Photographic Vertical File Series


Scope and Content Note

This assembled collection consists of the most often used images relating to Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company. Started in the 1950s, these photoprints were gathered from larger photograph accessions (particularly Accessions 188, 189 and 833) and from...

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This assembled collection consists of the most often used images relating to Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company. Started in the 1950s, these photoprints were gathered from larger photograph accessions (particularly Accessions 188, 189 and 833) and from miscellaneous sources. In many ways this collection forms a synopsis of the larger Henry Ford / Ford Motor Company photographic accessions. This file contains vintage as well as copy photoprints.

Topics covered include an encyclopedic range of subjects concerning Henry Ford and his family from 1890 to 1955; a broad selection of Ford Motor Company products, buildings, activities, and subsidiaries from 1903 to 1955; and a sampling of automotive industry images other than Ford Motor Company (for views of automobiles other than Ford products see Accession 1671). This collection reflects Henry Ford's wide interests, and includes images of famous people such as actors, authors, kings, and scientists as well as his personal friends, John Burroughs, Harvey Firestone, and George Washington Carver (for Thomas Edison images see also Accession 1630). Henry Ford's interest in historic preservation at Botsford Inn and Wayside Inn also is covered (for images of Henry Ford Museum AND Greenfield Village see also Accession EI 1929).

Some cities and towns are documented in this collection, particularly where Henry Ford's Village Industries, farms and homes were located and the sites of Ford Motor Company plants and branches. Michigan is particularly well represented because of the company headquarters in Detroit and Dearborn. Reflecting the activity of the Ford Archives in the 1950s many views of automobiles on city streets, country roads, and camping from the early decades of this century are part of this collection, gathered for Ford Motor Company's 50th anniversary advertising campaign, "The American Road."

Additional topics include automobile exhibitions, Stout and Ford Tri-Motor airplanes, Ford Tractors and World War I and II defense production. Copy photoprints of graphics such as company advertisements and documents are also in the collection (for the original artifacts see Accession 19 for advertisements, and Accession 1, Accession 62, Accession 285, and other manuscript collections for the documents).

The original subject arrangement was based on an idiosyncratic set of subject headings developed for use with the Ford manuscript collections. Beginning in 1986, the subject terms were changed to reflect Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division standards for subject arrangement. In 1987, a large portion of the photoprints in this collection was cataloged in The Henry Ford's collection management system with a concomitant videodisc made of the images.

The accession was previously known as the Archives Print Collection, the Reference Photofile, the Aircraft Subject Boxes, the Automotive Addendum, and the A Series Prints by Subject.

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Collection Details

Object ID: 84.1.1660.0
Creator: Ford Motor Company. Archives 
Creator Notes: Created by Ford Motor Company Archives
Inclusive Dates: 1890-1980
Size: 53.33 linear ft.
Language: English

Collection Access & Use

Item Location: Benson Ford Research Center

Access Restrictions: The collection is open for research.

Credit: From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Keywords

United States, Georgia, Richmond Hill 

United States, Michigan, Dearborn 

United States, Michigan, Detroit 

United States, Michigan, Charter Township of Ypsilanti 

United States, Michigan, Charter Township of Van Buren 

Aerial photographs 

Photographs 

Cityscapes 

Landscapes (Representations) 

Streetscapes 

Photographic prints 

Automobile industry 

Automobile industry workers 

Automobile racing drivers 

Assembly-line methods 

Automobile factories 

Racing cars 

Automobile racing 

Ford automobile 

Ford Model T automobile 

Lincoln automobile 

Mercury automobile 

Rubber industry and trade 

Tractors 

Trucks 

Camping 

Power plants 

Aircraft industry 

Airplanes 

Advertising 

Peace movement 

Military vehicles 

Women 

World War, 1914-1918 

World War, 1939-1945 

Transcontinental journeys 

Carriages (Vehicles) 

Actors and actresses 

Air pilots 

Airports 

Air shows 

Authors 

Automobiles 

Buses 

Exhibitions (Events) 

Hotels (Public accommodations) 

Taverns 

Kings and rulers 

Queens 

Politicians 

Politics 

Presidents 

Railroads 

Cars 

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947 

Ford, Clara Bryant, 1866-1950 

Ford, Edsel, 1893-1943 

Ford, Eleanor Clay, 1896-1976 

Ford, Henry, II, 1917-1987 

Ford family 

Bryant family 

Litogot family 

Burroughs, John, 1837-1921 

Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943 

Disney, Walt, 1901-1966 

Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 

Firestone family 

Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938 

Henry Ford (Organization) 

Wayside Inn (Sudbury, Mass.) 

Digitized Artifacts From This Collection

In many cases, not all artifacts have been digitized.
Contact us for more information about this collection.

Garden at Fair Lane Estate, Dearborn, Michigan, June 1933

  Details

Garden at Fair Lane Estate, Dearborn, Michigan, June 1933

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic transparency

Date Made

14 June 1933

Summary

In the early 1910s, Henry and Clara Ford selected 1300 acres of farmland in Dearborn, Michigan, as the site for a new home. They called the estate Fair Lane. Surrounded by woods, meadows, gardens, and the nature they loved, Henry and Clara found this home a peaceful respite. This image shows one of the gardens created near the house for the couple to enjoy.

