Much Depends on Dinner 2024 Showcase

In Winter 2024, students enrolled in Dr. Margot Finn's ALA 264 Much Depends on Dinner worked in groups to research and write captions for food history materials in the Special Collections Research Center's Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive and in the collections of the William L. Clements Library.

These were featured on the Shapiro Library Screens in Bert's Study Lounge.

Katzen, Mollie & Mermelstein, Catherine B. (1977). The Moosewood cookbook : recipes from Moosewood Restaurant, Ithaca, New York. Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. In the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive.

“The most influential vegetarian cookbook of all time” – Wall Street Journal 

The Moosewood Cookbook consists of authentic vegetarian food and dessert recipes that incorporate various cultures. Seven founders created the first Moosewood cookbook in 1972 in response to the rise of vegetarianism during the 20th century. These recipes range from the Mushroom Moussaka to the Cardamom Coffee Cake – an Indian spice incorporated into the classic German coffee cake. These simple yet healthy recipes are cooked at the Moosewood restaurant in Ithaca, New York. Make sure you visit the restaurant on your next trip!

[Culinary Menu : Travel - Ships]. 1905-1997. In the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive.

This menu describes the luncheon served in the three-story first class “Grand Salon” dining room of the British R.M.S “Queen Mary” on Saturday, June 14, 1952, on their weekly trip between Cherbourg, France and New York, USA. Although the cruise ship was initially catered to the upper class before World War II, it eventually expanded to include the tourist classes as well. The menu on the ship changed daily and offered some of the fanciest dishes of the time. The “Queen Mary” is now permanently docked in Long Beach and serves as a floating museum and restaurant.

Read more!

Obesity: The Science, Culture, and Politics of Fatness in America 

In Fall 2023, students enrolled in Dr. Margot Finn's course on the science, culture, and politics of obesity worked in groups to research and write captions for food history materials.

Most of these items were from the Special Collections Research Center's Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive.

These were featured on the Shapiro Library Screens in Bert's Study Lounge.

M. L. Holbrook, Eating for Strength (New York, M. L. Holbrook & co. [c1888]). Library of Congress. 

The 1888 edition of Eating for Strength, a popular 19th century work on diet written by Martin Luther Holbrook approaches food in a scientific manner, outlining the dietary needs of various classes of people and looking at the healthfulness of various foods. This book includes information about food and diet in relation to health and work, together with several hundred recipes for different foods and drinks. All of these tables illustrate the protein, carbohydrate, and fat content of some of the most common foods that characterized the diets of that era. This underscores how even over 100 years ago, these three macronutrients were seen as important to monitor in order to curb obesity.

Keeping Your Weight Down (Westfield, N.Y. : Welch Grape Juice Co., [1921?]). Janie Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive.

Published by Welch Juice Company in 1921, this recipe book called Keeping Your Weight Down suggests that Welch's Grape Juice can aid in weight maintenance, and emphasizes its importance in influencing desired health benefits with their beverage. The monochrome-purple book cover showcases an idealized “thin” model covered in loose night clothing, examining a weight scale. Inside, “Pudding and Desserts” recipes are listed in sections with the usage of Welch brand ingredients. Framing grapes as dessert, often eliminated in dieting practices, allows for the luxury of sweets within the strictures of losing weight.

Ruth West, Stop Dieting! Start Losing! (New York : E.P. Dutton & Company, Inc., 1956.). Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive. 

Although Ruth West’s Stop Dieting! Start Losing! was a dieting recipe book published in 1956, the artifact has a startling resemblance to modern attitudes about weight, despite the huge body of research conducted on obesity since this time. Today, It’s easy to laugh at slogans like “how to lose 2 to 3 pounds a week” and “16 foods for sex appeal and vitality,” but how different are these claims from those we hear today from diet magazines, social media and even our own medical professionals? Is the rigor of evidence from then to now all that different? 

Read more!

