Collections

Assistant to George Washington Carver at Tuskegee Institute, later a Detroit, Michigan, businessman. Correspondence and other papers of G. W. Carver relating primarily to experiments with soil improvement and the discovery of new applications for the peanut and other Southern agricultural products; newspaper clippings and memos relating to Curtis' campaign for Congress in 1958 and his work with Carver; and photographs.

The Curtis collection has two parts: papers of George Washington Carver that Curtis collected while in Carver's employ; and papers of Curtis mainly relating to his business activities with A.W. Curtis Laboratories of Detroit, Michigan, and also his unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1958. The Carver papers are of the most significance, relating to Carver's experiments with soil improvement and his discovery of new applications for the peanut and other agricultural products of the South.

Artificial collection of miscellaneous materials related to Michigan automobiles, car companies, trucks, racing, racecars, motorcycles, advertising, etc.

The collection includes miscellaneous materials from vertical files, advertising materials, black and white photographs, catalogs, manuals, newspaper clippings (copies), and other materials documenting car companies, trucks, racing, racecars, motorcycles, and the general history of automobiles.

This volume contains extracted log entries from the Barque Autumn's whaling voyage from Stonington, Connecticut, to the Indian Ocean and South Pacific between 1845 and 1849. Captain Edwin Augustus Perry commanded the vessel. This abstract log provides a condensed version of the official log, only documenting days the crew saw or captured whales. The volume contains 48 pencil drawings of whales and whaling scenes.

This volume contains extracted log entries from the Barque Autumn's whaling voyage from Stonington, Connecticut, to the Indian Ocean and South Pacific between 1845 and 1849. Captain Edwin Augustus Perry commanded the vessel. This abstract log provides a condensed version of the official log, only documenting days the crew saw or captured whales. The coverless volume contains 24 handwritten pages with 48 pencil drawings depicting whales and whaling scenes. The author of the log is unidentified, but a laid-in slip of paper contains a written statement of recommendation for promotion of second officer Zelotes Leonard Almy from Master Edwin A. Perry. The bottom half of the last page contains financial records and notes from Mr. Almy dated 1866.

Leaving from Stonington, Connecticut on November 12, 1845, the Barque Autumn sailed south around the eastern coast of South America. After making port in Rio de Janerio in March 1846, they sailed east toward the Indian Ocean reaching the Cape of Good Hope toward the end of April 1846. By November 1846 the Autumn had sailed off the southern coast of Australia and toward New Zealand. In 1847 and 1848, the Autumn sailed across the Pacific Ocean along the equator. The log concludes off the coast of Chile.

The top of each right hand page begins with the header "Remarks on board the Barque Autumn"; later in the log this header is supplemented by " E. A. Perry Master." A typical entry appears in the following format:

[Day of the Week]

[Month, Day, Year]

[These twenty-four hours commences with…]

[…So ends the day. Latitude and Longitude coordinates]

[Sketch if applicable]

The abstract's entries follow the standard content for whaling logs, documenting wind direction, weather conditions, ship location, and crew activities. The entries include type of whales spotted, number of whales, number of whaleboats lowered, and whether or not the crew succeeded in capturing whales. The whales tended to evade capture on account of adverse weather conditions or lack of daylight. Entries made note of where and when they made port or dropped anchor. The Autumn encountered other whaling vessels and recorded their point of origin, destination, and the amount of whale products onboard. Toward the end of the expedition, the vessel stopped to trade and replenish supplies.

Besides the inherent challenges of whaling, Captain Perry faced setbacks, such as steering into a coral reef in Matavai Bay and dealing with a fire in the cargo hold set by two crewmembers during repairs (entry dated February 27, 1847). Desertions were a recurring issue, two crewmembers deserted on August 31, 1846, and by January 7, 1848, the entire crew had deserted.

