The Biographical and Personal Materials series contains articles and correspondence. Also included are other personal papers relating to the purchase of a lot, and the settling of his estate after his death. In 1972, Merle Hanson, a doctoral candidate in the School of Music, requested Viola Mattern's and Shirley Smith's permission to base his dissertation on Professor Mattern's career, and his proposal is included here.
3.5 linear feet (in 5 boxes)
The David Earl Mattern Papers document Mattern's education and career from 1905 to his death in 1959. The collection is organized in four series: Biographical and Personal Materials, Education, Professional Career, and Photographs. Topics covered extensively in this collection include the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club, the Extension Orchestra, and Mattern's activities during the university's Summer Session.
Education consists of grade cards from Mattern's late high school years, some class notes from Cornell, and his summer session degree in music for public schools.