Staff Favorite: Helen Ledyard Drawing Book
Helen Ledyard Drawing Book, 1881-1891.Barbara DeWolfe, Curator of Manuscripts, has worked at the Clements Library since 1999. One of her favorite items from the Manuscripts Division is the drawing book of Helen Ledyard, a young woman who lived in New York in the late nineteenth century. This volume is filled with watercolor, pencil, and ink drawings, depicting many scenes of everyday life. Viewed through one girl's eyes, these ordinary activities take on an air of liveliness and fun. The...
Today in History: Thanksgiving
Guest post by JJ Jacobson, Curator of American Culinary HistoryIf Americans have any one person to thank for the Thanksgiving holiday, it is Sarah Josepha Buell Hale. Hale waged a decades-long campaign for the establishment of a national Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday of November.She was born Sarah Josepha Buell on October 24th, 1788 in Newport, New Hampshire.She was educated at home, with tutoring in Latin, philosophy, English, and classical literature by her brother while he was a...
Afternoon with the Curators at the Clements Library, December 7, 2010
Afternoon with the Curators at the Clements LibraryTuesday, December 7, 20104:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Please join the staff of the Clements Library as they highlight the current exhibit, Sugar in the Atlantic World: Trade and Taste, 1657-1940. (Exhibit runs until February 18, 2010, Monday-Friday, 1:00-4:45 p.m.) Free and open to the public. For more information, call the Clements Library at 734-764-2347.
Current Exhibit: Artistry and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Sheet Music
Selections from the William L. Clements LibraryA new exhibit from the William L. Clements Library showcases examples from the library’s collection of sheet music, which is currently being cataloged thanks to a grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas foundation.The publication and circulation of sheet music expanded quickly throughout the 1800s. Music publishers were quick to embrace new printing technologies as they developed, and sheet music became a relatively fast and inexpensive means of...
Lecture by J. Kevin Graffagnino: “A Hard Founding Father to Love: Ira Allen of Vermont,” November 11, 2010
"A Hard Founding Father to Love: Ira Allen of Vermont"J. Kevin Graffagnino, Director of the Clements Library 4:00 PM, Thursday, November 11, 2010Main Room, Clements Library909 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MIEvery American frontier has attracted ambitious individuals with grand dreams of empire, complicated get-rich schemes, and remarkably flexible ethics, and Ira Allen is the Green Mountain archetype of the breed. Please join Clements Library Director Kevin Graffagnino as he delves into Ira...
Recent Acquisition: Strachey Papers Purchased at Copley Auction
William L. Clements Library Purchases Significant Collection of Revolutionary War Papers: Sometimes good things really do come to those who wait--and who never give upImage from New York Times article about the Strachey papers.On October 15, the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan purchased the Sir Henry Strachey Collection, an important British figure who was a leader in Revolutionary War peace negotiations and diplomacy. The collection was purchased at the...
Current Exhibit: “Sugar in the Atlantic World: Trade and Taste,” October 18, 2010–February 18, 2011
Sugar in the Altantic World: Trade and TasteOctober 18, 2010 - February 18, 2011Main Room, Clements Library909 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MIMonday through Friday, 1:00-4:45 pmCurated by JJ JacobsonA new exhibit at the Clements Library showcases a selection of its materials for studying sugar's social, economic, political and culinary history. "Sugar in the Atlantic World: Trade and Taste" opened to the public on October 18, 2010 and will be on display through February 18, 2011.Sugar was...
Lecture by Jan Longone: “The Old Girl Network”: Charity Cookbooks and the Empowerment of Women, October 19, 2010
The University of Michigan Institute for Research on Women and Gender presents a lecture by Janice Longone: "The Old Girl Network": Charity Cookbooks and the Empowerment of Women Tuesday, October 19, 2010 3:00 PM-4:30 PM 2239 Lane Hall Published by women in nonprofit groups across the country, "charity cookbooks" have been produced since the 1860s, benefiting churches, schools, sororities, the homeless, and others in need. Janice Longone is the curator of American Culinary History at the...
Today in History: Columbus Day
When Columbus returned from his 1492 voyage to the New World, he reported his discoveries in a letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Editions of this letter were printed in major cities across Europe, spreading the news of his travels. This book is significant as the first printed account of the New World. The copy owned by the Clements Library, one of its greatest treasures, is the Rome edition of 1493. It was translated into Latin by Gabriel Sanchez and printed by Stephen Plannck. The...
International Spelling Reform Day
The Spelling Society was founded in 1908 as the Simplified Spelling Society. Its aims are to "[raise] awareness of the problems caused by the irregularity of English spelling and to promote remedies to improve literacy, including spelling reform." In 1980, the Spelling Society declared September 30 to be International Spelling Reform Day. Its motto was "Thirty days hath September - Spelling Reform to remember!"This was far from the first effort to simplify English spelling. Since at least the...