Creators

Unknown 

Object ID

84.1.1660.535

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Garden at Fair Lane Estate, Dearborn, Michigan, June 1933

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details

Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940

  Details

Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

During the Great Depression, Ford Motor Company made efforts to improve living conditions in Inkster, Michigan, a primarily Black community hit especially hard by the economic crisis. Ford built a high school, repaired homes, established a medical clinic, and opened a low-price commissary. Improvements were funded through involuntary paycheck deductions from Inkster residents employed at Ford's nearby Rouge plant.

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.188.27534

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details

Book Display at the Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940

  Details

Book Display at the Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

During the Great Depression, Ford Motor Company made efforts to improve living conditions in Inkster, Michigan, a primarily Black community hit especially hard by the economic crisis. Ford built a high school, repaired homes, established a medical clinic, and opened a low-price commissary. Improvements were funded through involuntary paycheck deductions from Inkster residents employed at Ford's nearby Rouge plant.

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.188.27537

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Book Display at the Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details

Henry Ford Trade School Students at Great Lakes Exposition, Cleveland, Ohio, 1936-1937

  Details

Henry Ford Trade School Students at Great Lakes Exposition, Cleveland, Ohio, 1936-1937

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Cleveland celebrated its centennial with the Great Lakes Exposition. For two summers during 1936 and 1937, over seven million visitors came through the gates. Fair officials consigned Ford and the other automobile companies to the Automotive Building -- no separate corporate buildings were constructed. Ford supplemented its vehicle displays with other exhibitions, including demonstrations by students from the Henry Ford Trade School.

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.833.66356

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Henry Ford Trade School Students at Great Lakes Exposition, Cleveland, Ohio, 1936-1937

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details

Charles Sorensen (left) and Igor Sikorsky (2nd from right) at the Presentation of the VS-300 Helicopter to Henry Ford Museum, October 7, 1943

  Details

Charles Sorensen (left) and Igor Sikorsky (2nd from right) at the Presentation of the VS-300 Helicopter to Henry Ford Museum, October 7, 1943

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

07 October 1943

Summary

Igor Sikorsky (second from right) donated his pioneering VS-300 helicopter, the first successful helicopter flown in the Western Hemisphere, to Henry Ford Museum in October 1943. With World War II underway, Ford Motor Company was building B-24 bomber airplanes at the time. Charles Sorensen (left), Ford's production chief, managed their assembly at the company's Willow Run plant.

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.833.78778.3

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Charles Sorensen (left) and Igor Sikorsky (2nd from right) at the Presentation of the VS-300 Helicopter to Henry Ford Museum, October 7, 1943

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details

Henry Ford II, Charles Lindbergh, Les Morris, Henry Ford and Igor Sikorsky at the VS-300 Helicopter Presentation, October 7, 1943

  Details

Henry Ford II, Charles Lindbergh, Les Morris, Henry Ford and Igor Sikorsky at the VS-300 Helicopter Presentation, October 7, 1943

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Henry Ford and helicopter innovator Igor Sikorsky shared a mutual friend in Charles Lindbergh, the pilot celebrated for his 1927 solo transatlantic flight. When Sikorsky mentioned his admiration for Ford to Lindbergh, Lindbergh arranged an introduction. The meeting ultimately led to Sikorsky donating his VS-300 helicopter to The Henry Ford in 1943 at a ceremony attended by all three men.

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.B.2306

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Henry Ford II, Charles Lindbergh, Les Morris, Henry Ford and Igor Sikorsky at the VS-300 Helicopter Presentation, October 7, 1943

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details

Igor Sikorsky Landing the VS-300 Helicopter at Henry Ford Museum before Presenting it to Henry Ford, October 7, 1943

  Details

Igor Sikorsky Landing the VS-300 Helicopter at Henry Ford Museum before Presenting it to Henry Ford, October 7, 1943

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

07 October 1943

Summary

Igor Sikorsky donated his pioneering VS-300 helicopter to The Henry Ford in October 1943. During the presentation ceremony, Sikorsky and his test pilot demonstrated the helicopter's exceptional maneuverability. They slipped the aircraft's nose probe through a small ring, set one of its wheels on a handkerchief spread on the ground, and carried souvenir "air mail" letters in its front basket.

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.B.27654

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Igor Sikorsky Landing the VS-300 Helicopter at Henry Ford Museum before Presenting it to Henry Ford, October 7, 1943

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details

Slag Buggies at Ford Rouge Plant, 1927

  Details

Slag Buggies at Ford Rouge Plant, 1927

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

These slag pots transported white-hot slag to cooling pits at Ford's River Rouge Plant. Slag is a by-product of the iron-making process. It was skimmed from the blast furnaces and caught in the buggies waiting below. After it cooled, workers recovered the slag to produce cement for plant use and sale to the public.

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.189.6580

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Slag Buggies at Ford Rouge Plant, 1927

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details

Ford Motor Company Branch in Los Angeles, California, February 15, 1925

  Details

Ford Motor Company Branch in Los Angeles, California, February 15, 1925

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

15 February 1925

Summary

Starting in 1912, Ford Motor Company opened domestic assembly plants throughout the United States. These plants allowed the company to better serve its customers, with facilities located in most major American cities. The plant seen here, located in Los Angeles, California, produced cars from 1914 until 1930, when operations were moved to nearby Long Beach, California.

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.O.2856

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Ford Motor Company Branch in Los Angeles, California, February 15, 1925

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details