Food Literacy for All Showcase

"Do you know why the US Food Administration was created? Nope, it's not for public health reasons! Rather, it was created on August 17, 1917 by executive order primarily to provide food for the Allies in Europe during World War I. The US launched a rigorous campaign, greatly humanitarian in nature, onboarding roughly half the families in the nation to take on food pledges with weekly meatless, sweetless, porkless, and wheatless days to ship those foods to soldiers and starving civilians in Europe. This campaign demonstrates how the lack of overindulgence in food sympolizes patrioatism in the US during WWI."

Spotlight on food history posters prepared by students enrolled in the Food Literacy for All (Winter 2024), a community-academic partnership course hosted by the University of Michigan Sustainable Food Systems Initiative. Read more!

1984, 40 Years After: Rediscovering a Pivotal Year in American Independent Cinema

Join us on the 6th floor of Hatcher next Thursday, 18 April between 4-6p for our next Third Thursdays at the Library event!

Students in FTVM 435 have spent this semester engaged in studying the films and documents of the Mavericks & Makers Collection with a keen eye toward those films made in 1984. Students will share documents found within the archival boxes and present poster boards designed to explore specific thematic concepts. Films include "The Brother from Another Planet," "Choose Me," "Stop Making Sense," "Swing Shift," and "Secret Honor" (filmed on the U-M Campus at the Martha Cook Building.)

Poster session presentations will begin at 4:15 pm. Join us in the Special Collections Research Center on the 6th floor of the Hatcher Library.

And be sure to check out the other Third Thursdays at the Library events, with selections from International Studies and the Clark Library!

Susan Goethel Campbell's Artists' Books

Join us on the 6th floor of Hatcher next Thursday, 21 March between 4-6p for our next Third Thursdays at the Library event!

Drop in during this open house to view books in our collection by artist Susan Goethel Campbell. Campbell is currently featured in the Institute for the Humanities exhibition, Garden Repairs, an installation of paper textiles that loosely narrate the life cycle of plants. Campbell creates multi-disciplinary work that considers the contemporary landscape to be an emergent system where nature, culture, and the engineered environment are indistinguishable from one another. Light refreshments will be served.

And be sure to check out the other Third Thursdays at the Library events, with selections from International Studies and the Clark Library!

Crisscross Apricot Pi(e) Day

All about Home Baking : Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Pastries, Biscuits, Muffins, Quick Breads, Frostings, Table Service, Party Menus. 2nd ed., Consumer Service Dept., General Foods Corp., 1933. Call No. Cookery 1933 Al 2nd ed.

More for pie day from our colleague Melanie Lowrie!

"Happy Pi(e) Day! As the resident nerd in high school, Pi Day was always one of those holidays that I enjoyed reminding the rest of my classmates of, and what better way to celebrate than with one of my favorite desserts, pie! (Although, I like all desserts personally, I have a sweet tooth and will never turn down something sweet). 

In my capacity as one of the Collection Services Support Specialists for Special Collections, I have been the go-to person for almost all post-cataloging activities since arriving at the Library in July 2023, meaning that I have been getting very close with new acquisitions once they arrive back from Technical Services.

One of the main collections that has been coming across my desk almost constantly since July has been additions to our Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive. In other words, I’ve been seeing a lot of cookbooks! So, when Juli McLoone sent out an email announcing the annual Pi(e) Day celebrations, I immediately knew I needed to participate. The theme being fruit pies, I challenged myself to find a recipe using a fruit not commonly found in pies at the grocery store (apple, cherry, blueberry, peach, you get the idea), and I wanted this recipe to come from a book in our collection.

Enter All about Home Baking: Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Pastries, Biscuits, Muffins, Quick Breads, Frostings, Table Service, Party Menus. The edition in our collection is the second edition created by the General Foods Corporation circa 1933. I thought this was perfect as I started leafing through the book as it seems to have been created to help the home chef learn basic skills and then build upon them with foolproof recipes. While I was searching through the section on pies, I came across the recipe for pie crust with a simple cherry filling. Well dang, I wanted to stay away from fruits you commonly find in pies in the grocery store!

