Twice each year, the Bentley Historical Library produces Collections, a 24-page magazine dedicated to showcasing the very best of the Bentley. We welcome you to browse the full publication through our PDF reader or click through individual stories below. You can also access the magazine’s archives by clicking here. If you are interested in subscribing, please email editor Lara Zielin at laram@umich.edu.
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Challenging the Interpretations of the Past
Winter 2021When the name of a building or statue is challenged, some worry that the past will be hidden, changed, or damaged, but this is not true. What is being challenged is only an interpretation of the past.
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An Arctic Escape
Winter 2021With the world watching, two pilots went down over Greenland in 1928. Their rescue would hinge on William Hobbs, a professor-turned-adventurer leading U-M’s Greenland Expedition.
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In the Footsteps of Hobbs
Winter 2021A U-M research team travels to Greenland to study global warming and follow the pioneering footsteps of U-M Professor William Hobbs.
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Filling in the Silences
Winter 2021Incarcerated individuals are some of the last people to have their stories and experiences archived. The Bentley is working to change that by partnering with U-M researchers on a new initiative.
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Total Eclipse of the Sun
Winter 2021In the summer of 1878, U-M Professor James Watson headed west to observe a solar eclipse, confident he would find a new planet. Instead, he discovered the limitations of science in the late-1800s and the fine line separating fascination and folly.
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Bridge the Gap
Winter 2021The plan to build a bridge across the Straits of Mackinac began in earnest in the 1880s. But it wasn’t until 1954 that construction began on the Mackinac Bridge. What happened in the interim?
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Lifting His Voice
Winter 2021Willis C. Patterson’s newly donated papers at the Bentley document a tireless fight for African American music to take its rightful place in the vocal canon.
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