Photographic Vertical File Series
The Photographic vertical file series is an assembled collection of photographs from a variety of sources. The series contains both original photographs and copy photographs, covering a wide range of topics.
Scope and Content Note
This assembled collection consists of the most often used images relating to Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company. Started in the 1950s, these photoprints were gathered from larger photograph accessions (particularly Accessions 188, 189 and 833) and from...
MoreThis assembled collection consists of the most often used images relating to Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company. Started in the 1950s, these photoprints were gathered from larger photograph accessions (particularly Accessions 188, 189 and 833) and from miscellaneous sources. In many ways this collection forms a synopsis of the larger Henry Ford / Ford Motor Company photographic accessions. This file contains vintage as well as copy photoprints.
Topics covered include an encyclopedic range of subjects concerning Henry Ford and his family from 1890 to 1955; a broad selection of Ford Motor Company products, buildings, activities, and subsidiaries from 1903 to 1955; and a sampling of automotive industry images other than Ford Motor Company (for views of automobiles other than Ford products see Accession 1671). This collection reflects Henry Ford's wide interests, and includes images of famous people such as actors, authors, kings, and scientists as well as his personal friends, John Burroughs, Harvey Firestone, and George Washington Carver (for Thomas Edison images see also Accession 1630). Henry Ford's interest in historic preservation at Botsford Inn and Wayside Inn also is covered (for images of Henry Ford Museum AND Greenfield Village see also Accession EI 1929).
Some cities and towns are documented in this collection, particularly where Henry Ford's Village Industries, farms and homes were located and the sites of Ford Motor Company plants and branches. Michigan is particularly well represented because of the company headquarters in Detroit and Dearborn. Reflecting the activity of the Ford Archives in the 1950s many views of automobiles on city streets, country roads, and camping from the early decades of this century are part of this collection, gathered for Ford Motor Company's 50th anniversary advertising campaign, "The American Road."
Additional topics include automobile exhibitions, Stout and Ford Tri-Motor airplanes, Ford Tractors and World War I and II defense production. Copy photoprints of graphics such as company advertisements and documents are also in the collection (for the original artifacts see Accession 19 for advertisements, and Accession 1, Accession 62, Accession 285, and other manuscript collections for the documents).
The original subject arrangement was based on an idiosyncratic set of subject headings developed for use with the Ford manuscript collections. Beginning in 1986, the subject terms were changed to reflect Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division standards for subject arrangement. In 1987, a large portion of the photoprints in this collection was cataloged in The Henry Ford's collection management system with a concomitant videodisc made of the images.
The accession was previously known as the Archives Print Collection, the Reference Photofile, the Aircraft Subject Boxes, the Automotive Addendum, and the A Series Prints by Subject.
LessCollection Details
Object ID: 84.1.1660.0
Creator: Ford Motor Company. Archives
Creator Notes: Created by Ford Motor Company Archives
Inclusive Dates: 1890-1980
Size: 53.33 linear ft.
Language: English
Collection Access & Use
Item Location: Benson Ford Research Center
Access Restrictions: The collection is open for research.
Credit: From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Keywords
United States, Georgia, Richmond Hill
United States, Michigan, Dearborn
United States, Michigan, Detroit
United States, Michigan, Charter Township of Ypsilanti
United States, Michigan, Charter Township of Van Buren
Hotels (Public accommodations)
Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943
Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931
Digitized Artifacts From This Collection
In many cases, not all artifacts have been digitized.
Contact us for more information about this collection.
Garden at Fair Lane Estate, Dearborn, Michigan, June 1933
Artifact
Photographic transparency
Date Made
14 June 1933
Summary
In the early 1910s, Henry and Clara Ford selected 1300 acres of farmland in Dearborn, Michigan, as the site for a new home. They called the estate Fair Lane. Surrounded by woods, meadows, gardens, and the nature they loved, Henry and Clara found this home a peaceful respite. This image shows one of the gardens created near the house for the couple to enjoy.
