Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

David Cope is a poet in the Objectivist tradition and the founder of Nada Press, a small press which publishes the literary magazine and other poetry. Cope, a University of Michigan graduate and lifelong Michigan resident, taught literature and writing at Grand Rapids Community College and Western Michigan University. The collection documents Cope's writing, editing, and to some extent teaching and other spheres of Cope's life, through correspondence, manuscripts, notes, printed material, photographs, and videotapes.

David Cope made his first donation of papers to the Special Collections Research Center in 1987. Since then he has continued to make frequent contributions. The David Cope Papers cover Cope's writing and correspondence from the 1970s to the present, as well as his editing and teaching activities. In addition to offering insight into Cope's work, the collection details some of the activities and thoughts of friends and fellow writers and poets; in particular, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Cohn, Antler, and Jeff Poniewaz. Not currently well-documented are the more personal aspects of Cope's life--especially his family life--except for those details made available through his writings and correspondence.

The David Cope Papers are divided into eight series: Correspondence and Name Files, Writings, Editing Materials, Teaching and Education Materials, Publicity Materials, Personal, Photographs, and Audio/Visual. A small selection of books from Cope's library have been removed from the collection and have been cataloged individually. They are shelved by call number in Special Collections and can be requested through the Library's catalog.

Dennis Cunningham (1936-2022) was a lawyer who practiced law in Illinois, New York, and California. One of the founding members of the People's Law Office in Chicago, Illinois, he specialized in public interest and civil law centered on injustice perpetuated by the government with cases on environmental activism, police brutality, civil disobedience, prisoners' rights, and political injustice. Notable clients include Akil Al Jundi, Judi Bari, and Fred Hampton. This collection covers his career as a lawyer from 1967-2019 in 45 manuscript boxes. The collection is arranged into two main series, case/subject files and professional files. Materials are arranged alphabetically within series and primarily include court documents, notes and annotations, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

Court documents (motions, briefs, appeals, affidavits), correspondence, police records, ephemera, photos, tweets, transcripts, notes, and newspaper clippings relating to the career of lawyer Dennis Cunningham.

The Dennis Cunningham Papers covers Cunningham's professional career from 1967-2019 in 45 manuscript boxes totaling approximately 22.5 linear feet.

This collection consists primarily of court and trial documents, drafts and annotations, correspondence, notebooks with commentary on cases, transcripts, research materials, newspaper clippings, photographs, and various ephemera collected during Cunningham's career.

Strengths of this collection include coverage of most of Cunningham's career with notable cases from his time in Chicago, New York, and California. More extensive collections feature materials covering not only the trial but behind-the-scenes processes such as meetings, research and notes, and settlements or payment. The collection also features a variety of notebooks detailing Cunningham's comments on cases and his challenges with the Bar Exam in the State of California.

The Detroit Streetcar Collection documents the history of passenger rail transportation in the Detroit, Michigan metropolitan area during the late-19th century until the mid-20th century. The collection consists of photographs, correspondence, maps, articles, streetcar rosters and equipment reports, and newsletters. Photographs make up the majority of the collection and depict urban street scenes, streetcars in use and stationary streetcars, and route construction.

The Detroit Streetcar Collection documents the history of passenger rail transportation in the Detroit, Michigan metropolitan area. The collection consists of photographs, correspondence, maps, articles, streetcar rosters and equipment reports, and newsletters. Photographs make up the majority of the collection. The photographs include depictions of urban street scenes, streetcars in use, stationary streetcars, specialized equipment, constructions of rail lines and bridges, repair shops and train yards, and disassembly and former routes. Research contains materials documenting various streetcar types, equipment and parts, routes, timelines, and maps. Published materials include articles and newsletters, advertisements, and flyers and brochures.

The Detroit United Railway (DUR) and the Detroit Department of Street Railways (DSR) are the main transportation services depicted in the collection. Railroads spanning the state of Michigan are also represented in the collection, as are other forms of public transportation such as buses and trolleys.