The volume contains 62 entries from November 1845 to May 1849, and are broken down as follows:

• November 12

• January 3 and 28
• March 1
• April 14
• May 30
• June 5, 6, and 15
• July 1 and 15
• August 1, 6, and 31
• October 25
• November 18
• December 1, 11, 24, and 29

• February 27
• April 22
• May 2, 7, 12-14, 23, 25, 28, 29, and 31
• July 11, 17, and 26
• August 8
• September 1, 19, and 21
• October 4, 6, 7, 10, and 26
• November 15
• December one undated entry

• January 7 and 27
• March 29
• April 15
• May 6
• June 27
• July 29
• August 8
• September 10
• December 4 and 8

• January 6 and 16
• February 14
• March 24
• May 2

The 48 pencil drawings illustrate the success or failure to capture whales. The illustrations depicting a whale belly up with the head and tail above water meant that a whale was spotted or pursued, but evaded capture. Entries accompanied by a drawing showing the whale's entire body meant that a whale was captured and killed. The sketches demonstrate artistic skill in the shading of the whales and ocean waves and in panoramic whaling scenes. One illustration of interest, on page 20, depicts a whale's tail slamming down upon a whaleboat, capsizing the vessel and sending six crewmen into the ocean. The crewmembers shirts are spot colored in brown ink.

Vessels mentioned by name include:

• Spoke with Ship Ansel Gibbs (December 1, 1846).
• Spoke with Ship from New Bedford (May 7, 1847).
• Spoke with the Ship Marialah of Fairhaven (March 1, 1846).

Other entries of interest include:

• "saw plenty of wright whales but we did not lower for we did not want them" (November 18, 1846)
• "not liking the harbour we took our anchor put to sea we ware bound to pitcairns island to get potatoes when on the night of the 28th the land about 60 miles off our lee quarter six tahitian natives stole a boat and runaway it being dark they where soon out of sight we stood on diferant tacks until morning the boat not being in sight and thinking it a wild goose chase to follow them we hauled our wind to the northward" (October 26, 1847).

Professor of Public Health at the University of Michigan from 1961 to 1988, noted for research in the field of quality assessment of public health and service. Papers contain biographical material, correspondence, and material related to his research and professional activities, including studies for the Community Health Association of Detroit, Michigan and background on various publications.

The papers of Avedis Donabedian document his career as professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and in the medical research field from 1946 to 1997. The papers are divided into three series: Correspondence, Research and Professional Activities, and Biographical.

The Avery family correspondence consists of letters sent to Robert S. Avery and John Avery of Preston, Connecticut, in the mid-19th century. The letters display a strong Congregationalist religious sensibility and chronicle life in Connecticut during the pre-Civil War era.

The Avery family correspondence consists of letters sent to Robert S. Avery and John Avery of Preston, Connecticut, in the mid-19th century. The letters display a strong Congregationalist religious sensibility and chronicle life in Connecticut during the pre-Civil War era. A majority of the letters in the collection were addressed to John Avery, then a student at Yale College and, later, Yale Divinity School, from family members and friends. Avery's siblings, Robert S. Avery, Jr., and Sarah Avery, were some of John's most frequent correspondents, along with his friend James A. Darrah. Higher education was a prominent theme throughout the correspondence, and in a letter of February 14, 1842, John laid out an extensively detailed summary of his expenses at Yale for his brother Robert. The letters John received during his time in New Haven often originated from his siblings, who described weddings (February 15, 1847 et al.) and deaths, among other occurrences in their daily lives. His correspondents also displayed a pronounced religious fervor, discussing the nature of God and of Christianity in mid-19th century Connecticut; these ruminations often came to dominate their letters. Of particular interest among the religious correspondence is a lengthy letter from James A. Darrah, who described various religious denominations in Leesburg, Virginia, including Presbyterians and Methodists (June 21, 1848). John Avery received two printed commissions, dated May 1, 1851, and May 1, 1852, from the American Home Missionary Society and the Connecticut Missionary Society, both of which affirmed his position as head of the congregation of Exeter parish, in Lebanon, Connecticut.

Though the writers in the collection most frequently focused on daily life, higher education, and religion, political consciousness was not entirely absent from their thoughts. On March 22, 1841, John Avery wrote to his sister Sarah, "The Amistad captives who have been in New Haven till recently have now gone to Farmington to be brought to labor." Later, William L. Prather, one of Robert's acquaintances, provided his opinion on the Mexican War: "There is no news of importance…except the news from Mexico, which is glorious indeed, some of the most briliant [sic] victories are gained by the arms of the United States, there has been many valuable lives lost, which is to be lamented but the war with Mexico (in my humble opinion) is a just one in every sense of the word but it seems to be the opinion of every one [sic] that there will be no more fighting there now of any consequence" (April 4, 1847). Also of note is a letter dated April 11, 1848, in which F. D. Avery reported that he recently heard a "sermon by Henry W. Beecher of Brooklyn, he also preached 2 evenings. I liked him very much." Overall, the collection provides a detailed look at the religious and personal life of a Connecticut family in the mid-19th century.

