fund-raising and promotional materials, scrapbooks, articles of incorporation, and other miscellanea; also files of the Ypsilanti, Wayne, and Brighton, Michigan, councils of the Girl Scouts.

The Huron Valley Girl Scout Council record group documents the administration and activities of a growing Girl Scout Council in Michigan. It is comprised of such records as Board and Council minutes, by-laws, annual reports, newsletters, financial material, various committee minutes, district files, promotional material, annual agendas, membership information, and staff position descriptions. Included in the records are the files of the Ann Arbor, Plymouth and Washtenaw County Girl Scout Councils. In 1958 these agencies combined to form the Huron Valley Girl Scout Council. The records cover the years 1940 through 1965 with the bulk covering 1958-1962. Only a portion of the records have been processed. Those materials which have been processed consist of the following series: Ann Arbor Girl Scout Council, Plymouth Girl Scout Council, Girl Scout Council of Washtenaw County and Huron Valley Girl Scout Council.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, photography firm. Photonegatives, and some photoprints, of images largely relating to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, but including Ypsilanti and other Michigan cities: buildings, businesses, houses, street scenes, community activities, and organizations; also photos of automobiles, storm damage, etc. taken to support insurance claims.

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.

Resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The collection consists of two photographs of an African American river baptismal service. Also included are photographs of airplanes, a car on a flooded road, and the entrance to Belle Isle Park in Detroit; a photograph of the Ypsilanti, Mich. water tower; and cyanotypes of farm property.

The collection consists of two photographs of an African American river baptismal service. Also included are photographs of airplanes, a car on a flooded road, and the entrance to Belle Isle Park in Detroit; a photograph of the Ypsilanti, Mich. water tower; and cyanotypes of farm property.

Ypsilanti, Michigan business; account books and daybooks.

The record group consists of account books and daybooks of the firm. Included is a record of log purchases, 1845-1853, and accounts of wheat purchased in 1842.

Established in 1986 in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan as Wellness Networks, Inc.-Huron Valley, the organization provides HIV and AIDS related services and information. The name of the organization was changed to HIV/AIDS Resource Center in 1993. Board meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence and memoranda, activity files, newspaper articles, and related records.

The record group is split into two series: The Wellness Networks, Inc. -- Huron Valley series and the HIV/AIDS Resource Center (HARC). The first series consists of records such as meeting minutes, bylaws, press releases, and financial statements, and they document the establishment and the early period of the organization. The second series consist of board meeting minutes, outreach activity plans, speakers' schedules, and committee activities.

Ypsilanti, Michigan newspaperman and local historian. Recorded reminiscences of the life and culture of Ypsilanti in period of ca. 1900-1910.

The collection consists of sound cassettes with J. Milton Barnes reminiscing about life in Ypsilanti, Michigan during the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Topics covered include working at the Ypsilanti Press, the Opera House, the interurban train, the Barnhill Marching Band, and Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University). The collection also includes a narrative reminiscences entitled Ypsilanti's Third Half Century covering the period from 1917 to ca. 1970.

Lisa Marshall Bashert is a lesbian feminist witch from Ypsilanti, Michigan. She was involved in various causes and local organizations, especially relating to gay-lesbian activism in Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a life-partner of Beth Bashert. The Bashert collection consists almost entirely of her journals which are a combination of diaries, musings and other personal reflections about such topics as her sexuality, her personal relationships, and her involvement in feminist, lesbian, and pagan organizations.

The Bashert collection consists almost entirely of her journals which are a combination of diaries, musings and other personal reflections about such topics as her sexuality, her personal relationship, and her involvement in feminist, lesbian, and pagan organizations. In many journals, Bashert discusses her relationship with her partner, Beth Bashert. Digital transcripts of her journals are also kept online.

Another series in the collection, Local Organization and Projects, contains files related to environmental sustainability, and gay and lesbian rights organizations in Ypsilanti during the 2000s. Bashert was invited by the mayor of Ypsilanti in 2007 as an active member of the community, to work on the Ypsilanti 2020 Task Force. Files from this project include reports and recommendations on improving the cities infrastructure and economic development. Bashert was also a board member for many sustainability organizations, and as such many of the meeting minutes and reports are found within the series.

Organization established in Ypsilanti, Michigan for the performance of Greek theater productions. Papers of theater president, Clara Owens; administrative files including minutes, correspondence, and financial records, printed material, press releases, clippings and scrapbooks, and photographs.

The records of the Ypsilanti Greek Theater (0.5 linear feet and 3 volumes) range in dates from 1963 to 1967. The bulk of the information covers only the years 1965-1967 and provides minimal information from 1963 and 1964. Really the only materials that cover the earlier years of the organization are the scrapbooks.

The collection consists mainly of the papers of former president of the organization, Mrs. Clara Owens. Included are administrative records, photographs, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and printed materials. The papers have been divided into five series: Personal Records, Clara Owens; Administrative; and Publicity and Other Related Materials.

The Penrod/Hiawatha Company collection is mainly comprised of postcards, although some supplemental photographic items directed toward tourists is also included. The postcards, numbering more than 5,000, primarily are of the Michigan landscape and its towns and cities, covering every region of the state. Typical postcard themes dominate, particularly natural scenery, outdoor recreation, and shopping districts. The postcards date from the 1950s through the opening decades of the twenty-first century, although very few display copyright dates. The collection is divided into the following series.

1. Non-Postcard Items (calendars, brochures, booklets): Box 1
2. Non-Penrod/Hiawatha Postcards: Box 2
3. Penrod/Hiawatha Postcards, 1970s-1990s: Boxes 2-5
4. Penrod/Hiawatha Postcards, mid- to late 1990s: Boxes 5-6
5. Penrod/Hiawatha Postcards, late 1990s-2000): Boxes 6-7
6. Penrod/Hiawatha Postcards, 2001-2004: Box 8
7. Penrod/Hiawatha Postcards, 2005-2014: Box 9
8. Oversize and miscellaneous: Box 10

As batches of postcards are received every years, it was decided to arrange the items in blocks of time according to the date of their accession. Thus for the researcher interested in a specific city, it will be necessary to examine the listing for each of the series.