This collection documenting the history of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and of labor organizing in North America was assembled by Don Stewart, owner of the Vancouver bookstore MacLeod's Books since 1973. The collection is arranged into five series. Organizational Records comprise records of the central IWW administration, such as general convention minutes (1913-1969 with gaps), general executive boards letters and minutes (1959-1964), financial statements (1918-1944 with gaps), membership cards, and documents from the general defense committee relating to IWW prisoners during World War I. Reflecting the IWW's internal structure, Constituent Unions Records are organized by industrial trade numbers and include administrative documents and organizing literature. Constituent Unions Records also include a few folders relating to the Western Federation of Miners, which pre-dates IWW's founding in 1905 The Colorado Coal Strike Archive is a set of letters, telegrams between labor organizers, bulletins to workers, and other documents relating to the Columbine Mine Massacre of 1927. Topical Literature contains general ephemera by the IWW and literature related to the IWW and labor unions, including a transcript of the play "The Wobblies" by Ronald Weihs and a memorial booklet for Carlo Tresca. Finally, International Material contains foreign print materials about IWW or labor more generally. It also contains records and letters from the Canadian division of IWW in the Vancouver area, including letters from Fred Thompson and Pete Seeger.

Don Werkheiser was a teacher, writer, and philosopher-reformer active in the last half of the 20th century. He is best described as an individualist anarchist and libertarian. Most of his writings center on the philosophy of Mutual Option Relationship, which he developed and promoted throughout his life. It is multidisciplinary in its nature but based mainly on principles of equal rights and freedom of the individual. The eight linear feet of papers consist primarily of Werkheiser's writings (in the form of notes, drafts, and finished typescripts), correspondence with friends and colleagues, and related ephemera. A small number of photographs, materials documenting Werkheiser's interests and activities, and works by associates of Werkheiser are also present.

Don Werkheiser, like many of his peers, received little recognition for his ideas and efforts during his lifetime, even among the relatively small circle of individualist anarchists within which he interacted. The papers consist mainly of various iterations of his Mutual Option Relationship philosophy and methodologies for realizing it, as well as his thoughts on the numerous social, economic, and political problems that he saw in contemporary American society. There is also correspondence with friends and associates in his intellectual and ideological sphere. The ephemera in the collection--consisting of newspaper clippings; pamphlets; and extracts from periodicals, books, and monographs, are significant because of their subject area (mainly freedom of speech), their relative obscurity, and also Werkheiser's extensive annotations. These materials are supplemented by a very small number of photographs.

The Don Werkheiser Papers (8 linear feet) have been divided into six series: Writings, Correspondence, Other Activities, Works by Others, Photographs, and Ephemera. Originally included with the Don Werkheiser Papers was a large collection of books and pamphlets by Theodore Schroeder, an important influence on Werkheiser, as well as published works by other authors. These have been removed and cataloged separately.

There is a significant amount of material in the Don Werkheiser Papers having to do with Theodore Schroeder. In addition to championing free speech causes, Schroeder developed a system of psychological thought which he named "evolutionary psychology." He was also interested in erotogenic interpretations of religious practices, and his writings on this topic generated much controversy in his day. Werkheiser was profoundly influenced by evolutionary psychology and other areas of Schroeder's thought, especially his advocacy of free speech. This is indicated not only in Werkheiser's own writings, but also in his substantial files of material by and about Schroeder and in a small amount of correspondence between the two, and between Schroeder and others. (As a point of clarification, Schroeder's evolutionary psychology appears to be entirely unrelated to the discipline of the same name established by Leda Cosmides and John Tooby in the 1990s.)

There is also a substantial amount of material related to the School of Living (mainly the one in Brookville, Ohio) and the ideas associated with it: decentralism, cooperative living, monetary and tax reform, alternative education, permaculture, wilderness and farmland preservation, and the environment. Its founders, Ralph Borsodi and Mildred Loomis, are also well-represented in the collection--particularly Loomis, who was a close friend of Werkheiser's. (As another point of clarification, the School of Living's journal-newsletter, Green Revolution, is unaffiliated with--and even in direct ideological opposition to--the Green Revolution in agriculture begun in the mid-1940s that encouraged large-scale chemical applications as a means to boost agricultural productivity.)

