The Bentley Historical Library will be closed on Friday, July 4, and Monday, July 14, 2025.

 

Magazine

  • 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
  • Out of the Shadows
    Fall 2019

    Alice Chipman Dewey was a philosopher, social reformer, educator, pioneer, and among the earliest women to graduate from U-M. Her incredible legacy has been historically overshadowed by that of her husband, John Dewey, though research and papers at the Bentley are now helping define Alice in her own right.

    Complete Story