Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Class Albums collection consists of photograph albums compiled by University of Michigan students. The albums include individual and group portraits of class members, faculty portraits, and views of university buildings, the campus, and Ann Arbor scenes.

The albums are arranged under series which are listed here chronologically by volume. Arrangement of photographs within volumes often begins with portraits faculty and administrators followed student portraits. Some volumes also include photos of campus buildings and other individuals. The portraits in each section are sometimes arranged alphabetically, but frequently there is no apparent order. Photos in most volumes have been given sequential identifying numbers. In the contents list below, the portraits are generally listed in alphabetical order with the identifying number in square brackets.

Records, 1913-1957, of the University of Michigan Club of Detroit, an alumni group. Includes correspondence files and undated papers concerning the history of the club.

The records include correspondence files (1913, 1926-1957) and some undated papers concerning the history of the club.

Correspondence of club secretary-treasurer T. Maxwell Collier relating to club functions, dinners and reunions; also mailings, minutes, newsletters, press releases, and photographs.

The collection is divided into five series: Papers, Topical File, Correspondence, Photographs and Sound Recordings. The papers series (1 linear foot) consists of minutes, reports, incoming and outgoing correspondence of the secretary/treasurer, copies of the club president's correspondence, and correspondence from the secretary of the Alumni Association. Although the items date from 1924 to 1985, most of the material covers the 1950s, when Mr. Collier was most active. The papers were received in considerable disarray, and were rearranged chronologically. The topical files were retained in their original form. Some overlap may exist between the two types of files. The Correspondence series is largely of copies of correspondence from Alumni Association General Director T. Hawley Tapping to alumni and others in the Washington D.C. area and correspondence with representatives of other U-M alumni clubs. The Photographs series consists of prints from the Congressional Dinner hosted by the club. The audiotapes include talks by U-M President Robben Fleming and Gerald Ford at the club's annual dinner.

Dance cards from various University of Michigan dances and social events, including the J-Hop, Freshman Frolic, and Michigan Union Formal.

This collection includes dance cards from 1888 to 1947 from various University of Michigan dances and social events. The bulk of the dance cards are from the J-Hop, including different dance cards from the same year. The collection also includes dance cards from both the Michigan Union formal and the Frosh Frolic. The dance cards have been organized by the event and date. In this finding aid, the date refers to the date the dance was held, not the class year of those attending the dance. Other dance cards can be found in various scrapbook collections at the Bentley.

Collection of diplomas issued by the University of Michigan.

The Diplomas collection consists of approximately 180 diplomas issued by the University of Michigan, 1845-1934, as well as some special program diplomas and certificates and seven diplomas for other institutions of higher education.

Portrait photographs of University of Michigan faculty, administrators and staff.

This collection contains portraits of about 750 University of Michigan faculty members. It is strongest for people who served on the faculty during the nineteenth century and in the 1930s, although a few portraits as late as about 1960 are included.

In addition to faculty, librarians, and research staff, the collection contains portraits of a few nineteenth-century campus characters, including Robert Howard, the bellringer, Jolly the Janitor, "Doc" Gregor Nagele, the Medical School janitor, and Jimmy Ottley, the campus postman.

The photos are arranged alphabetically. Outsize portraits listed in this finding aid are found in the medium-size photograph collection (UAm) under the name of the person.

Faculty portraits are also found in a number of other collections, including:

1. Rentschler's Studio (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2. Shaw, Wilfred Byron.
3. Swain, George Robert.
4. University of Michigan class albums.
5. University of Michigan. Alumni Association.
6. University of Michigan. News and Information Service. Series D.

The original negatives of some prints in the Faculty Portrait collection may be found in the Rentschler, Swain, and News and Information Service collections. In addition to these collections, faculty portraits can be found in the records of many schools, colleges, and departments, as well as in the papers of individual faculty members.

Proceedings, treasurer's reports, committee reports, scrapbooks, and various administrative records.

The University of Michigan Faculty Women's Club record group contains materials from 1921-2008, which document the work of this organization to promote friendship and collegiality among women faculty and wives of faculty members. The record group contains information about the activities and administrative procedures of the club. The record group is arranged in five series: Administration, Newcomers, Interest Groups, Events and History.

The University of Michigan Hillel records cover the student organization's contribution to Jewish campus life. The collection consists primarily of calendar of events, newsletters, some correspondence, newspaper clippings, board minutes, brochures, programs, and posters.

The records of the University of Michigan Hillel cover the period between 1935 and 2008. The collection consists primarily of calendar of events, newsletters, some correspondence, newspaper clippings, board minutes, brochures, programs, and posters. The collection contains the following series: Administrative/Background, Scrapbooks, Press/Publications, and Events.

Official Publications, 1900-1971, of the University of Michigan. Bulk has been bound sequentially.

The volumes of Official Publications contain announcements, bulletins, reports and other printed material issued by various units and officers of the University, which were designated official publications. Each titled volume corresponds to roughly one school year, as detailed in the attached list, and may span more than one physical bound volume. The individual publications were numbered sequentially, in order of publication, and are bound in numerical order. Each publication also has a distinctive title, in addition to a volume and number. Prior to about 1921 the annual bound set consisted almost exclusively of the Bulletins of various schools and colleges. After that date the bound set began to include additional publications such the President's Report, financial reports, and incidental publications such as the guide to Freshmen and reports on sponsored conferences and programs.

The following numbers are missing, and their contents have not been determined:

1. 1916-17 -- vol. 18 -- no. 6, 19, 21, 30, 41
2. 1917-18 --vol. 19 -- no. 7, 9, 11, 13, 27
3. 1963-64 -- vol. 65 -- no. 20
4. 1964-65 -- vol. 66 -- no. 20, 25, 73

Photographs collected from various sources, depicting buildings, faculty, students, and other topics relating to the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan Photographs Vertical File represents a miscellaneous assemblage of U of M-related photographs from many different sources, mainly prior to 1950. The vertical file is especially strong on the earliest photographic images of the campus, university buildings, and class activities. While the vertical file contains many images of individuals, researchers should first consult the library's on-line catalog for images of faculty, administrators, and other University personalities. Most photographs originally accumulated by a University department or other unit are kept with that unit's records.

The arrangement of the photographic images was intended to parallel the classification used with University of Michigan published materials and with manuscript materials. Both of these used a classification system using letters of the alphabet (A through N only) for groupings of published or manuscript material. This system was carried over for use with the library's photographic images though there are certain categories for which images are unlikely to be found (Category A, for example, which pertains to legislation affecting the University or Category I which is reserved for university publications of a scientific or literary nature). The classification is further broken down under each letter by a number code which refers to a more specific subdivision. The heaviest concentration of images will be found under C (for U-M schools and colleges, departments, and other units), D (for university buildings and views), and F (for class pictures, photos of student organizations, and images detailing aspects of student life and customs).

Each heading in this finding aid includes the letter classification plus a numbered subdivision. In addition, the individual envelopes are numbered sequentially. Headings for which there are oversized images (usually larger than 8x10) will be indicated by reference to medium or large size photographs. When requesting material, researchers must specify the heading and the classification and folder number.

This finding aid describes only a small portion of the Bentley Library's U-M visual images. The on-line catalog will direct the researcher to additional images.