Other important influences on or associates of Werkheiser represented in the collection are Georgism and Henry George (on which Werkheiser wrote extensively), Laurance Labadie, Ralph Templin, and Arnold Maddaloni. There is also some material by the science fiction writer Robert Anton Wilson.

Douglas Pappas was a traveler, collector, lawyer, and a huge fan of Baseball. The Douglas Pappas Archive documents the modern Lincoln Highway Association, as well as the personal interests of Douglas Pappas with his travel albums/scrapbooks and postcard collection. The collection is arranged into four series: Lincoln Highway Association, Publications, Travel albums/Scrapbooks, and Postcards. The Lincoln Highway Association series contains business records, ephemera, and manuscripts that date from their charter conference planning in 1992 to 2004. There are newsletters relating to local chapter activities, reports, and correspondence. The Lincoln Highway Forum from 1993-2004 is included in the publications series with other printed materials relating to the Lincoln Highway and Lincoln Highway Association that cover 1913-2003. The travel albums/scrapbooks span the years 1985-1999 and contain postcards, maps, souvenirs, photographs, and typed commentary documenting travels on roads across the United States. The postcard collection focuses on buildings such as hotels and motels, as well as landmarks along the numbered highways in the United States. U.S. Highways 1 through 101 are included in the collection and date approximately from 1917-1971.

The Douglas Pappas Archive documents the modern Lincoln Highway Association, as well as the personal interests of Douglas Pappas with his travel albums/scrapbooks and postcard collection. The collection is arranged into four series: Lincoln Highway Association, Publications, Travel Albums/Scrapbooks, and Postcards.

The Lincoln Highway Association series contains business records, ephemera, and manuscripts that date from their charter conference planning in 1992 to 2004. In the business records there are newsletters relating to local chapter activities and research, reports, member lists, conference planning materials, pamphlets, and various correspondence. There is a great deal of correspondence between Douglas Pappas and Keith Hixon in the New York/New Jersey folders. A bumper sticker, charter conference flyers, and general flyers make up the ephemera in this series. There are several pages of handwritten notes from Douglas Pappas on yellow lined paper.

The Publications series includes the official quarterly journal of the Lincoln Highway Association entitled The Lincoln Highway Forum, which spans from 1993-2004. There are also other printed materials relating to the Lincoln Highway and Lincoln Highway Association that cover 1913-2003. The official membership rosters of the modern Lincoln Highway Association from 1993-2003 are within this series. There are guides and maps relating to the Lincoln Highway, as well as news clippings and articles. Most of this material is copied from the original and there are some printed from websites.

The Travel Albums/Scrapbooks series encompasses the years 1985-1999 and contains postcards, maps, souvenirs, photographs, and typed commentary documenting travels by Douglas Pappas on roads across the United States. In order to make the collection easier to use there are archivist supplied volume numbers given to each unique photo album/scrapbook. In total there are 34 travel albums/scrapbooks that make up this portion of the collection. Each travel album/scrapbook is different in that it follows a certain trip, a particular region of the United States, a single highway, or multiple numbered highways. They are in a chronological arrangement beginning with specific 1980s, general 1980s, then specific 1990s, general 1990s, and undated. The scrapbooks/photo albums provide a unique perspective and commentary. There are roadside attractions, monuments, landmarks, postcards, and buildings that are documented in this series.

The postcard collection spans from 1917-1971 and focuses on United States numbered highways 1 through 101, as well as a specific concentration on the Lincoln Highway. There are 6 postcard boxes that make up the entire collection with one devoted to the Lincoln Highway. The collection is arranged by highway number and then by state; a unique number was given next to each state in the finding aid detailing the amount of postcards within that state's section. The subjects on the postcards include buildings and landmarks along the numbered highways. Hotels, motels, motor lodges, inns, bridges, tunnels, restaurants/cafes, attractions, monuments, landscapes, and general greetings are the main topical areas.

For a related collection, the records of the original Lincoln Highway Association can be found in the Transportation History Collection at the University of Michigan Special Collections Library.

The Duncan Perry Collection consists of materials that document political and economic developments in eastern Europe from 1990-1994. The materials that have been processed, and that are represented in this finding aid, specifically cover the countries of southeastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, the states of the former Yugoslavia, and Turkey.