Thankfully, I kept going, because on the final page of the section was the recipe for Crisscross Apricot Pie. Racking my brain, I could not pinpoint a single time in my life where I have had or even seen an apricot pie. Perfect! Thankfully this book was scanned and uploaded to Hatitrust from Cornell University’s collection, so I printed out the two pages I needed and decided to get to work...."

Read more!

Crisscross Apricot Pie recipe from All About Home Baking.

While I could have used a food processor to complete this process, I felt that actually "getting my hands dirty" may be a little more fun.

Carl definitely thought the pie filling was for his dinner. He was disappointed when I said it's people food.

The completed pie.

A celebration of #PiDay and #PieDay from the Great Library Bake-off! #GLPBO24!

A découpage piece by Şehrî in Isl. Ms. 438

Calligraphic découpage / cut-work piece in nastaʻlīq (talik) signed by the calligrapher, Şehrî (Fol.22a in Isl. Ms. 438, Islamic Manuscripts Collection)

Enjoy this post from Sumeyra Dursun, 2023 Heid Fellow, drawn from her research in the Islamic Manuscripts Collection. Sumeyra is a doctoral candidate in the history of Islamic arts at Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul.

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ

Blessed early days of Ramadan...

183 You who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be mindful of God. 184 Fast for a specific number of days, but if one of you is ill, or on a journey, on other days later. For those who can fast only with extreme difficulty, there is a way to compensate – feed a needy person. But if anyone does good of his own accord, it is better for him, and fasting is better for you, if only you knew. 185 It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur’an was revealed as guidance for mankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong. So any one of you who is present that month should fast, and anyone who is ill or on a journey should make up for the lost days by fasting on other days later. God wants ease for you, not hardship. He wants you to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him for having guided you, so that you may be thankful.” [The Qur’an 2:183-185, translation of M. A. S. Abdel Haleem]

Sūrat al-Baqarah (2) 183-185 in Isl. Ms. 1009, a late 18th or early 19th century copy of the Qur'an from Kashmir, with Persian paraphrase on the margins

Browse / download the entire manuscript here

Ramadan Mubarak, wishing everyone ease and refuge, further along the path of liberation

Remembering Dan Longone

Daniel T. Longone and Janice Bluestein Longone, 2019. 

Daniel T. Longone, University of Michigan Chemistry Professor Emeritus, passed away on January 28th, 2024. Dan and his beloved wife Jan, who predeceased him in 2022, devoted much of their lives to the study and promotion of culinary history. 

Viard, A. ⁨Le Cuisinier Royal (Paris : G. Barba, 1840). Gift of Janice Bluestein Longone.

Dan and Jan came to Ann Arbor in 1959, when Dan joined the University of Michigan’s Chemistry Department, where he taught and researched organic chemistry. Dan’s culinary expertise was in the history of wine in America. In addition to building a world-class collection of texts on wine and grapes, he shared his knowledge generously with colleagues and novices alike. He taught “Wine: An Historical and Sensory Evaluation” through the University Center for Adult Education, founded the Ann Arbor Wine and Food Society, and was a founding member of the Detroit Chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux.

Rendella, Prospero. Tractatvs de vinea, vindemia, et vino...(Venetiis : Apud Iuntas, 1629). Gift of Janice Bluestein Longone. 

In the early 2000s, Jan and Dan Longone donated much of their personal culinary collection to the University of Michigan to establish the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive (JBLCA), and in 2009, Dan curated “500 Years of American Grapes and Wine: A Remarkable Journey" at the University of Michigan's William L. Clements Library. 

Hall, Harrison, The Distiller... (Philadelphia : Published by the author, 1818). Gift of Janice Bluestein Longone.

