Celebrating 90 — Collecting through the Decades: 1960s

By the 1960s, curators had started to organize many of the artifacts collected during Henry Ford's lifetime. As collecting continued, Curator of Mechanical Arts Frank Davis couldn't pass up the chance to add this radio to the collection in 1967. Created by radio pioneer Edwin Armstrong, this was the first portable "superhet" radio receiver ever made and a gift to his wife for their honeymoon. —Ryan Jelso, associate curator, digital content

Throughout the mid-20th century, curators sought out the best examples of decorative and folk arts, one of which is this portrait of a 4-year-old girl named Sarah. Painted around 1830 by an itinerant artist, this endearing girl carries a basket of stylized fruit and flowers and wears a necklace of coral beads, which were thought to ward off illness. —Charles Sable, curator of decorative arts

This 1842 Noah and Rebecca Webster silhouette came in 1962 — just in time to be placed in the Webster House as it was opened to the public for the first time. This silhouette, mentioned in Rebecca’s will, had been left to a Webster daughter. Curators also acquired an original Webster desk, sofa, and portraits to include along with other period furniture, tableware, paintings, quilts, and accessories. —Jeanine Head Miller, curator of domestic life

In 1964, the Ford Motor Company donated its archive to Edison Institute, with the records from the office of Henry Ford at its core. Housed in over 3,000 boxes and forming an unbroken run of correspondence from 1921 through 1952, the Engineering Lab Office Records are a remarkable group of materials that document more than thirty years of one of the world's great industrialists and his company. —Brian Wilson, sr. manager, archives and library

The transfer of Ford Motor Company records to The Henry Ford in 1964 included this 1960 advertisement for a Ford 981 diesel tractor and Ford 250 hay baler. Peter Cousins, the first historian hired to curate agriculture, joined the staff in 1969. His research affirmed the richness of the collection and he spent 25 years building the collection. —Deb Reid, curator of agriculture and the environment

In 1969, the institution announced an extensive expansion and improvement program that included a perimeter railroad for Greenfield Village. The 1873 Torch Lake, originally used to haul copper in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, fit in perfectly with these plans. Returned to operating condition, the nearly 100-year-old engine would carry passengers instead of ore when the railroad opened in 1972. —Saige Jedele, associate curator, digital content

Mustang fans know the story. Stanley Tucker bought Serial #1 in Newfoundland on April 14, 1964, and Ford spent two years trying to get it back. Eventually, Tucker traded for a fully loaded '66 Mustang. Ford gave Serial #1 to The Henry Ford where it immediately… went into storage until 1984. Museum policy at the time prevented display of any car under 20 years old. Happily, that rule is long gone today! —Matt Anderson, curator of transportation

The museum's collection not only includes automobiles, but automotive accessories and registration materials. In the 1960s, the State of Michigan donated a run of Michigan license plates dating from about 1906 to 1968. Alongside the museum's historic vehicles, these objects help tell the rich story of America's automotive history. —Andy Stupperich, associate curator, digital content