Clements Library announces 2021 Fellowship Awards
The Clements Library is delighted to announce its list of research fellowship awardees for 2021-22. Because of the backlog in research visits from last year’s fellowship cohort due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we pushed our application deadline back this year, from January 15 to March 1. Even so, we received close to 100 applications, our highest number ever. From this extraordinarily strong pool, we were able to award 23 fellowships to scholars from 14 states and the District of Columbia, as...
New Manuscripts Finding Aids: Spring 2021
The Clements Library is pleased to announce that the following collections are now described online and may be requested for use in the reading room. (The Clements Library is currently open by appointment only for U-M faculty, students and staff.) Before planning your research visit, please verify in advance if our normal open hours for researchers have resumed. For all researchers, we are happy to schedule a video consultation instead of a visit to the library. Please email us at...
New and Improved Graphics Finding Aids: Spring 2021
The Clements Library is pleased to announce that the following collections are now described online and may be requested for use in the reading room. (The Clements Library is currently open by appointment only for U-M faculty, students, and staff.) Before planning your research visit, please verify in advance if our normal open hours for researchers have resumed. For all researchers, we are happy to schedule a video consultation instead of a visit to the library. Please email us at...
NEH grant awarded to digitize popular Revolutionary War manuscript collection
The University of Michigan William L. Clements Library has been awarded a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to digitize one of our largest and most utilized collections. The funds will support a three-year-long effort to digitize over 23,000 items related to Thomas Gage, a famed British commander-in-chief in the early days of the American Revolution who was also the governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1774 to 1775. "Multiplying modes of access to our...
“Americana is a Creed” publication now available to order
In the spring of 2019, former Clements Library director Kevin Graffagnino proposed the idea of a book project which would be the sequel to the Clements’ 2017 publication The Pioneer Americanists: Early Collectors, Dealers, and Bibliographers. While The Pioneer Americanists consisted of a curated collection of autobiographical and biographical entries of some of the most noteworthy 19th century American librarians, bibliographers, book collectors, and dealers, this next title would focus on...
United Sons of Salem Benevolent Society Minute Book Transcriptions
The William L. Clements Library would like to announce the completion of transcriptions for the United Sons of Salem Benevolent Society Minute Book, which documents the business proceedings of a mid-19th century organization. A hybrid of an insurance agency and charitable operation, the United Sons bound together members of the African American community of Salem, New Jersey, providing a social network, a financial safety net, and support in the event of illness or death.United Sons of Salem...
“Framing Identity” exhibition examines Black empowerment, resilience through 19th century photography
Frederick Douglass once said: "Poets, prophets, and reformers are all picture-makers—and this ability is the secret of their power and of their achievements. They see what ought to be by the reflection of what is, and endeavor to remove the contradiction."Douglass left ample proof of this belief, using the power of his own image in the fight to abolish slavery. He is often recognized as the most photographed American of the 19th century. It begs the question: What archival evidence...
New Finding Aids and Subject Guides: January 2021
The Clements Library is pleased to announce that the following collections are now described online and two new Subject Guides have been published to our website. Subject Guides highlight selected areas of strength in the collections and advice for researchers. The Clements is open by appointment only for U-M faculty, students, and staff. (Learn how to make an appointment.) All researchers are invited to schedule a video consultation to discuss possibilities for completing their...
New Collections Available for Transcription
We welcome new volunteers to join our ongoing transcription project on FromThePage. Three collections have recently been added and are available for transcription. In addition, the German Auxiliaries Muster Rolls are still awaiting further work, for those who like an extra challenge. Follow the links below to join the project: Lydia Maria Child Papers: Personal letters written by Lydia Maria Child, a writer, abolitionist, and women’s rights activist. They concentrate on the period...
Empire and Encounter at Detroit: Native Nations, Native Labor
Guest post by Jonathan Quint, University of Michigan Department of History PhD candidate and Clements Library Intern. This third blog post in a three-part series titled “Empire and Encounter at Detroit” (read part 1 and part 2) uses James Sterling’s letter book to enter the world of early 1760s Detroit, as the British Empire sought to exert power and influence in territories newly won from New France in the Seven Years War. From mundane packing of fur bales to a dramatic narration...