The Collections
Henry Ford seen through the lens of our collections, 150 years later
This year we’re proud to celebrate what would have been the 150th birthday of our institute’s founder, Henry Ford. Throughout the year we’ll be sharing More
Research Roads: From Clara Ford to Helen Keller
As a public researcher who has spent many hours using the archival holdings of the Benson Ford Research Center, I am always amazed by what More
Ford at the Fair
Donna Braden, Curator of Public Life, had the pleasure of delving into our vast collections to develop the “Ford at the Fair” display, our complement More
Cars, poetry and the Utopian Turtletop
By Bart Bealmear, a reading room assistant at The Henry Ford To close out National Poetry Month, we present the strange tale of Marianne Moore More
Greenfield Village’s first railroad
Today’s post comes to us from Don LaCombe, our Supervisor of Transportation and Crafts Programs at The Henry Ford. Don has been documenting the history More
Soybeans: Henry Ford’s miracle crop
In the 1920s, following his success with the Model T, Henry Ford increasingly turned his attention to transforming farming—the life he sought to escape as More
Ruth McConnell’s broderie perse quilt
In 1793, 35-year-old Ruth Hall McConnell created this exquisite quilt, assisted by her young cousins, Hannah and Mary Parry, who lived just around the corner More
Remembering Studebaker’s bankruptcy, March 18, 1933
This year brings a couple of notable – and not particularly pleasant – anniversaries for Studebaker fans. Fifty years ago, in December 1963, the company More
Henry Ford’s quotations
Henry Ford’s achievements, which revolutionized both industry and society, made him a folk hero. His unique and colorful personality helped cement his legend. A study More
The fashions of Elizabeth Parke Firestone
Elizabeth Parke Firestone (1897-1990) was destined to develop a refined sense of fashion. Born the daughter of a wealthy Decatur, Ill., businessman, she was given More
The Henry Ford’s Digital Collections: Tips and Tricks
The Henry Ford is currently working on a major long-term effort to digitize our collections and make them available to anyone at anytime online via More
The Story of John Brown, The Martyr
I have always found John Brown to be an intriguing historical figure. Recently I studied a print in The Henry Ford’s collection made by the More
African American workers at Ford Motor Company
Photo: P.833.72372 Mr. Price Inspecting Emery Wheels at the Motor Building, Ford Motor Company, September 12, 1939 No single reason can sufficiently explain why in More
Valentines surprises
This time of year I feel so nostalgic about activities surrounding Valentine’s Day! I fondly recall making cards for my mother on construction paper by More
Conserving a GAR parade flag
In the past few years, the Conservation Department has worked on a number of historically important flags from Michigan, including several Civil War battle flags. More
Segregated travel and the uncommon courage of Rosa Parks
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a soft-spoken African-American seamstress, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a More
The Henry Ford’s CAN-DO Digitization Project: 2012 in Review
The Henry Ford, like many cultural institutions, has been working on digitizing its collections—i.e., photographing and describing them, and making this information available online. While More
Here’s to 2013!
Happy New Year from all of us here at The Henry Ford! We’re looking forward to an exciting year ahead of us. This trade card More
Blogging from 1923
I must not be the first person to notice how much some publications resemble blogs. Both formats feature fresh content, a variety of interesting topics, More
The artistic approach of Ray Eames
The following post was originally posted on Herman Miller’s Discover blog on Dec. 13, 2012. We’re pleased to share this story here on The Henry More
In Honor of Ray Eames
This Saturday, Dec. 15, marks what would have been artist and designer Ray Eames’ 100th birthday. Design is an important topic at The Henry Ford, More
Holiday fun inspired by the collections of The Henry Ford
Does this 1927 Christmas card look familiar to you? If you’ve seen any of our Holiday Nights flyers, it just might! Our designers frequently look More
Morgan Gies: Driver to the Presidents
Image ID THF208776 One of the great pleasures of being archivist at The Henry Ford is the continuing ability to receive interesting collections and to More
December Pic of the Month
Our final Pic of the Month for 2012 is the 1858 “Sam Hill” Steam Locomotive, selected by our Curator of Transportation, Matt Anderson. As Matt More
Pic of the Month: Kennedy Presidential Limousine
From Curator of Public Life Donna Braden: If you were born before the mid-1950s, you probably remember with stunning clarity the exact moment you heard More
Food in the library: Cookbooks in the Benson Ford Research Center
You might expect the library and archives of The Henry Ford to have books relating to automobiles, but did you know we also collect books More
The Henry Ford staff on the road: Finding our collections everywhere
Recently, The Henry Ford sent a contingent of its staff to New Haven, Conn., to attend a conference at the wonderful Yale Peabody Museum of More
Halloween postcards from long ago
A distinctly American blend of Halloween traditions emerged by the late 1800s. Into the 20th century, the holiday became a national celebration of mystery and More
Henry Ford’s violins
Conservators at the Henry Ford Museum are collaborating with violin experts to prepare Henry Ford’s personal violin collection for an upcoming permanent display in Henry More
Find it in the archives—with finding aids!
