New Additions to the Thomas Gage Papers Digital Collection
The Clements Library Digitization Team invites you to discover additional snapshots of history in this new selection of eighteenth century manuscripts, now accessible online through our Digitized Archival Collections.
New Manuscripts and Graphics Finding Aids, January 2026
Explore collections from the Manuscripts and Graphics Divisions made available this month!
Crossword Puzzle Day
Happy National Crossword Puzzle Day to all those you dedicate their time to solving clues, cracking codes, and finding joy in every square they fill. This crossword is for you! Filled with hints and clues from the Clements library, make sure to search through our social media and website to find the answers.
New Books at the Clements: Bandits, Phrenologists, and Counterfeits
By Naomi Yu, Graduate Assistant CatalogerGraduate student book cataloger Naomi Yu has been churning out catalog records all semester, and these five publications caught her eye! Read on to learn about the adventurous Captain Jack, phrenology in the Clements collections, and famous American counterfeiters.The fate of a fairy by Ellen E. Jack [1910] In this part fiction, part fact autobiography, we learn about a gun-slinging, gold-mining adventurer by the name of Captain Jack, aka Ellen Elliot...
New Manuscripts Finding Aids, December 2025
The Manuscripts Division has published one final batch of finding aids for 2025! These materials span a variety of subjects including the Civil War and military history, automobiles, crime, tailoring, and newspaper advertising. As always, these collections are available for anyone to research!
The Clements Library at the Table and the Dance
The Clements Library’s gorgeous architecture designed by Detroit-based architect Albert Kahn has been the subject of many pieces of University of Michigan memorabilia over the years. The building has been depicted in many illustrations, photographs, and, as described here, a plate, tile, and place mat!
A Day in the Life at The Clements Library: Jayne Ptolemy
Welcome to the very first edition of “A Day in the Life at The Clements Library!” Today, we meet with Jayne Ptolemy, Associate Curator of Manuscripts.
2026-2027 Fellowship Applications are open!
The William L. Clements Library is excited to announce that applications for the 2026-2027 Research Fellowships are now open. The Library offers funded research fellowships for a wide array of projects undertaken by graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, independent researchers, creative artists, and undergraduates. All who wish to visit the library’s world-class collections of early Americana are encouraged to apply. The deadline for the 2026-2027 cycle is January 15th, 2026.As the...
Halloween Divination
A nod of the head to Robert Burns and Clara L. Walmer from the Clements Library this Halloween 2025. Over 150 years ago, in the early 1870s, the annual celebration of Halloween in the United States was fading, according to one journalist. In The True Democrat of York, Pennsylvania, they wrote that the day had once featured "extraordinary demonstrations" by young people, but that general observance was dying out, and they anticipated it would one day pass by unnoticed.1 What was Halloween to...
Photo Gallery – 2025 Haunted Histories
Last night, October 29, we hosted our third annual Haunted Histories event. Organized by student intern Sam Huck, the historic murder mystery featured a variety of activities which provided guests with clues to solve the case.