Mel Ivory, co-founder of Ivory Photo Engraving Company, began his photography career doing photo finishing at both his father’s and his uncle’s drug stores. Here, a person believed to be Ivory captures some action from a perch high above the football field in Michigan Stadium, circa 1940.

As Ann Arbor celebrates its bicentennial this year, the Bentley Library has made the Ivory Photo collection available online. These revelers in the original Pretzel Bell on Liberty surely would be delighted to know they are part of the package.

Ivory’s extensive collection of photographic negatives documents Ann Arbor’s built environment, local businesses, and community life in the middle of the 20th century. Though this 1965 scene from Bimbo’s Pizza looks mighty lively, it’s chilling to see that Confederate flag on stage.

“My hope is that access to these images supports community commemorations, individual recollections, and spurs the creativity of the entire Ann Arbor community as it reflects on its history,” says Alexis Antracoli, director of the Bentley Historical Library. This shot at one of Ann Arbor’s most iconic intersections showcases the Fritz Building as it looked in 1951.

Staff worked to prepare more than 10,000 photo negatives for digitization, many of which were delicate and even combustible due to a nitrate component, and therefore required special handling. This crew inside the Pretzel Bell survived since 1937, much to the likely chagrin of some folks covering their faces from the camera.

Ivory’s early work led him into a career in photography that began in the mid-1920s when he was an undergraduate at U-M. In 1938, he photographed this co-ed in front of the Michigan League as she modeled for Jacobson’s.

Among the highlights of the Ann Arbor portion of the collection are photos of the World War II era, images of local businesses that may or may not still exist, and depictions of people participating in community and campus events. This evocative shot from 1937 is labeled “Rain Walker” and was taken at N. University and State Street from the doorway of the long-gone Calkins Fletcher.

After graduating, Ivory continued his photo finishing work and began providing photography services to the local community. His work continued into the 1970s. In 1965, he captured the exterior of popular pizza joint Bimbo’s on Washington Street.

More of Ivory’s original descriptions were extracted during the digitization process, meaning many of the images can now be searched using street address, organization name, building name, and more.

In 1968, Ivory captured the staff inside the Curtis Restaurant on South Main Street. “The Ivory Photo digitization project is one among what we hope will be many efforts that focus on community engagement,” says Bentley director Antracoli. “We are pleased to be able to help celebrate Ann Arbor in this way, and we look forward to more community partnerships of this kind.”