ANN ARBOR—From girlhood through early education, amusements, appearance and fashion, courtship and marriage to household economy, reform and old age, the Clements Library at the University of Michigan contains a wealth of source material for the study of women’s history.

Its current exhibit, “From the Cradle to the Grave: Sources for Women’s History in the William L. Clements Library,” presents photographs, correspondence, jewelry made of human hair, examples of sewing, expense accounts, grade cards, advertisements, books, receipts and sheet music, all offering a window into the lives and upbringing of girls and women in early America.

Tintypes and daguerrotypes illustrate fashion, toys, and hair styles. Correspondence ranges from a Union soldier soliciting a female pen pal to one of the 144 letters written by Gertrude Emerson Sen to Elsie Weil. One account book relates the expenses of keeping an orphan. And there is a certificate of “intention of marriage,” a marriage certificate, a final petition for divorce and a complaint for fornication that resulted in the birth of a “bastard child.”

The exhibit will continue through Dec. 9, and is open Monday-Friday, 1-4:45 p.m. Admission is free. The Clements Library is located at 900 South University Ave. on U-M’s Central Campus.

[Map of central campus, Clements Library #8, lower left center]