On this day 117 years ago, Henry Ford took a very special test drive. He took his Quadricyle out for a spin for the very first time. Henry sold his first car for $200. What did the money go toward? Building his second car.

Learn more about Henry the engineer on our special website dedicated to our founder and ultimate maker.

Henry Ford driving his Quadricycle in Detroit, October 1896.
(Object ID: P.833.89114)

When Sherwood Egbert accepted the presidency of the Studebaker Corporation in 1961, the future of the company’s automobiles looked bleak. Studebaker’s compact Lark cars—introduced to success in 1959—were aging, sales were slacking, and the company’s board of directors was focused on diversification with an eye toward exiting the car business altogether.

Egbert wanted a dramatic new automobile to lure people into showrooms and revive interest in Studebaker until the bread-and-butter Larks could be refreshed. He turned to the man who had produced stunning designs for Studebaker since 1936: Raymond Loewy.

To read more of Curator of Transportation Matt Anderson’s selection for June’s Pic of the Month, click here.

Susana Allen Hunter (Object ID 2007.71.15, THF37810)

The Henry Ford recently loaned part of its collection to the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) for its exhibition, “The Improvisational Quilts of Susana Allen Hunter.” On May 9, I attended the opening with Marc Greuther, chief curator, and Jeanine Head Miller, curator of domestic life. Was I ever impressed! These quilts are a stunning representation of artistry and the daily life of an African American woman living in the difficult conditions of rural Alabama as late as the 1970s.

In collaboration with the GRAM, we loaned 22 quilts from the collection, along with personal objects that belonged to Susana. Our textile conservator, Fran Faile, worked with GRAM staff to ensure that these significant pieces were handled and installed according to museum standards.

Hunter house as it was in 2007 (John Metz)

Jeanie Miller had secured the initial collection and then painstakingly researched its rich history. She worked with GRAM curatorial and education staff and shared not only her knowledge, but her passion for this extraordinary collection. She understood its value, and the way it captures rich stories of a distinctive time and place. Such stories are elusive and very difficult to collect and preserve. In this collection, The Henry Ford holds a remarkable piece of African American and women’s history.

During the process of acquiring the collection, Jeanie had developed a strong relationship with Tommie Hunter, grandson of Susana, who had lived with her as a young boy and with whom Susana lived in her later years. After Jeanie’s masterful presentation at the GRAM exhibition opening on the quilts and the related materials she has collected, she conducted a question and answer session with Tommie, his wife, Susie, and the audience. What a delight.The personal nature of the memories and tales of Susana Hunter’s quilting had the audience’s rapt attention.

Marilyn Zoidis, Jeanie Miller, Dana Friis-Hansen (Director and CEO, GRAM)

The opening was great fun – food, wine, and people to share the excitement of the evening. But the sense of pride I felt to be associated with an institution that had the foresight to acquire and preserve such a remarkable piece of American history will stay with me always.

Susana Allen Hunter (Object ID 2006.79.9, THF73591) and (Object ID 2006.79.23, THF73642)

The Henry Ford offers online opportunities to read and see the Susana Allen Hunter collection. To see the entire collection of quilts and household goods from Hunter, visit our online Collections.

To see the quilts in person, visit the Grand Rapids Arts Museum where “The Improvisational Quilts of Susana Allen Hunter” will be presented until Aug. 25, 2013. You won’t be disappointed!

Marilyn Zoidis, Director of Historical Resources, gets to work with an incredibly talented group of museum professionals every day.

You might also like to read…
GRAM presents spectacular selection of improvisational quilts
Photo Set: Improvisational Quilts of Susan Allen Hunter

Buses have been part of America’s transportation network since the dawn of motorized transportation at the turn of the 20th century. Since then, bus routes have crisscrossed the nation, providing affordable connections to thousands of American cities and small towns from coast to coast. They’ve carried workers to their places of employment, shoppers to downtown stores or suburban malls, and children to school. Leisure travelers have boarded buses to explore the wonders of nature or enjoy the adventures offered in urban environments. Buses have shuttled people from the airport to the rental car agency or parking lot.

The Henry Ford has recently acquired a collection of research materials relating to buses and the bus industry. “Hop aboard” to explore this rich history through materials gathered by Bill Luke, for whom buses were a personal passion, as well as a career.

In 2009, The Henry Ford acquired the unique collection of this internationally-renowned photographer, author and motion picture still photographer.

To read more of Chief Archivist Terry Hoover’s Pic of the Month, click here. To see more of the World’s Fair, visit “Designing Tomorrow” at Henry Ford Museum now through Sept. 2.

