Spring 2016

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  • Perfect Harmony

    Detroit’s Harmonie Club was once the hub of German singing groups, whose music fueled fellowship and cultural pride. When the Harmonie Club went belly up, its historic German music was in danger of being lost forever—but found a safe home at the Bentley.

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  • Jazz, Guns, and Governments

    A U.S.-led effort in 1965 to win over Communist hearts and minds through music landed U-M Jazz Band members in the middle of gunfire in the Dominican Republic. This strange tale of U-M students, concerts, and Red Scare politics is showcased in a new collection at the Bentley, 50 years in the making.

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  • Lens on Gibson

    In the Spring 2016 issue of Collections, we showcased the work of turn-of-the-century photographer John Jefferson Gibson. His images of the University of Michigan give viewers a glimpse into rarely before seen interiors, classes, people, and more. In addition to what’s in the magazine, here’s a look at more gems from his work, which spans… Complete Story

  • Writing the Handbook on Teaching with Archives

    Bentley Director Terrence J. McDonald discusses how the Bentley is helping perfect the way that University faculty use the Library’s collections for teaching.

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  • Bound and Determined

    The class of 1849 was the fifth class to graduate in the University of Michigan’s young history, and they worked to ensure their time on campus would be memorialized for generations to come.

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  • Pride and Prejudice

    When Jim Toy stood up and delivered a speech at an anti-Vietnam War demonstration in 1970, he became the first person in the state of Michigan to publicly come out as gay. The equality pioneer has spent his life working to change the gay rights landscape in Michigan and beyond.

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  • The Fault in His Stars

    Mark Harrington was a brilliant botanist and meteorologist as well as a lumberjack and boxcar jumper. His tragic battle with mental illness would drive him from positions of prestige, taking him across oceans, to flop houses and sugar plantations, and eventually to an East Coast asylum.

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