#clark library

Sarony photograph #19. A NEW CHARACTER IN THE WILDE STORY —by John Cooper and Erik Ryding— Sarony photograph #19 must have been a favorite of Wilde’s as it is almost certainly the one he was referring to when, in March 1882, he wrote to his tour promoter, Richard D’Oyly Carte, to suggest that a lithograph of himself would help business. He said: “The photograph of me with head looking over my…

Sarony photograph #19. A NEW CHARACTER IN THE WILDE STORY —by John Cooper and Erik Ryding— Sarony photograph #19 must have been a favorite of Wilde’s as it is almost certainly the one he was referring to when, in March 1882, he wrote to his tour promoter, Richard D’Oyly Carte, to suggest that a lithograph of himself would help business. He said: “The photograph of me with head looking over my…

Sarony photograph #19. A NEW CHARACTER IN THE WILDE STORY —by John Cooper and Erik Ryding— Sarony photograph #19 must have been a favorite of Wilde’s as it is almost certainly the one he was referring to when, in March 1882, he wrote to his tour promoter, Richard D’Oyly Carte, to suggest that a lithograph of himself would help business. He said: “The photograph of me with head looking over my…

Map: Super Highway and Major Thoroughfare Plan for Detroit 1925

This is a beautiful map even if it represents the plans that have doomed most of our country’s major cities to car-centric planning. The map is part of the UM Clark Library map collection. In 1925, “super highways” were simply 204 foot wide major surface roadways. Notably, those super highways were absent from the city’s core and center.

Event: Mapping Whose Detroit?

WHEN: Thursday, March 31st @ 4pm WHERE: Clark Library, University of Michigan (in-person + virtual) WHAT: Mapping Whose Detroit? A talk on the topic of counter-mapping, including maps from the book, Detroit in 50 Maps. Books will be available for purchase and signing. RSVP: Event Link

Map: Detroit Streets with House Numbers 1912

In searching for maps about street numbering, I came across this interesting map from the UM Clark Library. It’s a historical map that I hadn’t seen before and it reminded me that most old maps focused on displaying street numbers and indexes so that people could find locations and navigate the city. There aren’t many maps from 1912 (here’s another on children’s recreation) when Detroit was…

New Numbering System Map of Detroit 1920

Effective January 1, 1921 the City of Detroit renumbered its street addresses. The Federal Lithograph Company with Frischkorn Real Estate Company produced this map to explain the numbering changes. Notably, the numbering on Grand Boulevard and in the Grosse Pointes, River Rouge, and Oakwood (later annexed) did not change. Detroit had not yet annexed all of its current land, so you can still see…