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Hillsdale, Michigan, Singer Sewing Machine Company representative in central China, 1911-1917; wife, Elsa F. Armstrong of Northfield, Minnesota, Evangelical Lutheran missionary in China, 1911-1917. Correspondence between Arthur and Elsa Armstrong, Elsa Armstrong's family, and other missionaries, concerning life in China; also photographs and Arthur and Elsa Armstrong's reminiscences of China.

Approximately fifty per cent of the collection consists of visual materials, primarily photographs, although there are some striking posters from the period of the Chinese revolution, 1911-1912. The photographs concern such subjects as Chinese urban life, mission activities, daily life in China, and Arthur Armstrong's work with the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The Armstrong collection also contains a large number of stereoptic card views of China, the St. Louis World's Fair, Port Arthur, the Philippine Islands, and Japan. These were probably sample cards that Armstrong sold in connection with his work with the Underwood & Underwood Company.

Republican U.S. Senator from Michigan; advocate of the United Nations and bipartisan foreign policy. Correspondence, scrapbooks, diaries, and visual materials.

The Arthur H. Vandenberg collection consists of 8 linear feet of materials (available on microfilm), 25 volumes of scrapbook/journals, and assorted audio and visual materials. The collection covers Vandenberg's entire career with a few folders of papers post-dating his death in 1951 relating to the dedication of memorial rooms in his honor in the 1970s. The collection is divided into four major series: Correspondence; Speeches; Campaign and Miscellaneous Topical; Clippings, Articles, and Scrapbooks; Miscellaneous and Personal; Visual Materials; and Sound Recordings.

United States Representative and Secretary of the Navy; collection includes correspondence, 1880-1927, concerning personal matters, business affairs, and political activities; letters to Mrs. Denby regarding Denby’s death; articles, speeches, notes and memoranda on various topics including the Teapot Dome Scandal, Panama Canal, relations with China, and the United States Navy; photostats of letters exchanged between Nathaniel Denby and George Bancroft, 1845-1846; and photographs.

The Edwin Denby papers, dating from 1845-1846 and 1880-1929, are organized into five series: Correspondence, Articles and Speeches, Topical Files, Personal/Biographical, and Photographs. Denby's papers document his political career as United States Representative and Secretary of the Navy, and include relevant information on such topics as the United States Navy, the Panama Canal and the Teapot Dome Scandal.

Orientalist, government official and director of the International Center at University of Michigan. Correspondence, 1929-1965, notebooks, 1940-1942, and scrapbooks relating largely to professional activities and China; also photographs.

The Gale collection is arranged into the following series: Biographical Information; Correspondence; Conferences and other activities; Miscellaneous; Photographs. Within the correspondence, there are letters from Adolf Berle, James A. Farley, Joseph R. Hayden, Hubert H. Humphrey, Frank Murphy, Chester Nimitz, Singhman Rhee, Daniel Poling, John Powell, Arthur H. Vandenberg, and Wendell Willkie. Some of the photos were collected during Gale's employment in China (1909-1927) and Korea (1958-1959), and photos relating to the University of Michigan Class of 1907, the Quadrangle Club, and the International Center.

Amateur photographer; sixty-two reels of film shot by Benz on various trips.

When the University of Michigan Media Resources Collection was accessioned by the Bentley Historical Library, a number of films were discovered in the vault that were not related to that collection. Within that material were travel films shot by Fred E. Benz. These films document Benz's travels around the world between 1929 and 1950. The films had been edited together and were probably used by Benz for presentation to local groups and as home entertainment.

The Fred E. Benz Collection contains sixty-two, 400 foot reels of silent 16mm film. It is made up of eight series, one for each trip taken. The series are: Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Guatemala, Havana, Mexico, Russia, South America, and a World Cruise. The contents of each reel are described in the finding aid. Benz has included handwritten descriptions of the images found on the Russian and World Cruise series attached to the inside lids of each can of film. Benz was careful to document most of the locations with a handwritten note displayed before the camera. When cities or natural markers are noted in the finding aid, the identifying information was taken from that supplied by the film maker on the screen or from his notes in the can lids. The spelling of geographic locations in the finding aid reflect the information on the film and not current spellings.

