Sisters of Edison Engineer John Kruesi at Ford Exposition, New York World's Fair, 1939

Ford Motor Company executives knew that only 1 in 5 Americans would attend the 1939-40 New York World's Fair. They planned for even fewer to visit the Ford exposition, and allocated more than $300,000 to publicize Ford's involvement at the fair. To ensure national coverage, the Ford exhibit's Press Department distributed photographs of prominent visitors to thousands of publications across the country.