Politics Past: Political Prints and Social Satires in the Graphics Division
As our nation cycles through a particularly contentious political year, the collections of the Clements Library remind us that this is not the first time. Evidence of political pyrotechnics from past elections can be found across all divisions of the Clements Library. Smoldering in the print collection are examples of the political broadsides that were popular in the 19th century. These entertaining lithographs and engravings were sold mostly in urban areas at booksellers, stationery stores,...
Clements Library Acquires Previously Unknown Plan of 1790 Detroit
It seems as if the Director and curators of the Clements Library are always searching—searching for new documentation to make accessible to scholars; searching for collections or parts of collections that they know or hope are still “out there” in the hands of descendants, local and national Americana dealers, or private collectors. To this end the curators carefully examine dozens of catalogs each month and make recommendations to the Director, who then decides what we can afford....
Ann Arbor Art Fair, July 21-24, 2016
The annual Ann Arbor Art Fair returns this week, and the city's downtown will be transformed as over 1,000 artists set up booths alongside food vendors, performers, and artist demonstrators. The Fair runs from Thursday, July 21st to Sunday, July 24th, and the Clements Library finds itself right at the heart of it all with artists literally at our doorstep.Hopefully the Ann Arbor Art Fair won't be quite as chaotic as the scene depicted in our hand-colored 1734 copy of William Hogarth's print,...
From the Stacks: Mosquitoes
Balmy summer weather has finally arrived in Ann Arbor, and the staff at the Clements Library are enjoying the season's warmth and sunshine. The joys of sipping lemonade in the shade and lounging in hammocks are tempered by the less popular harbingers of summer-- mosquitoes. Mosquito-borne illnesses continue to plague the modern world, with West Nile, Zika virus, malaria, and dengue fever still making news headlines. While the resources at our disposal to try to mitigate and prevent the spread...
New Additions to Exhibit on Clements Library Collecting
Tobias Lear, A Minute Account of the Last Sickness and Death of George Washington, Mount Vernon, Virginia: December 14, 1799. Tobias Lear Papers.Just inside the great bronze doors of the Clements Library, visitors will find an exhibit about the collecting history of the institution. "Clements Library: A Century of Collecting, 1903-2016" uses original examples of Americana from the collection to show how Clements and the four directors who have guided the place since 1923 built up the Library's...
From the Stacks: Flag Day
By Emiko Hastings, Curator of BooksIn honor of Flag Day, we share a variety of U.S. flag-related imagery from across the Clements Library collections. Flag Day, established by President Woodrow Wilson, in 1916, commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14th, 1777.Addie Guthrie Weaver, The Story of Our Flag, Colonial and National: With Historical Sketch of the Quakeress, Betsy Ross (Chicago, 1898). The Book Division includes a variety of printed materials...
New Online Exhibit: “So Once Were We”: Death in Early America
"So Once Were We": Death in Early AmericaMortality is a useful lens through which we may view many aspects of early American society. "So Once Were We": Death in Early America explores American practices and traditions for coping with death, from the early years of European exploration and discovery to the early 20th century and the burgeoning modern funeral industry."So Once Were We" is a partial line from a once-common verse, which has many variations. One, from a Civil War-era tombstone in...
Today in History: The Stamp Act Repeal, March 18, 1766
Guest post by Kayla Carucci, Book Division student assistant and graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Information. With the move from Ellsworth back to campus finally complete, the Clements staff and volunteers grow more excited by the day for the reopening of the reading room. Relocating the collections served as a reminder of how vast and varied the Clements Library holdings are.A five shilling stamp from the Thomas Gage Papers, William L. Clements Library, The University...
From the Stacks: Santa Claus
The Clements staff are busy packing offices and preparing collections for our move back to campus, an all-encompassing task that makes the days pass far too quickly. We take this opportunity to step back from bubble wrap and boxes to reflect on the magic of the holidays.The spirit of generosity that characterizes so much of this season is not only reflected in the exchange of gifts and the gathering of loved ones but also in the special efforts to heighten children's excitement and wonder....
Giving Blueday at the Clements Library
Today the University of Michigan is hosting Giving Blueday, a university-wide campaign to participate in the growing tradition of Giving Tuesday, a global day of generosity to mark the opening of the holiday season. All of us at the Clements Library would like to invite you to join in this initiative. Your support enables us to build and preserve our world-class collection of early Americana. For Giving Blueday you can choose from a number of different funds that advance our mission to collect...