Search

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, was a federal unemployment relief program designed to put single young men to work during the Great Depression. The CCC employed over 2.5 million men between 1933 and 1942, including 250,000 African Americans, who served in segregated companies. This collection is comprised of 60 photographs, 48 photographic negatives, and digitized images of CCC African American enrollees assigned to work in Michigan companies, including Company 670, Camp Bitely, Company 2695, Camp Free Soil, and and Camp Wahalla.

The collection is comprised of images of the Civilian Conservation Corps African American enrollees from 1933 to 1939. Materials were received by the Bentley in 2016 and in 2018.

The 2016 acquisition includes portrait-style photographs of predominantly unidentified men, assigned to work in Michigan company/camps including Company 670, Camp Bitely, project F-22 and Company 2695, Camp Free Soil, most likely, project F-7.

The title of each photograph was taken from the photograph's inscription, when applicable. All photographs titled "unidentified" had no identifying information, but may have been labeled with a date. After the photographs were digitized and became available online, some of the people depicted on the photographs have been identified by the public.

In 2018, Ray Lyons Jr. donated additional materials that were collected by his father, Ray Lyons Sr., a former member of the CCC. Mr. Lyons Jr. donated additional 30 photographs, 48 negative images, and a small number of clippings to the collection. The images depict African American members of the CCC at a number of locations, including Camp Bitely, Camp Free Soil, and Camp Walhalla. The pictures also document CCC projects such as the building of a Fire Lookout Tower, the clearing of fields and woods, and the construction of a stump fence.

The records of the Division of Research Development and Administration (1919-1996) encompass the DRDA and all of its predecessor organizations, including the Department of Engineering Research, the Engineering Research Institute, the University of Michigan Research Institute, and the Office of Research Administration. Record types include correspondence, topical subject files, research grant files, meeting minutes, financial records, and photographs.

The records of the Division of Research Development and Administration (1919-1996) encompass both the DRDA and all of its predecessor organizations. The papers have been divided into seven major series: Governing and Oversight Bodies (1919-1964), Staff and Committee Records (ca. 1922-1979), Administrative Files (1922-1972), Correspondence Files (1943-1972), Willow Run Laboratories (1946-1966), Directors' Files, and several boxes of Research Grant Files on microfilm. There are also four smaller series: the Engineering College Research Council (1959-1961), Review of the DRDA - Report to Harold Shapiro, 1980, Engineering Research Institute - miscellaneous research reports, Photographs, and Programmed Research Information System at Michigan (PRISM) Reports.

The D. James Galbraith Photographic Collection reflects D. James (Jim) Galbraith's career as a photographer, covering more than five decades and containing thousands of pictures in the form of prints, negatives, and slides about everyday life in rural Michigan. The D. James Galbraith Photographic Collection is significant for its extensive photographic evidence of rural Michigan, particularly its emphasis on families, communities, and local institutions such as churches and schools. The collection is useful as a visual representation of late twentieth-century Michigan, capturing a wide array of social and cultural activities that highlight the daily experiences of Michigan residents.

The D. James Galbraith Photographic Collection is a selection of his work that primarily contains prints, negatives, and slides. The content of Galbraith's photographs is vast, but most reflect various aspects of everyday life throughout the state of Michigan. The collection is arranged into four series: Business Records, Hartland Project, and Private Photography, and Oversize.

Professor Emeritus of Chinese and former Chair of the University of Michigan's Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. Munro was part of an official United States delegation to China in 1973 whose purpose was to study the Chinese educational system. He also taught Chinese activist Chen Ziming when Ziming was a University of Michigan student. Includes notes documenting Munro's 1973 visit to the People's Republic of China, color photographs of views of different Chinese cities, and material related to the enrollment and education of Chen Ziming.

The Donald J. Munro papers (0.7 linear feet) include notes documenting Munro's 1973 visit to the People's Republic of China, color photographs of views of various Chinese cities (such as Guangzhou, Beijing, and Nanjing), and material related to the enrollment and education of Chen Ziming.

George H. Forsyth (1901-1991) was an eminent archeologist, architectural, and art historian who led archeological expeditions to Angers, France, Mount Sinai, Egypt, and countries in the Near East including Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Forsyth was a professor at the University of Michigan, chairman of the History of Art Department and director of the Kelsey Museum. Ilene H. Forsyth, who continued George's publishing activities posthumously, was an art historian and professor at the University of Michigan. The collection is comprised of personal materials, teaching materials, and extensive documentation of George's personal travel and archeological expeditions to Europe and the Near East such as correspondence, field notes, and visual materials.

The George H. Forsyth papers document Forsyth's career. The collection includes personal materials, biographical information, daybooks, family photographs, teaching and lecture notes, and extensive documentation of George's personal travel and archeological expeditions to Europe and the Near East. Material related to expeditions includes field notebooks, photographs, negatives, architectural drawings, correspondence, and manuscripts of various publication activities.

