Explore these 25 new finding aids published in the summer of 2024. The collection continues to grow in exciting ways, ranging from a visually rich archive of an inventor advertising and selling his wares to the case notes kept by a woman advocating for the care of children in Washington, D.C. Should anything prove relevant to your interests, don’t hesitate to plan a research visit or contact us to learn more.
Buried within a small, leather-bound memorandum book that’s part of the Hudson’s Bay Company materials at the William L. Clements Library lies a two-page map, charted circa 1779 by John Thomas of London, depicting a consequential but nonexistent waterway connecting Lake Superior with Hudson’s Bay. The search for this fictitious waterway led to the aggressive expansion of the HBC. Read on to learn more.
The William L. Clements Library’s collections continue to grow, helping researchers and students study the rich and diverse American past. The collections described below touch on a wide range of topics, including spiritualism, crime, children and education, business, military and international affairs, and book trades and print culture. This includes the diary of Achsa W. Sprague, Etna Bittenbender’s case statements, and various drawings and penmanship books from the 1800s. Read more to see what catches your interest!
Laramy Fellow Johnathon Beecher Field recounts his visit to the Clements last fall for research for his book, The Objects of Settler Innocence. In this book, he argues that “a constellation of physical objects… work to obscure the realities of settler colonialism for its present-day beneficiaries.” This includes settler kitsch – “the ubiquitous renderings of the Anglo-Indigenous encounter as something that is impossible to take seriously.”
The Manuscripts Division of the William L. Clements Library is pleased to announce 27 new or substantially revised finding aids. With topics ranging from spiritualism to women’s service in World War II, these finding aids are a small reflection of the great depth of the holdings at the Clements that can support research and learning. This batch includes the papers of spiritualist James V. Mansfield, the Samuel and William Vernon Collection, and the J.B. Cooke Collection.
In mid-June, the William L. Clements Library offered a pilot program in conjunction with the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) for middle and high school History teachers from across the district. The workshop was designed to help expand the scope of History curricula at the K-12 level to topics that are traditionally underemphasized and to deepen the public-facing offerings and outreach of the Clements Library.
