Clements Library Centennial Celebration
Centennial Exhibit
Timeline
In February 1925 the Clements hosted an exhibition dedicated to the economic history of the colonial period. Featured were the newly acquired Strachey papers through a descendant of Sir Henry Strachey, who was secretary of the commission for restoring peace with America in 1774.
Colonel Lawrence Martin, Chief of the Maps Division at the Library of Congress, inspected the maps at the Clements Library on his way to Wisconsin to resolve a dispute about the state line between the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin. Martin had a strong reputation as an expert witness…
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The Clements Library hosted an exhibition of Mississippi Valley maps arranged for the Mississippi Valley Historical Association (the precursor to the American Historical Association). Following their annual meeting, the maps were exhibited to the public. Among the maps shown were a series of photographic reproductions of the manuscript maps of…
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The Clements Library held an exhibition related to Spain’s conquest of Mexico, focused on the career of Hernando Cortez. Cortez was the governor of New Spain following his conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521. The exhibit included this map of Tenochtitlan from 1524.
The Clements Library hosted an exhibition of materials related to Francisco Pizarro’s invasion of the Inca Empire and the establishment of a Spanish colony in Peru in connection with Professor A. S. Alton’s class on the history of Hispanic America. This was likely the first Clements Library exhibit created in…
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In December 1925, William Clements announced that he had acquired the papers of General Nathanael Greene and Sir Henry Clinton. The Greene Papers included 500 letters from Greene to George Washington and 50 from Washington to Greene. The Henry Clinton Papers and Nathanael Greene Papers would eventually become part of…
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The library held an exhibit focused on Benjamin Franklin featuring materials on loan from the library of the businessman and Americana collector William Smith Mason. The exhibit included materials related to Franklin’s work in the printing trades, scientific research, and correspondence with John Paul Jones, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.
The Clements Library figured prominently in tours of the University of Michigan campus that were offered during summer sessions. The purpose of the summer tours was to aid those in Ann Arbor in becoming better acquainted with the university. The tour of the Clements included taking visitors through the stacks,…
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