Short notes found with the Mexican footage indicate it was the result of two different trips. The reels retain their original numbering because the numbered reels (1,2,3,4) appear to comprise one trip and numbered/lettered reels (1a, 3a, 4a) comprise the second trip.

The value of the collection is that it captures moments in time, documenting lifestyles, architecture and modes of travel which no longer exist or have evolved over time. Footage exists of London on the eve of war and Shanghai one year before being destroyed by the Japanese invasion.

Perhaps the greater value lies in the depiction of the indigenous lifestyles captured on film. Benz, as an amateur photographer, was interested in the common events that he experienced as he traveled. The collection features extensive recordings of people working or playing, and children of different cultures going about their daily activities. The films show barren huts in remote areas of Russia in the 1930s, families living under stone bridges outside of Buenos Aires, life-saving competitions in Sydney and the plethora of street markets found in most cultures and countries that he traveled through.

Because these are travel films, the scope of the footage included often extends beyond the geographic area used to identify the series. For example, the Australia footage includes material filmed on various Pacific islands, the Asian continent and Japan. The Russian trip contains footage of England and Northern Europe, and the South American films contain shots of the departure from New York. Each series should be examined for additional geographic content.

Special attention should be given to the Mexican series containing film recordings of Mt. Rushmore with construction only partially complete. Included as well are extensive shots of bullfighting in addition to other Mexican scenes. Also of note is the extensive depiction of women throughout all of the series. On the canister containing reel 5 in the Russia series is a receipt from United States Navy Department stating that this reel was being forwarded to Chicago for study of the shots of Kirkenes, Norway.

The color in the Africa, Guatemala, Havana, Mexico and South America series is excellent. The wide, clean, lush cityscapes of Havana and Capetown are richly captured in color and give an indication why they were popular travel destinations at this time.

In addition to the eight travel series, the collection also included one reel of World War II footage assembled by Castle Films from public domain footage. This type of film was sold through camera stores and mail order houses and Benz probably purchased a reel for his own use. The identifying writing on the film can is in Benz's handwriting and clearly belonged with his collection.

Missionary to China, ca. 1900-1939. Letters, 1911-1932, to family members describing in detail missionary life, the political situation in China, and family matters; diary, 1942-1943, describing internment in Peking by the Japanese Army; letter of son, Theodore Stanley Wilder, to his grandmother concerning China experiences; reminiscences of T. S. Wilder, and photographs and other materials.

The collection consists of two series of papers. First there are letters that Wilder wrote to family members describing his life as a missionary in China. The next series of other papers includes a diary describing his internment by the Japanese during World War II and a remembrance of the life and work of his missionary parents written by Theodore S. Wilder.

George W. Shepherd was a Congregationalist missionary in China with the New Life Movement from 1919-1939 and advisor to Chiang Kai-Shek; married to Dr. Clara (Sargent) Shepherd. The collection includes George Shepherd's writings about his experiences in China, family correspondence, sermons and lectures, and material from the New Life Movement.

The George W. and Clara Sargent Shepherd papers provide an intimate look at Chiang Kai-Shek and China through the eyes of a Congregationalist minister. The papers also document the experience of a missionary family living in China between 1919 and 1939. This collection will be used by those seeking information about China from an American/Australian Christian perspective during a time of great change within China. Shepherd's writings include correspondence, memoranda, notes, and manuscript of Shepherd's book about Chiang Kai-Shek and China. The New Life Movement in China materials include promotional materials, photographs, maps, and missionary records.

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy (formerly the School of Public Policy) developed out of various institutes at the University of Michigan including the Institute of Social and Public Administration the Institute of Public Administration, and the Institute of Public Policy Studies. The School provides courses and conducts research in areas of public administration and public policy issues. Records include administrative files, correspondence, topical files and some material on research projects.

The University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy record group documents the history and development of public policy studies at the University of Michigan. The records contain some information on the beginning of instruction in public administration in 1915 and the formation of the Institute of Social and Public Administration in 1936. The bulk of the material documents the administration and subsequent reorganizations of the academic unit currently known as the School of Public Policy. Records include correspondence, minutes, historical materials and topical files concerning the Institute, its Lansing Office, its programs in the Republic of China and documented the Philippine Islands, and the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961- 1962. the records have been received in three major accessions, 1972 (boxed 1-9), 1997 (boxes 10-14) and 2006 (boxes 15-18).

