The Bentley Historical Library will close at 2:00 pm on Wed. June 11, 2025.

 

Magazine

  • “Our Handsomest Girls are Men”
    Spring 2020

    A class at the University of Michigan uses Bentley materials to teach students about U-M’s history of female impersonators.

    Complete Story
  • All Aboard!
    Spring 2020

    Michigan’s railroad history comes to life as we choo-choo-choose images from an extraordinary collection.

    Complete Story
  • Eat Your Words
    Spring 2020

    Writer James Tobin goes deep into the newly arrived Zingerman’s collection to understand how co-founder Ari Weinzweig’s on-paper voice helped a fledgling eatery define itself and stand out.

    Complete Story
  • Milliken in the Middle
    Spring 2020

    Michigan’s longest-serving governor was a Republican renowned for reaching across the aisle to Democratic colleagues, and for making Michigan’s environmental health a priority. His collection at the Bentley reveals a breed of politician that’s nearly extinct.

    Complete Story
  • No Resignation
    Spring 2020

    Renowned neuroanatomist Elizabeth Crosby was a brilliant researcher and a dedicated teacher who spoke of her many years at U-M with fondness. So what happened to make her attempt to resign numerous times over the course of her career? Letters in her collection may provide answers.

    Complete Story
  • The Pond Brothers and Democratic Architecture
    Spring 2020

    The newly renovated Michigan Union highlights the remarkable lives of the building’s architects, Irving and Allen Pond. But their vision for democratic architecture wasn’t fully realized until long after they were gone.

    Complete Story
  • Voices from the Philippines
    Fall 2019

    A history professor and her undergraduate research fellows bring fresh eyes to the fraught history of American imperialism in the Philippines.

    Complete Story