Objects in museum collections often tell rich stories—but sometimes you have to search for them.

A few months ago, The Henry Ford’s staff came upon an intriguing object in our collection—a late 19th century painting of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade Monument in Gettysburg, Penn. In this painting, the figure of a soldier at the top of the monument gazes out over the field where this famed Civil War unit fought fiercely on July 3, 1863, helping to assure Union victory on the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Detail of Jessie’s signature on the Michigan Cavalry Brigade Monument painting.

Yet we knew virtually nothing about the painting—how could we tell its story to our visitors? The signature of the artist provided an intriguing clue. It read “Jessie C. Zinn/Gettysburg Pa.” But who was Jessie Zinn? And why did she choose this subject to paint?

Our search for answers to these questions took us from internet sources like Ancestry.com to places like Gettysburg and Williamsport, Penn., and Dallas, N.C. Along the way, we found helpful librarians and museum curators who provided information and gave us further leads for our search. To our great surprise, one of these leads put us in contact with Jessie’s grandson, Lawrence Lohr! Even more surprising, Mr. Lohr lived only about 30 miles from The Henry Ford.

Jessie Zinn’s grandson, Lawrence Lohr, pays a visit to The Henry Ford’s conservation lab to see his grandmother’s painting.

It was exciting for The Henry Ford’s staff when Mr. Lohr paid us a visit to view his grandmother’s painting in mid-April. We had managed to learn quite a bit about Jessie in the previous couple of months. But Mr. Lohr shared photos of Jessie and rich stories that could only have come from family.
Here are some of the things we learned about Jessie Zinn.

Jessie Cora Zinn and Luther Lohr (shown in center) on their wedding day, July 14, 1891, at her parents’ home in Gettysburg. (Image courtesy of Lawrence Lohr)

Jessie had a very personal connection to the Battle of Gettysburg—she was born on a farm near the town the day after the battle! From 1868 through 1876, Jessie’s father ran a store in Gettysburg. The Zinn family then lived on an Adams County, Penn., farm for a few years, returning to Gettysburg by the late 1880s. Jessie moved to Dallas, N.C., in September 1890, where she served as head of the art department at Gaston College for Girls. Here, Jessie met Luther Lohr, a professor at the college, whom she married in July 1891 in Gettysburg. Luther then attended the Lutheran seminary in Gettysburg, graduating in 1894.

Jessie and Luther Lohr with their children, 1905. (Image courtesy of Lawrence Lohr)

But what of Jessie’s evocative painting of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade monument? A number of the surviving veterans of this brigade, also known as the “Wolverine Brigade,” were present at the dedication of the monument on June 13, 1889. Jessie Zinn likely created this painting of the monument soon after.
Did a proud Michigan Cavalry Brigade veteran ask the 26-year-old Gettysburg artist to paint it? Did Michigan veterans commission the artwork to hang in their local Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R) Hall? And, if so, how did the client find out about Jessie’s skill as an artist? We don’t yet know. But we do know that Jessie painted one other Gettysburg battlefield scene of monuments near where Pickett’s Charge took place. And Jessie’s brother Merville ran the Gettysburg Hotel. Could a visiting Michigan veteran have seen that painting hanging in the hotel and then asked the Jessie to create one of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade monument? An interesting idea to ponder.

If you come to the Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village on Memorial Day weekend, you will see Jessie’s painting on exhibit in the Pavilion. And perhaps stand in the shoes of the unknown individual–Michigan Civil War veteran or not—who, by commissioning this painting, desired to have a tangible reminder of the valor and sacrifice of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade’s men to gaze upon.

Jeanine Head Miller is Curator of Domestic Life

Did you know that Henry Ford’s uncles fought in the Civil War? In fact, John and Barney Litogot served with Michigan’s most celebrated regiment, the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, part of the famed “Iron Brigade.”

The Litogot Children
John and Barney were Henry Ford’s mother’s brothers. But the four Litogot children spent only their earliest years together—both of their parents had died by 1842. So the young Litogots, who also included oldest brother Saphara, were divided among friends or relatives. The youngest child, 2-year-old Mary (Henry Ford’s mother), was adopted by Patrick and Margaret Ahern, a childless couple living on a Dearborn, Mich., farm. While all the Litogot children found homes in Wayne County, they likely saw each other infrequently as they were growing up.

This photograph of John Litogot was probably taken soon after he enlisted in August 1862 (Object ID 64.167.1.454, Gift of Ford Motor Company).