Most of the materials comprising the 1972 accession cover the period from the 1950s to the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, few documents about the establishment and development of the public policy studies curriculum between 1915 and 1945 exist. Particular strengths of the record group are the materials on the Philippine Institute of Public Administration and the Taiwan Center for Public and Business Administration Education. The German Training Program files also offer insight into international interests of the public administration faculty at the University of Michigan. The German Training Program was a program established to provide Germans with a knowledge of American political and social institutions, democratic skills, and development of individual competence in fields of knowledge such as journalism, pedagogy, and public administration. Other series in the School of Public Policy records allow for a general overview of the structure of the School of Public Policy. They also demonstrate the composition and research interests of the faculty and students in the department.

The records comprising the 1997 accession from the School of Public Policy were primarily arranged chronologically. This arrangement has been retained and the record group has been broken down into a Chronological Files series, several Topical Files series, a Sound Recordings Series, and a Photographs series. It should be noted that some of the files in the Topical Files series include documents created after the dates noted in the series heading.

The 2006 accession consisted of additional administrative files and material relating to the dedication of the Joan and Sanford Weil Hall groundbreaking and dedication.

Conscientious objector during World Wars I and II and founder of the farming cooperative Saline Valley Farms. Correspondence, diaries, notebooks, and other materials relating to all phases of his career, including his work as Y.M.C.A. worker in England, 1916-1917, and as teacher at Central China University, Wuchang, China, 1922-1926; also family correspondence of Philip H. and Almena S. Gray, 1874-1926; also photographs and motion pictures.

The Harold Gray papers have been divided into seven series: Correspondence; World War I era activities; Personal and Miscellaneous; Printed, clippings, and miscellanea; Family and genealogical; Saline Valley Farms; and Visual Materials (photographs and motion pictures). The great strength of the collection are correspondence, administrative files, diaries, and visual materials documenting the operation of the Saline Valley Farms. There is significant, though smaller quantities of papers detailing Gray's opposition to serving in the military during World War I and his career as a teacher in China in the 1920s.

Resident in China from Farwell, Michigan; papers concern her family life in Farwell, and missionary activities; include letters, diaries, and accounts of father, Josiah L. Littlefield, Farwell lumber dealer and visitor to China, 1916-1917; letters, 1918-1928, of husband, Dr. Dennis V. Smith, medical missionary to China, describing in part Chinese politics and civil war, 1918-1920; letters and other papers of Hazel Littlefield Smith, including materials concerning various European travels, and manuscripts of writings about Irish author Lord Dunsany, her father, and Farwell, Michigan; and photographs. Other correspondents of Hazel Smith include world-renowed scientists (Edwin Hubble and William Beebe), from Chinese Princess Der Ling, and from distinguished European writers and actors (Pierre LaMure, Selma Lagerlof, Brian Aherne, and Ronald Colman).

This collection was accumulated by Hazel Littlefield Smith and consists of materials concerning her career and interests and those of her family, specifically her husband, Dr. Dennis Smith, and her father, Josiah Littlefield (1845-1935), a pioneer lumberman and businessman in Farwell, Michigan.

The collection is particularly valuable for three topics: early days (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) in Farwell, Michigan; missionary life in China in the period ca. 1915-1928; and the travels and writings of Hazel Littlefield Smith. The materials include correspondence, compositions and business-related materials of Josiah Littlefield; correspondence and other materials of Dr. Dennis Smith, Hazel Littlefield Smith (and Josiah Littlefield) concerning conditions in early republican China; and correspondence and other materials of Hazel Littlefield Smith concerning her travels in Europe (1920s-1950s), her management of the family farm near Farwell, Michigan (1940s), and her essays, poetry and other publications, including Lord Dunsany: King of Dreams.

The three principal figures in the collection--Hazel Littlefield Smith, Dennis Smith and Josiah Littlefield--were highly perceptive observers of persons and events. Their letters are rich in detail, whether describing travel experiences or everyday life in rural northern Michigan.

The collection is arranged into six series: Littlefield Family, China-related materials, Hazel Littlefield Smith, Miscellanea, Dr. Dennis V. Smith, and Visual Materials.