Recent Acquisitions: Iconic Images of Custer’s Last Stand
The Clements Library has acquired two prints depicting Custer's last stand: John Mulvany's "Custer's Last Rally" (1881) and Cassily Adams' "Custer's Last Fight" (1885). These two iconic images provide the best known representations of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Both of these images were widely copied and distributed. As can be seen from the text on the Adams print, it was reproduced by the Anheuser Busch brewing company, which distributed it to saloons across America and...
Today in History: Kicking Off the UM Football Season at the Clements
To celebrate the opening of the University of Michigan 2009 football season, we offer this selection of football-related items from the Clements Library collection.University Foot-Ball: The Play of Each Position Treated by a College Expert, 1893This book, edited by James R. Church, includes portraits of players, illustrations of plays, and diagrams.Foot Ball Rules: As Recommended to the University Athletic Club by the Rules Committee, 1896This pamphlet, part of the Spaulding's athletic library...
Kerrytown BookFest, September 13, 2009
The 7th Annual Kerrytown BookFest will be held in and around the Farmers’ Market in Ann Arbor on Sunday, September 13, 2009. The theme of this year’s Fest is Culinary History and Culinary Michigan. Clements Curator of American Culinary History Jan Longone will be honored with the KBF’s Community Book Award. The Award will be presented by Ari Weinzweig, Honorary Chair of the 2009 Fest and co-founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses.Following the Award presentation Jan will moderate a...
The Clements Library Has a New Sign!
On Friday, August 21, workers installed a blue University of Michigan sign in front of the Clements Library. We hope this will increase our visibility and make it easier for visitors to find us on S. University Avenue.Visitors are welcome to come in the front door of the library and see the Main Room on Monday through Thursday from 1:00 pm to 4:45 pm, and by special arrangement. Stop by and see the current exhibit, 1759: Britain's Year of Victories.
Five Ways to Use Google Books for Historical Research
The University of Michigan is partnering with Google on the Michigan Digitization Project to scan the print collection of the University Library. Scanned books from the University of Michigan can be searched in the Mirlyn library catalog and on Google Book Search. Google Book Search, which searches the full text of millions of books, will provide snippets of page results from copyrighted works and full text results for materials that are out of copyright. Although the Clements Library is not...
A Tradition of Giving: Adopt a Piece of History
During the last 86 years, through the generosity of the University of Michigan and many important donors and leaders, the Clements has come to stand for excellence in the study of America history. But we are now beginning to write the story of the Clements in the 21st Century. We are starting a new program, Adopt a Piece of History, that asks people to fund purchases and conservation at the Clements. There are many books, manuscripts, maps and visual materials that we desire to add to the...
Recent Culinary Acquisition: Lone Star Cook Book
The Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive has recently acquired the Lone Star Cook Book and Meat Special: From the Slaughter Pen to the Dining Room Table, by A. Fillmore (1929). A. Fillmore, an African American man from Texas whose father was also in the restaurant business, worked for hotels, cafes, and two railroad company dining car services during his thirty-year career. This book contains recipes and menus from Lubbock Hotel, Texas, where he was a chef. He writes, "I was born in...
Clements Library Online Exhibits
In addition to regular exhibits in the Main Room of the library, the Clements also offers a variety of online exhibits through the library website. These are listed on the Exhibits page of the library website, along with the current and past exhibits presented in the library. Online exhibits provide a portal into the collections of the Clements Library, bringing together a variety of manuscripts, prints, photographs, books, and maps on a particular theme. For those who can't come to the...
Introducing the New Library Catalog
The University of Michigan Library has officially launched the new Mirlyn catalog this month. The new catalog is designed to make searching easier and more intuitive. To search for Clements Library materials in the new catalog, select "William L. Clements Library" from the drop-down menu at the top of the page. Books, maps, and some manuscript collections are available through this catalog. To search for more manuscript collections, see the Manuscripts Division finding aids. In the new Mirlyn,...
Recently published: “Michigan’s Bibliomaniac,” by J. Kevin Graffagnino
The latest electronic issue of Fine Books & Collections contains a new article written by the Clements Library director, J. Kevin Graffagnino. "Michigan's Bibliomaniac" provides a history of William L. Clements as a collector, from his early years to the founding of the William L. Clements Library in 1923. The great collection he built still forms the core of the Clements Library today, among the best collections of early Americana in the world.