$150,000 Challenge Grant Announced
Help us to purchase important documents of the early history of the United States by doubling the value of your donation.A generous anonymous donor presented a remarkable opportunity that will benefit the Clements Library in many ways for years to come. One of the nation's greatest private collections of Americana is being auctioned off over the next year and we have an anonymous benefactor who has offered $150,000 as a one-to-one challenge match to purchase rare items for our library.We need...
Highlights from the Culinary Archive on Display in the Audubon Room
From the University of Michigan Record Update for Wednesday, June 9, 2010: Jan Longone and Provost Theresa Sullivan at a reception to honor the Longones' donation of their culinary collection to the William L. Clements Library. Materials donated by Daniel and Janice Longone form the core of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive, a collection of primary sources devoted to the subject of food history in America. At the reception sponsored by the Provost at the Hatcher Graduate Library on...
Staff Favorite: 1743 Book on Longitude by Woman Scientist
A proposal to determine our longitude, by Jane Squire. London, 1743. Rare Book Cataloger Oksana Linda, who came to the Library in 1998, is particularly fond of this little-known book on longitude by Jane Squire. Bound in calf leather, this volume is beautifully embellished with a centerpiece onlay of black leather, tooled with figures relating to formulae printed in the text. Such elaborate decoration is unusual for such an obscure work, self-published by a female scientist in the 18th...
In the News: Longones to be Honored for Culinary Archive
The University of Michigan Record Update features an article by Frank Provenzano, "Donors of American Culinary History Collection to be Honored." Janice and Daniel Longone, donors of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the William L. Clements Library, will be honored on June 8 in a ceremony at the Hatcher Graduate Library. Select items from the culinary collection will be on display in the Audubon Room at the Hatcher Graduate Library, June 1-28, include the first cookbook...
32nd Annual Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair, Sunday, May 16, 2010
Thirty Second Annual Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book FairSunday, May 16, 11:00-5:00Admission: $5.00Location: Michigan UnionBallroom, 2nd Floor530 S. State St.List of booksellers planning to attend the fair. For more information call: West Side Book Shop (734) 995-1891annarborbookfair.comSponsored by the Ann Arbor Antiquarian Booksellers AssociationA benefit for the William L. Clements Library
Staff Favorite: Tapa Cloth from Captain Cook’s Voyages
Alexander Shaw, A catalogue of the different specimens of cloth collected in the three voyages of Captain Cook, to the southern hemisphere (London, 1787).Clements Library conservator Julie Fremuth has worked at the Library for 21 years. One of her favorite items from the collection is this book of Polynesian tapa cloth samples, gathered during the voyages of the 18th century English explorer Captain James Cook. As an artist, Julie finds inspiration in the vivid colors, patterns, and textures...
From the Stacks: Japanese Books and Manuscripts at the Clements Library
Regular contributor Emiko Hastings, Assistant Curator of Books, will be on vacation in Japan for the next two weeks. While American history (broadly defined) is the main focus of the Clements Library collections, researchers may be surprised to discover materials representing other cultures here as well. Such items might come to the Library as part of larger collections or because of connections to American history that may not be readily apparent. One example of this is the small but...
Adopt a Piece of History: Recent Acquisitions and Conservation
"Tradition fades but the written record remains ever fresh." Our Adopt a Piece of History asks people to fund purchases and conservation at the Clements Library. There are many books, manuscripts, maps, and visual materials that we should add to the collection, and some of our holdings require expert repair because of fragility and age. Please consider a gift to the Clements Library to purchase an item or to conserve an item so that you can adopt a piece of history. Your contribution will...
Founder’s Day Celebration: Happy Birthday, Mr. Clements!
On April 1, the Clements Library celebrates the birth of our founder, William L. Clements (1861-1934). This tradition was first recorded in the Clements Library Annual Report for 1937-1938: "Our new period started with the ceremony which in years to come we hope may become one of the Library's traditions. On April 1, 1938, the anniversary of Mr. Clements' birth, there was a formal meeting at the Library of members of Mr. Clements' family, some of his own intimate friends, and...
From the Stacks: The Hooke Journal’s Catch Tunes
In the 18th century, paper was scarce. Journals and diaries were commonly used, and re-used, for multiple purposes and by multiple people. One of my favorite examples of this practice is the Hooke journal, which belonged to a British Army officer named George Philip Hooke, who served with the 1st Battalion Grenadiers. From 1779-1780, Hooke recorded his battalion’s movements from New York to Georgia, describing their landing at St. Simons Island, Georgia, and Siege of Charleston. While the...