Clements Library Centennial Celebration
Centennial Exhibit
Timeline
The Clements Library hosted an exhibit of materials related to Early American printing, including the “Doctrina Breve … copuestra par el Reveredissimo S. do fray Jua Cumarraga,” printed in Mexico in 1544. Considered the earliest surviving complete book printed in the Americas, it was a catechism printed in Mexico City…
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A series of etchings by Albert Rosenthal were exhibited in January. The exhibit displayed etchings of famous American and British statesmen, generals, politicians, and adventurers during the Revolutionary War.
The Clements featured in a campus film shown to 500 alumni. Originally planned as a means of bringing alumni in closer contact with the University, the film was later scheduled to be shown at alumni gatherings throughout the country. It was filmed under the direction of the Metropolitan Moving Picture…
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William Clements purchased the papers of General Thomas Gage (British Commanding General for North America from 1763-1775) in January 1930, and director Randolph Adams went to collect them in March. Mr. Clements concluded his negotiations with Lord Gage quite swiftly. After the sale was completed, Gage remarked that he was…
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William Clements acquired a series of letters, diaries, and other documents created by Hessian officers hired by the British during the Revolutionary War, a collection that was discovered after having been locked in a trunk in Castle Hueffe in German Westphalia for nearly 150 years. These manuscripts had never been…
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Ann Arbor was the meeting place for the National Academy of Science for the first time, which included a tea hosted at the Clements. William Clements and wife Florence, Randolph Adams and wife Helen, and Frederick Novy and wife Grace received the guests, among which was physicist Karl T. Compton…
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After unsuccessfully running for re-election to the University of Michigan Board of Regents in February 1933, William Clements in December announced his retirement for the following year. He had served the university for 24 years as a member of the Board of Regents.
In November, the Clements held an exhibit on the practice and history of forgery. The library displayed famous forgeries of historical documents, including the Columbus letter, the letters of Washington, Cotton Mather’s Map of New England, and the famed Vicksburg Citizen wallpaper edition. The exhibit was so popular it was…
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On November 6, 1934, William Clements died in Bay City at 73 years of age of a heart attack. Following his death, Clements’ personal collection of maps, manuscripts, prints, and books in Bay City was designated to be donated to the Clements Library. However, when the will was submitted to…
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On November 29, 1934, the Detroit Trust Co. announced that the remaining collection of historical materials in the possession of the late William Clements, worth $400,000, was donated to the university. Clements’ home and its contents were left to his children, and his son-in-law, Harry S. Finkenstaedt, along with the…
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