Creators
Keywords
Object ID
84.1.1660.535
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Garden at Fair Lane Estate, Dearborn, Michigan, June 1933
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
During the Great Depression, Ford Motor Company made efforts to improve living conditions in Inkster, Michigan, a primarily Black community hit especially hard by the economic crisis. Ford built a high school, repaired homes, established a medical clinic, and opened a low-price commissary. Improvements were funded through involuntary paycheck deductions from Inkster residents employed at Ford's nearby Rouge plant.
Keywords
Object ID
84.1.1660.P.188.27534
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Book Display at the Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
During the Great Depression, Ford Motor Company made efforts to improve living conditions in Inkster, Michigan, a primarily Black community hit especially hard by the economic crisis. Ford built a high school, repaired homes, established a medical clinic, and opened a low-price commissary. Improvements were funded through involuntary paycheck deductions from Inkster residents employed at Ford's nearby Rouge plant.
Keywords
Object ID
84.1.1660.P.188.27537
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Book Display at the Inkster High School Senior Banquet, May 2, 1940
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Henry Ford Trade School Students at Great Lakes Exposition, Cleveland, Ohio, 1936-1937
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
Cleveland celebrated its centennial with the Great Lakes Exposition. For two summers during 1936 and 1937, over seven million visitors came through the gates. Fair officials consigned Ford and the other automobile companies to the Automotive Building -- no separate corporate buildings were constructed. Ford supplemented its vehicle displays with other exhibitions, including demonstrations by students from the Henry Ford Trade School.
Place of Creation
Keywords
Object ID
84.1.1660.P.833.66356
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Henry Ford Trade School Students at Great Lakes Exposition, Cleveland, Ohio, 1936-1937
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Lincoln Automobiles on Assembly Line, April 1932
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
Henry Leland formed Lincoln Motor Company in 1917 to manufacture Liberty airplane engines during World War I. Lincoln's plant sat at the corner of Livernois and Warren Avenues in Detroit. In 1920, Leland and Lincoln pivoted to luxury automobiles. More than 400,000 Lincoln cars were built in the Detroit factory until 1952, when operations moved to Wixom, Michigan.
Keywords
Object ID
84.1.1660.P.833.56813.18
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Lincoln Automobiles on Assembly Line, April 1932
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Clark Gable Stepping into His Lincoln Continental in the MGM Film "The Hucksters," 1947
Artifact
Photographic print
Date Made
1947
Summary
Actor Clark Gable posed with a Lincoln Continental used in his 1947 film The Hucksters. Automakers were always happy to have one of their cars featured prominently in a hit movie. It was terrific advertising and -- before television -- the only kind of ad that could show a car in motion.
Object ID
84.1.1660.951
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Clark Gable Stepping into His Lincoln Continental in the MGM Film "The Hucksters," 1947
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Edsel Ford's Personal Speedboat, "Goldfish," December 1935
Artifact
Photographic print
Date Made
26 December 1935
Summary
Edsel Ford enjoyed boating. He owned an impressive collection of watercraft, from large pleasure yachts to smaller powerboats. Ford competed, as an owner, in the Gold Cup boat races in Detroit in 1922 and 1923. This photograph shows Goldfish, one of Ford's competition boats.
Creators
Keywords
Object ID
84.1.1660.930
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Edsel Ford's Personal Speedboat, "Goldfish," December 1935
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Edsel Ford's Speedboat, "Nine Ninety Nine," in Florida, circa 1924
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
Edsel Ford named his speedboat Nine Ninety Nine in tribute to the "999" race car built by his father in 1902. The younger Ford enjoyed spending time on the water, whether sailing for pleasure on a yacht or racing at top speed in a powerboat.
Creators
Keywords
Object ID
84.1.1660.934
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Edsel Ford's Speedboat, "Nine Ninety Nine," in Florida, circa 1924
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Detroit Public Library, circa 1910
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
Until the 20th century, most book collections were not available to everyday Americans. They were either privately owned, accessible only by paid subscription, or stored away haphazardly. For communities with dedicated public library buildings (often among the most imposing structures in town), they were sources of civic pride. Built to house the Detroit, Michigan, library, this structure opened in 1877.
Creators
Object ID
84.1.1660.P.O.2367
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Detroit Public Library, circa 1910
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