Something most Americans may not know is that October is American Archives Month. This event was started by the Society of American Archivists to raise More
Buying Mark Twain’s letter at auction
Curators greet auction house catalogs with anticipation when they arrive in our museum mailboxes. Within the sumptuous pages of exquisite photography we might discover a More
Pic of the Month: October 2012
October’s Pic of the Month is the 1938 Massey-Harris Combine Model 20. From Jim McCabe, Acting Curator of Agriculture: Combines loom large on the museum More
Reflections on the Goodwood Revival
Last month The Henry Ford participated in the Goodwood Revival, near Chichester, England. The annual festival is held on the grounds of the historic Goodwood More
Among my favorite advertising posters…
I have a long-standing fascination with large advertising posters. The collections of The Henry Ford include hundreds of these colorful graphics. As I study them More
Ask us a question and you’ll get a response
We get questions from young and old alike regarding our national treasures. Everything from such topics as historic figures: Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and the More
Scanning through history
I spent this summer interning at the Benson Ford Research Center helping the effort to digitize the museum’s enormous collection. When I started working here, More
Digitizing The Henry Ford’s most significant artifacts
Some followers of The Henry Ford’s blog may remember that back in January we told you about our 2012 project to digitize the most “significant” More
Edison Patents the Kinetograph
On this day in 1897, Thomas Edison received a patent for his movie camera, the kinetograph. He’d been developing the camera during the 1890s.
Mark your calendar for Books, Etc., Sale Sept. 8
What do you do when you have a dozen identical pieces of product literature when for all practical collecting purposes, you only need two or More
A journey though time this weekend with the Girl Scouts
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. Juliette Gordon Low founded the organization in 1912 after More
A summer of typewriter digitization
My name is Danielle and I am currently a museum studies graduate student interested in becoming a museum registrar. I spent this summer at The More
Collectible Olympic pride
A year and a half after the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, I found myself in an all-things-Canada souvenir shop in Toronto, which felt more More
Reliability tours land public trust
National Air Tours helped familiarize Americans with aircraft as commercial vehicles. Before the 1930s, planes in the United States rarely carried travelers. They served More
Maker mysteries: High-tech discoveries and old-world making
As chief conservator at The Henry Ford, Mary Fahey is a “making” detective of sorts. And, for the past two years, some of that detective More
The joy of mechanical contraptions
What is The Henry Ford bringing to Maker Faire Detroit? Well, in addition to a complete devotion to the sharing and celebration of innovation, and More
Our collections: More than meets the eye
Introduced in the United States in 1984, the Transformers have been among the most popular toy lines ever since. They were robots who could change More
CAN-DO Can Do It!: The Henry Ford’s digitized collection hits a milestone
As regular readers of this blog probably already know, The Henry Ford is in the middle of a big effort to digitize its vast collections More
Camping with Henry Ford and the Vagabonds
Now that school’s out and summer is here, many of us turn our thoughts to vacation and travel. Camping has long been a way for More
Keeping cool the Victorian way
How do you keep cool during these hot and humid summer days? Do you duck into the shade? Take a dip in a pool? Park More
The rise and fall: The golden age of motels
Summer is here, and many of us look forward to an escape from the daily grind with some relaxation and down time. Our thoughts turn More
The inventor who had exactly the wrong name
What’s in a name? Sometimes a little confusion… Hollis Baird (1905-1990) was an inventor, entrepreneur, and, eventually, engineering teacher. Born along the Maine/New Brunswick border, More
American racing history, through Dave Friedman’s camera lens
Pomona, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Laguna Seca, Sebring, Le Mans, Indianapolis…race fans know that these are the tracks where legends were made. Gurney, Shelby , More
There’s always something new online: Newly digitized collection objects!