George Forsyth died prior to completing the publication of his landmark drawings of Saint Catherine's Monastery (Mount Sinai, Egypt). Publication efforts were continued posthumously by his wife, Dr. Ilene H. Forsyth, an art historian and professor at the University of Michigan. Her extensive efforts to publish George's work are documented is approximately three linear feet of manuscripts, correspondence, topical files, and a catalog of drawings, 1995-1997, located in Box 9.

University of Michigan graduate (BFA '74, MA '76, and Ph.D. '88) and artist, art historian, and educator with an emphasis in Latino art. Materials include artwork as well as research, teaching, and professional topical files.

The George Vargas papers present a look at the interests, work, and activities of artist and historian George Vargas. The material is dated from approximately 1933-2016 and includes topical files, artwork, and correspondence.

The strength of the collection is found in the numerous lectures written by Vargas, which reveal the depth of his research, the original artwork, and the broader view of multi-cultural and, particularly, Latino art activities in Michigan. Also of note are his extensive files of artists that were of interest to him as well as his own papers and publications.

The researcher should note that many items in the collection overlap various series. As a result, researchers should—in addition to reviewing multiple series—be sure to look for the "see also" notes that help identify some of these overlaps.

An orthopedic surgeon in the United States Army, author, inventor, and University of Michigan alumnus (B.S. and M.D. 1899). Corbusier served in the China Relief Expedition, the Philippines Campaign, the Mexican Border War, and World War I. The collection contains biographical information, correspondence, writings by Corbusier, collected articles and clippings, photographs and glass plate lantern slides, loose scrapbook materials, and a photo album. Materials document Corbusier's experiences during the China Relief Expedition, the Mexican Border War, the Philippines Campaign, and World War I. The collection also contains a small amount of materials focusing on his time as a student at the University of Michigan, as well as to his medical and military careers.

The papers of Harold Dunbar Corbusier include a range of materials focusing on his medical and military career with the United States Army Medical Corps and the Medical Department of the U.S. Army Reserves between 1900 and ca. 1945.

The Biographical series included his biography, a diary reflecting on his childhood experiences at Fort Mackinac in Michigan, a typed manuscript highlighting his experiences during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Also included here are his professional publications and collected articles, event programs and invitations.

The Correspondence series primarily includes letters to his then fiancé Louise Shepard, as well as letters from military and governmental departments, hospitals, and other military and medical associations. images The Visual Materials series includes glass plate slides and a photo album with images of Chinese landmarks and troops from the eight nations fighting against the Boxers. Also included are photographs mostly focusing on the China and Philippines campaigns, and loose scrapbook materials (mostly clippings) focusing on China and Asia in general.

Jeffrey R. Parsons was Curator of Latin American Archaeology and Director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He was a professor at the same institution for over forty years starting in 1966 and carried out extensive research on settlement patterns in the basin of Mexico, in Peru, and in many other countries. Parsons is known for his role in the development of systematic settlement survey methods in archaeology, a methodology which has become common in archaeological work around the world. Material includes papers, maps, site surveys, photo negatives, aerial photographs and digital scans of the negatives.

The Jeffrey R. Parsons papers document the archaeologist's research in the Basin of Mexico, his work at the University of Michigan as professor, Curator of Latin American Archaeology, and Director of the Museum of Anthropology, and his work with colleagues and institutions around the world. Materials date from 1960 to 2009 while the bulk of it is from 1966 to 1973. The majority is related to his fieldwork in the Valley of Mexico and includes paper, photographic material, maps, and documentation about materials collected as part of the surveys, such as information on ceramic sherds. The collection is arranged in nine series: Personal Files, Correspondence 1966-2005, Archaeological Sites and Projects, Topical Files, Publications, Student Years, Visual Materials Series, and Maps.

Professor of paleontology and director of the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology. Includes correspondence and topical files.

The Lewis Burnett Kellum papers (5.8 linear feet and 1 oversized folder) primarily documents Kellum's professional life. The material is dated from 1837-1995 and consists of correspondence and topical files. Significant subjects in the collection include Kellum's fieldwork in Mexico as well as his involvement in 20th International Geological Congress that was held in Mexico. Also included in the Topical Files series is a small amount of material relating to his wife Gail Kellum Curtis (married in 1949).

Michigan Theater Foundation was formed in 1979 when it purchased the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Mich., a historic landmark built in 1928 and restored by the fundraising efforts of the Foundation. The record group comprises administrative records, including files of the Executive Director, Board of Trustees and administrative committees; grant proposals, materials related to fundraising, theater restoration, renovation, and membership campaigns; descriptions of programs, series, and individual events taken place at the theater; publicity photographs, audio- and video (VHS) recordings, and outsize posters and calendars of events.

The records date to the period of the Michigan Theater Foundation's intensive fundraising campaign to preserve the Michigan Theater and the first 15 years of its life after the theater reopened its doors in 1986.