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European correspondent for Time and Fortune magazines, 1945-1985. Letters to his parents concerning in part his student life at the University of Michigan in the 1940s, his war-time experiences as a naval officer in the Pacific theatre during World War II, and his career as a journalist in Europe from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s; student writings; dispatches written for Time and Fortune; and photographs.

The Robert Ball papers are roughly divided into two subgroups according to the focus of material, personal or professional. Within this framework, the personal papers are arranged in series by type then by chronological order. The professional papers are arrayed in strict chronological order regardless of type, except for the cassette tapes which stand as a distinct series. Ball's organization of the materials in binders both necessitated and facilitated strict adherence to chronology in ordering the professional papers. The researcher should note that the division of materials into personal and professional groups can not be absolute given the dual nature of reportorial writing. Such writing is both personal and professional. Some blurring of the categories is evident, especially for the years 1948 to 1951 when Ball's nascent career did not permit rigid distinctions to be drawn in the materials.

Gideon O. Whittemore family of Pontiac and Tawas City, Michigan. Business and personal correspondence of Whittemore, his wife, their son James O. Whittemore, and other members of the Whittemore, Mack, and Abram Mathews families; also business and legal documents, sermons, photographs, and miscellaneous papers, covering family matters, Tawas City, Michigan (which the family founded), lumbering, journey of the Mormons across the United States and settlement in Salt Lake City, Utah, University of Michigan and its branches, and family genealogy.

The papers date from 1817 to 1978, and include correspondence, business papers, deeds, genealogical materials, photographs and other papers of Gideon O. Whittemore, his wife, their son James Olin Whittemore and other member of the Whittemore, Mack, Harlow, and Abram Mathews families. Letters of Temperance Mack and Almira Covey document in part the journey of the Mormons across the United States and settlement in Salt Lake City. Other papers relate to activities in Tawas City (which the family founded), lumbering interests, and other business matters. A portion of the papers of James Olin Whittemore pertain to his activities as a student at the University of Michigan, class of 1846.

The Whittemore family collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Other Family papers; Genealogical records; Temperance Mack letters and related; Individual Whittemore family members; Photographs; and Business and professional ledgers and daybooks.