Donor Stories: Peggy Harrington
Clements Board Member Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Harrington’s introductory experience with the Clements was during her undergraduate years at the University of Michigan. She’d walked by the building and admired its beauty, but didn’t enter until she took a geography class that brought her inside the library. Years later, as a U-M Alum and someone who knew of the Clements’ vast Americana collection, she felt compelled to donate rare materials to the Clements collections.
New Manuscripts Finding Aids, August 2026
Many manuscripts collections have been processed and made available for research, ranging from a Broadway Theaters scrapbook depicting a “School of Educated Dogs” to the papers of WWII veteran Robert S. Simpson, who helped establish a typhus hospital at the liberated Allach concentration camp. As always, all are welcome to visit the Clements to research these materials in person.
Collection Deep Dive: Florence Smith Romaine
Photographed wearing a fur coat and posing alongside three dogs, I first came across Florence in the Clements Library Image Bank. Alongside her fur coat ensemble, two more digitized photographs served as an introduction to Mrs. Romaine. These images captured her time on the stage and later in her mid to late forties, leaving us to wonder who was she in between all of those years? And who was she?
Clements Library Acquires 192 Original Revolutionary War-era Sermons, Begins Crowdfunding Campaign
The William L. Clements Library recently acquired an extraordinary archive of 192 original sermons written between 1765 and 1780 by Rev. Joseph Bowman. Held in a private collection, the existence of the papers were previously unknown. The 2,000 page hand-written collection forms a significant corpus of religious writing that coincides with the final years of the First Great Awakening and continues through the American Revolution.
New Manuscripts Finding Aids, July 2026
The Clements Library is thrilled to make another large batch of manuscript collections available for research. Included in this batch are colorful sample checks, documents penned by poet James Whitcomb Riley, and a fan diary recording celebrations of the 4th of July over the years!
A Day in the Life at the Clements Library: Diana Baxter
Welcome to the 6th edition of a Day in the Life at the Clements Library! Read on to spend a day with Diana Baxter, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Information.
Verbiest’s Complete Map of the World Pt II: The Man Behind the Map
Who was Ferdinand Verbiest and why did he create a world map?
New Graphics Division Finding Aids, June 2026
The Graphics Division has published thirteen new finding aids documenting the lives of individuals and families from the 1840s to the 1990s.
“Spy of the Cumberland”: Recognizing the Legacy of Pauline Cushman and her Historian
By Graphics Assistant Sirianna Blanck and the Graphics Department, in honor of William J. Christen, who dedicated 14 years of his life to ensure that the life of Pauline Cushman would not be lost to or obscured by history and its myths.Newly arrived at the Clements, the Pauline Cushman Collection is now available to visitors and scholars. 21 photographs highlight Miss Major Pauline Cushman (1833-1893), a famous Union spy and scout for the Cumberland Army during the Civil War. While much of her...
What’s In Your Attic 2026
Last month, we hosted a “What’s In Your Attic?” open house-style events where members of our community brought their own paper treasures (letters, journals, photographs, prints, books, and maps) for discussion with Clements Curators and guest Americana collectors. A handful of our guests generously chose to donate materials to the Clements Library at this event, here are a few of those newly donated acquisitions!