Break. Repair. Repeat.
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The Henry Ford's collections contain objects that have been broken, repaired, or created through improvisation. Some objects have been altered many times, while others have led multiple lives, or served multiple purposes. These objects solve very specific practical needs or share an artistic vision. Ultimately, the objects in this group are evidence of unscripted innovation and the messiness of creative problem-solving.
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Argand Lamp, 1790-1850
Traditional make-dos are useful and precious objects that broke during their working lives. Their owners felt compelled to restore or repurpose these objects in a variety of ways. This lamp started out as an expensive cut glass sugar bowl, but the base now serves as a reservoir for lamp fuel.
View ArtifactLantern, circa 1890
This lantern has a pressed glass chimney--that was originally a vase.
View ArtifactTeapot, 1760-1775
When new, this porcelain teapot was a fashionable and expensive piece of tableware. Early in its working life the spout broke and was replaced with equally expensive silver. A porcelain teapot with a silver spout would have been used to impress important guests with the owners' wealth and good taste.
View ArtifactCake Plate, 1865-1885
Originally this diamond-faceted base likely supported a glass cake plate but was later replaced with a tin plate for use in a middle-class dining room.
View ArtifactPitcher, circa 1825
In the 19th century, when a useful piece of serving ware like a ceramic pitcher broke, it was common to send it to the local tinsmith who would create a structure or mount to keep the pitcher usable.
View ArtifactPincushion, 1880-1900
The glass stem was once the base of a goblet but now supports a decorative and functional pin cushion.
View ArtifactLevi Jeans, 1970-1975
Patches and repairs may be obvious or invisible, quirky or necessary. Some repairs purposefully draw attention to themselves, such as a pair of colorfully patched jeans.
View ArtifactNeely Manufacturing "Jiffy" Screen Patches, 1942-1945
By combining materials, the usefulness of a thing can be extended. However, the decision to do so can make an object seem like an artful collage, or an exaggerated version of itself. This product was used to patch holes in a window screen.
View ArtifactLantern Slide, "Robinson Crusoe, He Sails Around the Island," 1894
This lantern slide depicts a scene from Robinson Crusoe. It shows a practical re-use of materials: a boat rigged with a hand-patched sail, a man dressed in animal skins, an umbrella made from plant fronds.
View ArtifactCampbell's Soup Can "Souper Dress," 1966-1967
Some of these objects may seem to have little in common, but they do share a common language: they are all intentionally customized or improvised. This disposable paper dress was trimmed with scissors by the donor to better suit her short height. Its soup can motif was a riff on 1960s Pop artist, Andy Warhol.
View ArtifactApron, 1973-1982
In the 1970s, activist Carrie Barefoot Dickerson opposed the building of a nuclear power plant. One of the many ways she communicated her message was by painting alternative energy options on this apron.
View ArtifactCollage, Detroit Skyline and the Bob-Lo Boat, 1960-1975
Using whatever materials are at hand, big visual impact can result from basic materials. In the 1970s, a child made this collage, organizing squares of construction paper into the shape of the Detroit skyline and the Boblo boat.
View ArtifactOil Painting, House near Gray's River, Washington, 1875-1900
The unknown painter of this piece of late 19th-century folk art gathered pinecones and twigs to fashion a frame.
View ArtifactCircuit Bent "Speak & Spell," 2018
Improvised design can be collage-like. This circuit bent instrument is made from an iconic Speak n' Spell educational toy. Circuit benders salvage cheap battery-powered electronics from second-hand stores, open their covers, and make permanent short circuits with jumper wires. The sounds transform: glitchy, distorted, and unpredictable.
View ArtifactRoland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, 1981
The Roland 808 drum machine was a force of nature in the electronic music world, providing rhythms to music genres like synth pop, techno, and hip-hop. A palette of now-legendary drum sounds could be combined and programmed at the touch of a finger. The "sizzling" beats of the 808 were produced by faulty transistors, knowingly purchased by the company for their unique sound.
View ArtifactCap'n Crunch Bo'sun Whistle, circa 1965
Glue may be used to hold something together, but some objects encourage people to break existing systems apart. Toy whistles may seem innocent, but ones that emitted a 2600 hertz tone--like this Cap'n Crunch cereal premium--were used by "phone phreaks" in the 1960s and '70s to illegally exploit the telephone system.
View ArtifactBlue Box, Designed and Built by Steve Wozniak and Marketed by Steve Jobs, circa 1972
Like some whistles, a purpose-built electronic "blue box" could trick AT&T's exchange system into giving people free long-distance phone calls.
View ArtifactReprint from QST Magazine of December 1916, "Westfield, N. J., Radio Station"
In 1914, Charles Apgar combined radio equipment with a wax phonograph to capture suspicious signals being leaked by German spies from a wireless station in Sayville, NY. You could say that Apgar was an early hardware hacker and a cryptographer.
View ArtifactHacked Microsoft Xbox Video Game System, Modified by Andrew "Bunnie" Huang in 2002
While a student at MIT, bunnie Huang became infamous for his "Hacking the Xbox" project. bunnie created hardware modifications which unlocked the Xbox's full potential in ways that Microsoft never intended. He shared these reverse engineering hacks in a book, challenging the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
View ArtifactGaloob "Game Genie" Video Game Enhancer, 1990-1991
The Game Genie may look familiar to people who grew up playing games on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. This unauthorized adapter intercepted and replaced data from game cartridges, granting players infinite lives, skipping of levels, and a range of other unintended effects.
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