The Duncan Perry Collection consists of materials that document political and economic developments in eastern Europe from 1990-1994. The materials that have been processed, and that are represented in this finding aid, specifically cover the countries of southeastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, the states of the former Yugoslavia, and Turkey. The majority of this material originates from the Research Institute at RFE/RL. These materials include wire reports, re-reprinted news articles, program briefs, research reports, draft reports, and media/opinion surveys. The remaining materials originate from other European and American news agencies and research institutes. These non-RFE/RL materials also include wire reports and research reports on political and economic developments in eastern Europe.

The Duncan Perry Collection is not limited to news and research publications. The collection also consists of materials produced by various eastern European religious groups, political parties, and government agencies. While the bulk of the collection covers the period from 1990-1994, the collection also contains materials that Duncan Perry compiled while working at the Open Media Research Institute from 1994-1997, as well as materials from when he was an independent scholar (1997-2003).

The Ed and Jean Yellin HUAC Papers (1948-2019) consist of materials relating to the Yellins' legal battles against the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) after Ed Yellin's refusal to testify on the basis of the First Amendment. The materials detail the effects on the Yellins' lives, and their later decision to publish a memoir about their experiences, titled In Contempt: Defending Free Speech, Defeating HUAC. The materials also document the progression of the case and subsequent appeals. The collection consists of five series: Correspondence, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Files, Newspaper Clippings, Research Files, and In Contempt Manuscript Drafts and Notes.

The Ed and Jean Yellin HUAC Papers (1948-2019) consist of materials relating to the Yellins' legal battles against the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The materials detail the effects on the Yellins' lives during and after their battle to defend Ed's First Amendment rights, and their later decision to publish a memoir about their experiences. The collection consists of five series: Correspondence, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Files, Newspaper Clippings, Research Files, and In Contempt Manuscript Drafts and Notes.

The Correspondence series consists of detailed correspondence between Ed Yellin and various parties. The bulk of the correspondence is from 1957-1965, beginning with Yellin's HUAC hearing in Gary, Indiana. The series includes correspondence with attorney Victor Rabinowitz, letters regarding Yellin's suspension from the University of Illinois and revocation of his NSF grant and subsequent academic reinstatement, correspondence with supporters and other First Amendment defendants, graduate fellowship and postdoctoral applications, correspondence with Johns Hopkins University, support from previous professors, and correspondence with organizations such as the ACLU and the New York Council to Abolish HUAC.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Files series consists of records the FBI compiled on Ed and Jean Yellin. There are files specifically for Jean Fagan Yellin and Ed Yellin, as well as some combined files. These records document the FBI's surveillance of the Yellins as early as 1950. The records were obtained by a Freedom of Information Privacy Act request in the 1980s. Some documents have redacted information.

The Newspaper Clippings series consists of original newspaper articles, primarily from 1958-1963, that relate to Ed Yellin, his legal battles with HUAC, and with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the University of Illinois over his academic suspension. There are also articles detailing other HUAC and First Amendment cases and anti-HUAC sentiment.

The Research Files series consists of documents collected by Ed Yellin in the course of his contempt of Congress trial, subsequent appeals, and battle for academic reinstatement. These documents are case notes and briefs, court transcripts, press releases, publications by the ACLU and other organizations, anti-HUAC newsletters and pamphlets, journal articles, and notes about his defense.

The In Contempt Manuscript Drafts and Notes series consists of materials relating to the Yellins' process of publishing a memoir of their experiences in the 1950s and 1960s against HUAC. The materials begin with the genesis of the idea of publishing a book, early interview transcripts, and other information gathering, and progress to chapter drafts, revisions, notes, archival material requests, illustrations, and chronologies.

Edward C. Weber (1922-2006) was long-time curator of the University of Michigan Special Collection's Joseph A. Labadie Collection of radical history. Under his stewardship, the Labadie Collection grew into one of the premier and most forward-thinking holdings of materials relating to radical and protest groups from the United States and around the world. The Edward C. Weber Papers are made up of the subject's correspondence and biographical materials, written from 1949 to 2006. The bulk of the collection, the correspondence is mostly comprised of Weber's letters soliciting materials on behalf of the Labadie Collection or fielding reference questions from researchers, as well as personal correspondence from the his family and friends. The collection's materials are comprised of letters (typed and handwritten), printed out emails, postcards, greeting cards, news clippings, photographs, printed biographical materials, framed commendations, and other miscellaneous paper materials.

