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.