Now residing in the University of Michigan Library's Special Collections Research Center, the JBLCA comprises many thousands of items ranging from the 16th to the 20th centuries, from handwritten manuscript recipe books to a multitude of church and temple charity cookbooks. Thanks to Dan and Jan’s shared vision, students and scholars for generations to come, will be able to study the production, consumption, and appreciation of food and drink through this rich collection.

Next week : Cats vs. Dogs in the Archives

Mr. Cat (1960) by George Freedley, illustrated by Victor J. Dowling.

Join us on the 6th floor of Hatcher next Thursday, 15 February between 4-6p for our next Third Thursdays at the Library event!

Drop in any time during this open house to view books and archival material from across the collections featuring humanity’s best friends: cats & dogs! We’ll have materials on display ranging from 18th century manuals on raising hunting dogs to children’s books like Diary of Snubs, our Dog (1928), and from Majālis al-ʻushshāq, a 16th century Persian manuscript to the many cats of Ardis Press.

Enjoy the collections, and then stay for hot cocoa and a chance to vote for your favorite furry friend in the archives! 

New exhibit: Orson Welles as Family Man: Son, Husband, Father

This new exhibit provides a unique glimpse into the actor/director Orson Welles’ private life. Unlike previous U-M Library exhibits that focused on the artist at work, this display shows him in informal and familial environments, revealing a depth and complexity of character that are often overshadowed by his fame and professional achievements. The photographs and documents displayed showcase a variety of emotional tones — warmth, humor, tenderness, and passion. Candid and relaxed more than posed, these photographs are similar to most people's pictures in old family albums.

Culled from the Orson Welles-Beatrice Welles materials that are part of the Mavericks & Makers collection within the U-M Library’s Special Collections Research Center, each photo or letter tells a story of a connection Welles held dearly. The materials included are from two periods: the late 1920s and early 1930s, when Welles was a teenager, and the mid-1950s to early 1960s, during the early years of his marriage to his third wife, Paola Mori. 

Join us for a reception on 12 February at 10am in the Hatcher Gallery to celebrate the installation of the exhibit! The exhibit curator, Phil Hallman, will be on hand to chat about the making of this extraordinary display in the company of warm coffee and refreshments.

Researching Sephardic Cooking in the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive

The Jewish Manual...(1846) by Lady Judith Cohen Montefiore (Special Collections Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive, Cookery 1846 Mo)

Enjoy this guest post by Nathalie Ross, Heid Fellow, on her research in the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive. Nathalie is a doctoral candidate in the History Department at the University of North Texas, specializing in Jewish Food Studies.

Still time to apply! More information here

Applications Open: Special Collections Research Fellowships

The current application cycle is now open for fellowships available to researchers whose work would benefit from onsite access to our special collections! 

Read more!

Sultan Murad IV, redoubtable warrior and calligrapher? A calligraphic piece in Isl. Ms. 441

Calligraphic piece in nastaʻlīq (talik) signed by the calligrapher, most likely the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV (r.1623-1640). Fol.4b in Isl. Ms. 441, Islamic Manuscripts Collection 

Enjoy this post from Sumeyra Dursun, 2023 Heid Fellow, drawn from her research in the Islamic Manuscripts Collection. Sumeyra is a doctoral candidate in the history of Islamic arts at Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul.

Next week | Incunables in Special Collections: Five Decades of Printing History

Detail of the opening of Quintus Horatius Flaccus. Opera. Ed. and comm: Christophorus Landinus. Florence: Antonio di Bartolommeo Miscomini, 5 Aug. 1482.

Join us next Thursday, 18 January between 4-6p for our next Third Thursdays at the Library event!

Drop in any time during this open house to view a selection of incunables held in the U-M Library’s Special Collections. These books are extraordinary witnesses of an exciting period of technical and artistic innovation in book history. Join us if you can!

Just in case you're not tired of holiday baking yet, this 1959 Nestle's pamphlet offers a host of ideas for hosting your next party!