The Edward C. Weber Papers consists of Weber's correspondence with organizations, publishers, researchers, associates, family, and friends, along with biographical materials created for his retirement and memorial services. The collection provides a snapshot of the Joseph A. Labadie Collection and his work there for a 40 year period (1960-2000), as well as a portrait of his personal relationships with friends and family from 1949 to 2005.

The Biographical Materials series contains materials from Weber's retirement celebration and memorial service. The first folder contains past articles and correspondence on paper stock, reprinted for Weber's memorial service in 2006. The second set of items relate to Weber's retirement in 2000. This includes a flyer for his retirement celebration, articles about his retirement, and copied certificates of commendation. In addition, two framed items of commendation are housed in an oversized box.

The Correspondence series makes up the majority of the collection and is comprised of 27 linear feet of paper material housed in 54 manuscript boxes, foldered alphabetically by correspondent or corresponding organization. Individual letters, cards, photographs and other types of written communication are arranged chronologically within each subject's folder(s). The majority of folders are dedicated to outreach by Weber to various radical groups and individuals soliciting material donations to contribute to the Labadie Collection. His written responses to reference inquiries for items within the Labadie Collection make up another significant segment of the series. Most of these materials are typewritten letters officially sent on behalf of the Labadie Collection and University of Michigan Special Collections. Some later letters were written by Labadie Collection assistants during Weber's time there and with his knowledge. Since Weber never used email, his letters sent on behalf of the Labadie Collection were typed on a manual or electric typewriter. There are occasional handwritten notations on some of these letters and a few emails printed out so he could read them. Other folders in the series contain personal correspondence from friends, family, and other associates. These items are made up mostly of handwritten notes, postcards, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, printouts of emails, occasional photographs, and other miscellaneous items. Many of the folders were removed from the general Labadie correspondence files in 2008 and a listing was made of them at that time. The rest of the series is made up of personal correspondence Weber stored in his home.

Within the series are several notable, lengthy correspondence partners including Theodore Adams (1950-2004, 21 folders), James Q. Belden (1952-2000, 11 folders), George Nick (1949-1991, 12 folders), Curtis and Clarice Rodgers (1961-2005, 18 folders), and Henry Van Dyke (1950-2004, 12 folders). The series also includes correspondence from notable individuals such as civil rights activist Malcolm X, graphic novelist Harvey Pekar, former Secretary of State Eliot Abrams, the White Panther Party, among many others.

Abbreviations:

LC=Labadie Collection ECW=Edward C. Weber

This collection contains material related to the anarchist Esther Dolgoff's English translation, completed around 1980, of Joseph Cohen's 1945 Yiddish book Di yidish anarkhistishe bavegung in Amerike: historike iberblik un perzenlekhe iberlebungen (The Jewish Anarchist Movement in America: Historical Overview and Personal Experiences). In addition to a photocopy of Dolgoff's handwritten translation of the four-part work, the collection contains a small number of letters written by Dolgoff concerning the manuscript.

The bulk of this collection is a photocopy of the handwritten, unpublished manuscript of Esther Dolgoff's translation of Joseph Cohen's 1945 Yiddish book Di yidish anarkhistishe bavegung in Amerike: historike iberblik un perzenlekhe iberlebungen (The Jewish Anarchist Movement in America: Historical Overview and Personal Experiences). A notable addition is two original, handwritten chapters of the translation and a typed foreword and table of contents. Handwritten annotations, likely written by Philadelphia anarchist Robert Helms and another unknown comrade, appear throughout the photocopied manuscript. These materials together comprise the second and largest series, "Manuscript."

The first series consists of a small amount of correspondence, mainly letters from Esther Dolgoff to Frank Gerould written in 1980, and emails from Gerould and Helms to Labadie curator Julie Herrada in the 2010s providing some context for the manuscrpt.