Student Curators discuss collaborative process developing ‘No, not even for a picture’ online exhibit
In 2020, University of Michigan students Veronica Cook Williamson and Lindsey Willow Smith worked with Clements Library staff and others—through a pandemic—to produce a new online exhibition examining early photography of Native Americans. In this guest post, Williamson and Smith walk us through the technical and intellectual aspects of developing the project this year. *** The 1864 carte de visite portrait of Wa-Kan-O-Zhan-Zhan is smaller than it looks on a computer...
New Virtual Exhibition Reexamines Photography of Midwest Native People, Tribes
Group portrait of five unidentified Ojibwa Indian men wearing mixtures of western and traditional clothing posing outside tree bark wigwam at White Earth Indian Reservation, Minnesota. Photography can be a tool of colonialism, as well as a tool of sovereignty and self-identification.With this principle at heart, the student creators of a new online exhibition investigate the complex balance between violation of privacy and the quest for self-identification felt by Native peoples during the...
Empire and Encounter at Detroit: “Habitants,” Hired Labor, and the Enslaved
Guest post by Jonathan Quint, University of Michigan Department of History PhD candidate and Clements Library Intern. This second blog post in a three-part series titled “Empire and Encounter at Detroit” (read part 1) 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 of Detroit’s siege by...
Virtual discussion: histories of race, gender, and the practice of citizenship
What makes someone a citizen of the United States? The Fourteenth Amendment appears to provide a clear answer: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.” But until the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, the Constitution said very little about citizenship, aside from Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4, which reserves to Congress the right to establish a “Rule of...
A picture is worth a thousand words: Illustrations from the Clements in “The History of Cartography Volume 4”
Mary Pedley, Assistant Map Curator at the Clements Library, is co-editor with Matthew H. Edney of The History of Cartography Volume 4: Cartography in the European Enlightenment (University of Chicago Press 2019). * * * The old adage about pictures and words has provided the editors of the History of Cartography Project with the formula for book design ever since the reference series, The History of Cartography, first appeared in 1984. A reference work on mapmaking must have maps...
Empire and Encounter at Detroit
Guest post by Jonathan Quint, University of Michigan Department of History PhD candidate and Clements Library Intern * * * In the wake of British military forces who took formal possession of Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit (Detroit) on November 11, 1760, came peddlers, merchants, and would-be fur traders from all corners of the Thirteen Colonies, Great Britain, and the wider British Atlantic world. Drawn westward by the allure of fur trade profits, these men entered as newcomers a...
Jonathan Chase Papers Transcriptions and New Volunteer Opportunity
The William L. Clements Library would like to extend its sincere thanks to the Sarah Caswell Angell Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) for volunteering to transcribe the Revolutionary War papers of Col. Jonathan Chase, of the 13th and 15th Regiments of the New Hampshire Militia. The letters and documents that make up Col. Chase's papers provide a vivid picture of military supplies, expenses, and recruitment, with regimental...
Clements Library staff adapts to the remote workplace
Working from home during a global pandemic poses many challenges, and adapting to remote work environments calls for flexibility and creativity. This is especially true for places like the Clements Library, where our security measures and workflows require our materials to stay safely on-site. While we have been separated from the collections that drive our work, our staff has pivoted in many ways to remain productive—underscoring how much behind-the-scenes work is ongoing to...
Digitization supported by Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps
To create a digital archive is an expensive endeavor. The Clements Library is deeply committed to sharing its rich collections with an ever-wider audience, but the queue of material is long and resources limited. Pockets of the collection would not see cyber-light were it not for the helpful boost that a donor can provide. We are particularly grateful for support from California map dealer Barry Ruderman, who has provided the funds for the continued digitizing of manuscript maps in...
New and Improved Finding Aids: Spring 2020
The Clements Library is pleased to announce that the following collections are now described online. These materials may be requested for use in the reading room when we are able to resume library services. Before planning your research visit, please contact us to verify in advance if our normal open hours for researchers have resumed. * * * Henry Murfey letter book (1855-1856) - Processed by Cari Griffin The Henry Murfey letter book contains copies of 12 letters addressed to Henry, of...