Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Albert Kahn was a Detroit-based architect, active from 1896 to 1942. He founded the firm, Albert Kahn Associated Architects & Engineers, which is today known as Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. He was best known for his industrial design work, including the Ford Motor Company's Highland Park and River Rouge plants; numerous commercial buildings in Detroit such as the Fisher Building, Detroit Athletic Club, and General Motors Building; and much of the University of Michigan's Central Campus, including Angell Hall, the Clements Library, and Hill Auditorium, as well as the Willow Run Bomber Plant near Ann Arbor, Michigan. After Kahn's death in 1942, his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., has continued to be a worldwide leader in the design of factory buildings that enhance the manufacturing process. The Albert Kahn Associates records are composed of materials produced by Albert Kahn the architect, as well as materials produced by his firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., and include correspondence, company files, photographs, published materials, and architectural drawings.

The Albert Kahn Associates records offer researchers the opportunity to study the correspondence, transcripts of speeches, photographs, and architectural drawings of the preeminent, American, industrial architect, Albert Kahn, and his firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. On March 21, 2003 (the 134th anniversary of Albert Kahn's birthday), Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (AKA) donated this collection to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan to ensure the conservation and accessibility of these records. Through this gift, AKA has shown its commitment to preserving the legacy of Kahn, whose factories on five continents influenced the development of industrial architecture and whose commercial, residential and institutional buildings define the character of Detroit and the University of Michigan today. The collection encompasses 166 linear feet (in 180 boxes) of correspondence, transcripts of speeches, newspaper and journal articles, company files, audiovisual materials, photographs and slides, as well as 90 leather portfolios containing photographs of completed buildings, 22 albums of sample architectural materials, 131 books, and 12,731 architectural drawings in 45 flat-file drawers and 114 oversize tubes.

The narrative and visual materials in the collection illuminate the breadth of Kahn's career and highlight the work of his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., which continued to develop projects after his death, and remains a living institution. In pairing the textual materials with the photographs and architectural drawings associated with Kahn's projects, this collection offers a rich perspective on the master architect himself, illuminating his personal views on his own architecture and its place in a changing and often tumultuous world.

The Albert Kahn Family Papers include the personal correspondence of Albert, his wife Ernestine Krolik Kahn, his son Edgar Adolph Kahn, and his daughter Ruth Kahn Rothman, miscellaneous materials which document the personal and professional lives of family members, and photographic images from the 1870s to 2015.

The Kahn Family Papers have come to the library from five sources: from Carol Kahn, the granddaughter of Albert and Ernestine Kahn and daughter of Edgar A. Kahn; from William R. Brashear, who was married to Albert's and Ernestine's granddaughter, Lydia Rothman Brashear; from William Brashear's daughter, Ruth Brashear Carrigan; from Edgar Kahn's daughter, Elizabeth Kahn Lehndorff; and from Richard Addison Chamberlin, Jr., the grandson of Moritz Kahn. The Albert Kahn Family Papers received from Carol Kahn include letters and photographs which contribute to our understanding of Kahn's relationship with his wife, children and grandchildren. The materials also illuminate the distinguished military and professional careers of his son Edgar (1900-1985), who served as Chairman of Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Hospital from 1949 to 1971. The papers received from William R. Brashear and his daughter Ruth Carrigan document the personal and professional lives of Albert and Ernestine Kahn, Ruth Kahn Rothman, Edward E. Rothman and other members of the extended Kahn family, including Albert Kahn's granddaughters, Josephine Rothman Treutner and Lydia Rothman Brashear. Mr. Brashear's collection also encompasses family letters and photographs, which are contained in his book, Albert Kahn and His Family in Peace and War, published by the Bentley Historical Library in 2006. The materials donated by Elizabeth (Betsy) Lehndorff relate to her recent careers as a journalist in Colorado and as a jewelry artist in Alpena, Michigan, and document the internationally acclaimed art collection of Lydia Winston Malbin, Albert Kahn's daughter. Mr. Chamberlin has donated an original copy of a book by his grandfather Moritz Kahn, published in 1917 and entitled The Design and Construction of Industrial Buildings.

Physician, early specialist in the treatment of mental illness; correspondence; topical files; lectures and publications; casework; and photographs.

The Albert M. Barrett papers comprise 3 linear feet, and have been divided into five series: Correspondence; Topical Files; Lectures and Publications; Photographs; and Casework.

Professor of Classics at Olivet College and University of Michigan. Correspondence, lecture notes, unpublished manuscripts, account books; and two manuscripts by Lisla Crittenden.

The Crittenden collection consists of correspondence, lecture notes for classes taught and classes taken. There are also student materials of his wife Lisla Van Valkenburg Crittenden. Correspondence includes letters from Robert C. Angell, C. H. Crittenden, Ernest Crittenden, Lisla Crittenden, Walter Dennison, Joseph H. Drake, John R. Effinger, Washington Gardner, Benjamin L. D'Ooge, Martin L. D'Ooge, Francis W. Kelsey, Moritz Levi, Albert H. Pattengill, and Allen S. Whitney.

This collection of Aldred Scott Warthin pamphlets and reprints was accumulated from different sources. It has been arranged alphabetically by title.

University of Michigan pathologist. Correspondence, primarily with physicians, articles, and other material relating to University of Michigan Medical School and medical practice in general; files relating to his editorship of the Annals of Clinical Medicine; and photographs.

The Aldred Scott Warthin collection documents the growth of pathology as a discipline at the Medical School at the University of Michigan and the professional life of one of the nation's leading pathologists. The papers are divided into five series: Correspondence, Topical Files, Writings, Biographical/Personal, and Annals of Clinical Medicine.

Zoologist, college professor, president of University of Michigan, 1929-1951. Professional files relating to his career with the University Museum and as a professor of zoology, and presidential files containing correspondence, reports, speeches, and other University materials, including budget and legislative files, material relating to changes in University administration, his relationship with faculty, students and alumni, and photographs.

The Alexander Ruthven papers consists of two series of records. The first is the papers of Ruthven as president of the University of Michigan, 1929 to 1951. The second, and smaller, series is the files maintained by Ruthven as a zoologist with the University Museum and as professor of zoology. This latter series dates largely from 1908 to 1929 but also includes collected earlier files from the 1870s.

President of the University of Michigan, commencement speeches, addresses, articles and miscellaneous publications on academic and administrative issue at the University of Michigan and higher education generally.

The Ruthven speeches and publications collections consists of commencement speeches, addresses, articles and miscellaneous publications on academic and administrative issue at the University of Michigan and higher education generally.

Ret. Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, pilot and ex-P.O.W., collection of personal papers and records from the Tuskegee Airmen national organization and Detroit Chapter, and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum in Detroit, Michigan.

The Alexander Jefferson papers are divided into five series: Personal Papers, Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated, Tuskegee Airmen Detroit Chapter, Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum, and Photographs.

Detroit, Michigan, attorney, professor at University of Michigan Law School, son of James Burrill and Sarah Caswell Angell. Letters written to his grandparents as a young man; also correspondence relating to his efforts to rewrite the biography of Thomas M. Cooley written by Henry Wade Rogers.

The Alexis Angell papers consist of letters written to his grandparents as a young man and correspondence relating to his efforts to rewrite the biography of Thomas M. Cooley written by Henry Wade Rogers.