Winning manuscripts of the University of Michigan's Avery Hopwood and Jule Hopwood Prizes, a creative writing scholarship program at the University of Michigan. The manuscripts, dated 1931-2019, are bound in volumes according to the corresponding competition category, and accompanied by an author index.

1931-2019 winning manuscripts of the University of Michigan's Avery Hopwood and Jule Hopwood Prizes competition (also known as the Hopwood Awards). The manuscripts are bound in volumes according to the competition category for each year (e.g., "Undergraduate Short Fiction," "Drama," "Summer Awards," etc.) The collection is accompanied by an author card index. Cards within the index are arranged in alphabetical order by last name and include information about the manuscript title, competition category, competition year, the number of the volume that contains the manuscript, and the awarded prize amount.

A Week Among the Mosquitoes photograph album (16 x 10.5 cm) contains snapshots from a July 1896 camping trip on the White River near Mt. Carmel, Indiana.

A Week Among the Mosquitoes photograph album (16 x 10.5 cm) contains 26 snapshots on 52 pages, with humorous inscriptions on many images. Six are landscapes, four are snapshots of the campsite, and sixteen are of the men camping, hunting, and fishing. The cover bears the names of the five men, plus two late joiners with more trip information on the inside cover. The back cover bears the maker’s mark of Verne E. Joy.

University of Michigan faculty dining club. Collection includes membership lists, club history, biographical material, schedules of meetings, photographs of members, and photo negetives.

History, membership lists, biographical material, schedules of meetings, and photographs of members.

Resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Consists of color slides of the 1950 fire that destroyed the University of Michigan's Old Haven Hall.

The collection consists of color slides of the 1950 fire that destroyed the University of Michigan's Old Haven Hall.

Babyfish was a radical political zine published by Detroit-based poet, anarchist, and pansexual advocate Andy Smith, also known as Sunfrog, between 1988 and 1996.

The Babyfish papers consist of a variety of zines, most with a radical, anarchist and pansexual base. The actual zine Babyfish consisted of six issues; this collection includes the latter five. Each of these issues are of varying lengths and themes, but for the most part they address radical topics concerning urban living, with a particular emphasis on the decay of inner-city Detroit. Other papers in the collection include additional radical zines, some of which were created exclusively by Sunfrog, others being collaborative efforts. The collection also includes financial receipts which have to do with the printing of Babyfish.

The title zine is rich in anarchist commentary on social, political, and economic issues that affected the United States government from the spring of 1988 until the final issue was published in the winter of 1994. The Detroit "journey" of Sunfrog is made more palatable by the collaborative efforts of regular guest artists, musicians, poets and those involved with the radical politics of the city.

"With the dynamic skills of Pat Medicine working overtime, the 'fish organized itself into thematic sections which honed recurring motifs. 'Radical Sexuality' (feminism, US Out Of My Uterus, homocore, The Radical Faeries) & 'Earth vs. The Machine' (ecological, anti-nuke, anti-car & anti-incinerator raves) appeared alongside poetry, interviews & reviews which featured such local musical talents as: Only A Mother, Yeastie Girlz, Sleep, Gories, Viv Akauldren, Roger Manning, John Bartles, The Blanks & more." (Sunfrog, Babyfish, Issue #6, p.7)

Babyfish's radical nature "clearly articulated a response to Helms-era censorship hysteria by its use of wild graphics and explicit words, encouraging cultural debate & never compromising the ethic of a "free-form" journal." (ibid.) Sunfrog clearly recognized that his efforts at expression were not definitive. In his final editorial he passes on the radical torch by saying "As we put raps on the final issue of Babyfish, it is clear that there is still an enormous amount of unpublished work which the community deserve a chance to see…this is our final entry in a prolific Cass Corridor journey." (ibid.)