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Adopt a Piece of History

Honor a loved one or commemorate a special event with a tribute through our Adopt a Piece of History program. Your gift will be acknowledged via a virtual bookplate. Digital bookplates are flexible and can bear the name of the individual being honored or remembered, as well as the name of the thoughtful donor. Your support strengthens our collections by helping with acquisitions, conservation, digitization and other priorities of the Clements Library.

Virtual Bookplates Gallery

This digital and commemorative program is a wonderful way to convey your personal commitment to the study of history and preservation of past knowledge and voices. Adoptions are an excellent way to commemorate an occasion, celebrate a milestone, or honor a great achievement.

Please explore the available tributes highlighted below!

Do you have something in particular in mind? We are always happy to help identify more historical materials needing support that are meaningful to yourself or a loved one. To discuss your ideas or if you have any other questions, please contact:

Anne Bennington-Helber, Assistant Director of Development
abhelber@umich.edu / 734-649-3370

We are seeking contributors to help offset the costs of unhinging and re-boxing approximately 11,600 manuscripts in 232 volumes of the Henry Clinton Papers. This donation of $500 will support the conservation of Volumes 17-19, which includes documents dated June through December 1776.

Conservation of the Henry Clinton papers (1736-1850), Volumes 17-19

$500 | Conservation, Manuscripts

We are seeking contributors to help offset the costs of unhinging and re-boxing approximately 11,600 manuscripts in 232 volumes of the Henry Clinton Papers. A donation of $500 will support the conservation of Volumes 20-22, materials dated January through August 1777. This grouping contains Clinton's account of the Battle of White Plains and a description of the Battle of Saratoga.

Conservation of the Henry Clinton papers (1736-1850), Volumes 20-22

$500 | Conservation, Manuscripts

Cabinet card issued just after the Emancipation Proclamation, featuring an allegorical Liberty figure with broken shackles hanging around her neck.

“Liberty” Cabinet Card. ca. 1863.

$550 | Graphics

William Arnold asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer not to remove his royal pension, which was granted to the family after Benedict Arnold's death. Arnold praised the loyalty of his father and mother to the Crown during the American Revolution and mentioned the "unfavorable influence" their abandonment of the American cause had on the family fortunes.

Wm Fitch Arnold ALS to the Right Hon T. Spring Rice. Little Missenden Abbey, (England), November 29, 1837.

$550 | Manuscripts

This daguerreotype, in a plain brown morocco leather case, depicts James Valentine Mansfield, a founder of the American spiritualist movement, with his wife Mary Hopkinson Mansfield and their son John Worthington Mansfield. It is the only known daguerreotype of the Mansfields.

Cased Half-Plate Daguerreotype of the Mansfield Family, ca. 1855.

$700 | Graphics, Manuscripts

This ambrotype in a 7” x 8” plain wine morocco leather case depicts spiritualist James Valentine Mansfield with his wife Mary Hopkinson Mansfield, and their children John Worthington Mansfield and Mary Gertrude Mansfield. It is the only known portrait of the complete Mansfield family.

Cased Whole Plate Ambrotype of the Mansfield Family, ca. 1860.

$700 | Graphics, Manuscripts

A German translation of Jesse James, the Life and Daring Adventures of This Bold Highwayman and Bank Robber and His No Less Celebrated Brother, Frank James. Only copy listed in Worldcat of this German-American imprint. A striking example of Western Americana, in original printed paper wrappers.

“Jesse James: Das Leben und die verwegenen Abenteuer” 1887.

$850 | Books

Eight incoming letters to Scotland-born Anne Dickson Porritt and her husband David Porritt in England, between 1849 and 1859. They received the letters from siblings who had emigrated to New York and Wisconsin, capturing their perspectives on immigration to the United States, the class-divided society, labor, industry, wages, child rearing, hired servants, land speculation, and other subjects.

Anne Dickson Porritt Family Letters, 1849-1859.

$850 | Manuscripts

Richly detailed descriptions of religious revivals in Freeport, Maine, in 1816 form the heart of this collection. Providing first-hand accounts of personal religious convictions as well as church meetings and public lectures, the Townsend family collection is ripe for research into religion and revival in early national America. A ledger and other financial documents give further insight into the family.

John, Joseph, and Alvan Townsend Family Collection, Freeport, Maine, 1802-1893 (bulk 1802-1827). 20 items.

$850 | Manuscripts