Did you know that over the past six weeks alone, The Henry Ford has digitized more than 1000 artifacts from its collections, bringing the total More
When is an office like a music hall?
When the typewriter is a player piano. By the beginning of the twentieth century, modern office culture was taking off and work was speeding More
Mother’s Day greetings through the years
Mother’s Day, a holiday devoted to honoring mothers, has its American origins in the years following the Civil War. To aid national healing in the More
Rare opportunity to learn about – and hear! – our 1709 Stradivari violin
Many people don’t realize that Henry Ford had a special fondness for musical instruments, especially violins. Although he never learned to play it as well More
A checkup turns into surgery – repairing the Dymaxion House
A planned two-week checkup inspection of the iconic house of the future – Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House – turned into a two-month long “surgery” to repair extensive More
History icons: The Rosa Parks bus
When guests see the Rosa Parks bus on display inside Henry Ford Museum, they are often in awe. Speechless. Moved, even. And you don’t More
Creating Driving America’s interactive kiosk experiences
If you’ve seen the Driving America exhibition in Henry Ford Museum, you may have gotten to help Henry Ford innovate the Model T, sing along More
Chicks and cars: Ford automotive advertisements and female consumers
When my parents handed me the keys to my 2001 Ford Escort ZX2 at the ripe old age of 16, I felt an instant sense More
A “rivet”-ing snapshot of American women’s history
By now most of us are familiar with the iconic image of a working-class woman during World War II known as “Rosie the Riveter.” As More
Ready to play? Check out our board game collection!
It’s common knowledge that The Henry Ford has a fantastic automobile collection. But did you also know we have a great collection of board games, More
Hubcap tales: Behind the scenes of digitizing our collections
If you’re a regular reader of The Henry Ford’s blog, you might have noticed several recent blog posts about The Henry Ford’s ongoing effort to More
History Mystery: Carl Bennett Linder – portrait painter to the Ford family
As they’ve demonstrated before, being a curator often involves some sleuthing – see how a simple search uncovered the puzzling life of a 20th-century portrait More
Cozying up to a new acquisition – Susan McCord Triple Irish Chain quilt, circa 1900
People often send us letters offering items for our collection. Recently, I received a letter in the mail that surprised and absolutely delighted me. More
Celebrate Black History: William Perry, first African-American worker at Ford Motor Company
For me, the excitement of the year 2003 is still a vivid memory. That year, Ford Motor Company celebrated their 100th anniversary – an More
“George Washington slept here” – no, really!
Dotting the landscape of places like Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York are numerous Colonial-era homes and taverns where George Washington is said to have More
First known portrait of Thomas Alva Edison, circa 1851
Since Thomas Edison’s birthday happened to be this past Saturday (February 11), it made me think of this first known portrait of him. Even after More
From the archives: “To My Valentine”
The custom of sending messages of affection on February 14 dates back to Roman times, when mid-February was a time to meet and court perspective More
Building a Highland Park plant for the digital age
When Ford Motor Company engineers developed the assembly line at the Highland Park Plant back in 1913, they were seeking to increase production volume in More
Sending out an SOS
On August 11, 1909, as his ship struggled off Cape Hatteras, telegraph operator Theodore Haubner had an urgent choice to make: How should he call More
More than meets the eye – a look at Benson Ford Research Center
Five miles of awesome. That pretty much sums up the Behind the Scenes Tour I took at Benson Ford Research Center. I confess, as many times More
Climb into our Driving America vehicles with Midcoast Studios
The Henry Ford’s new exhibit, Driving America, offers visitors a new way of looking at the history and impact of the automobile on American life. More
What’s in a wheel?
What does lounging by the pool on a hot day have to do with automotive restoration? In the case of one of our antique vehicles, More
“Fitting out” the Texaco service bay in Driving America
Driving America will offer a brand-new opportunity for kids to pretend they’re auto mechanics. And what better place for this to occur than inside the More
January Pic of the Month: The Rosa Parks Bus
When does an object become an icon? Our curators explored this question and came up with three criteria: national significance, uniqueness to our institution and resonance More
Our New Year’s resolution: More artifacts at your fingertips
The coming of a New Year is a great time to set resolutions, and for 2012, The Henry Ford has picked at least one doozy More