Author Talk Canceled:

Due to a number of flight cancellations, we have to cancel our THF Author Talk with Victoria Christopher Murray scheduled for today, March 28 at 1pm.

Frame for Soybean Plastic Car, 1941

01

Artifact Overview

In the 1930s, chemists doing research at Ford's Greenfield Village laboratory discovered that soy-based plastics could be molded into thick, hard sheets. The scientists created prototypes of automobile body parts, like trunk lids. Soon, they envisioned a car with a complete soy-plastic body. Henry Ford unveiled this experimental vehicle in 1941. The "Soybean Car" was abandoned with the U.S. entry into World War II.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

24 February 1941

Subject Date

24 February 1941

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

64.167.189.P.15485

Credit

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

Material

Paper (Fiber product)
Linen (Material)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 7.5 in
Width: 11 in