Clara Ford and Friends at a Dress-up Party in Ford Home (Henry Ford's Birthplace), November 25, 1923

Henry Ford's wife, Clara, and her friends dressed up in 19th century clothing during an old-fashioned dancing party the Fords hosted at Henry's birthplace. Henry Ford was restoring the Dearborn, Michigan, farmhouse as he remembered it during his childhood. By the mid-1920s, Ford had begun collecting everyday objects of the American past -- perhaps these garments were among the antiques he was gathering.