Off to War
The Litogot brothers, 27-year-old John and 24-year-old Barney, enlisted in the 24th Michigan in the summer of 1862. John went as a paid substitute for another man. Barney left a wife and infant son. Soon after the Litogots joined up, the brothers headed to a photographer’s studio to pose together in uniform. When Barney and John left Detroit with their regiment for Washington. D.C., the 24th was briefly assigned to aid in the defense of the nation’s capitol. By mid-December, their unit was at Fredericksburg, Va., preparing for battle.

John Litogot’s first battle was also his last. He was killed on Dec. 13, 1862, the second day of the battle of Fredericksburg, hit by a cannonball when the 24th came under attack from Confederate artillery. John was buried where he fell, and later moved to Fredericksburg’s national cemetery.

Barney sat for this photograph in a Springfield, Ill., studio in the spring of 1865, about the time that the 24th served as honor guard for Abraham Lincoln’s funeral in Springfield (Object ID 64.167.1.455 , Gift of Ford Motor Company).

Barney continued to serve with the 24th through Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (where he was wounded in the arm), the Wilderness (where he received a hand wound), Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. At war’s end, one of his regiment’s last duties was to serve as honor guard at Abraham Lincoln’s funeral in May 1865.

During “Michigan Day at Gettysburg” on June 12, 1889, survivors of the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry gathered at on the Gettysburg battlefield to dedicate their regiment’s monument. Then they posed for a photograph with the monument. But Barney is not pictured among those veterans, having died of tuberculosis in 1873.

So where was Henry Ford during the Civil War? Henry was born on his family’s Dearborn farm on July 30, 1863, about four weeks after his uncle Barney fought at Gettysburg. Henry never knew his uncle John, who lost his life at Fredericksburg the December before Henry was born.

Join us this Memorial Day Weekend to reflect and celebrate with our annual Civil War Remembrance program.

Jeanine Head Miller is Curator of Domestic Life

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 content and stories here on The Henry Ford’s blog about one of America’s greatest innovators.

At The Henry Ford, we often think and talk about Henry Ford, our institution’s founder. This is particularly true this year, which marks 150 years since Henry Ford was born. To commemorate this major milestone, we wanted to tackle a digitization project in Henry’s honor.

When it comes to our Henry Ford–related collections, the problem is narrowing down our vast holdings on all of Henry’s interests, activities, and businesses. A team of curators and educators from The Henry Ford had a series of meetings and discussions earlier this year, and came up with 17 topics that represent major themes in Henry’s life. After that, they made selections from our collections that best represent each of those themes. Their selections have now been digitized and are up on our collections website for anyone to browse.

The thing most identified with Henry Ford is the Model T, a car introduced in 1908 that was reasonably priced, reliable, and effective on the bad roads of the day. Three sets of collections items help tell this story. On the Way to the Model T shares some artifacts that show how Henry’s career progressed, such as the 1896 Quadricycle, the first car Henry ever built, and a 1901 photograph showing the race (featured above) that helped Henry gain notoriety and financial backing for his auto ventures. The Model T set shows a few of the Model T’s in the collections of the Henry Ford, including an early 1909 version, and also shows how quickly the Model T was assimilated into all aspects of daily life, from rural families to ingenious work applications. Post-Model T covers many of Henry’s business activities following the Model T, including the introduction of the V-8 engine and war production at Willow Run.

There was more to Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company than the Model T. A set represents the Assembly Line, from early inspirations for the idea (such as this slaughterhouse line) through many gradual refinements to the system, and another tackles the related $5 Day, which Ford implemented to win over critics of the assembly line system, like this outraged wife of a line worker. Two sets cover some of Ford’s non-automobile output: Tractors, including this experimental model from 1907 and the first production model of the popular Fordson tractor from a decade later; and Aviation, from the Ford Tri-Motor to the radio beacon.

Fordson Tractor, 1917, Used by Luther Burbank

One thing that makes Henry Ford such a fascinating figure 150 years after his birth was his wide breadth of interests, many of which tied back to his business activities. A set explores Henry’s interest in Soybeans, from an extremely dramatic presentation of the strength of soy plastics to photos of his working Soybean Laboratory in Greenfield Village (which still stands, now displaying agricultural artifacts). Another set discusses participation by Henry and the Ford Motor Company in various World’s Fairs, from the massive edifices erected to the exhibits inside.

Henry Ford Hitting Soybean Plastic Trunk with an Axe, 1940

A set on Village Industries, Henry Ford’s vision for small factories set in rural locations, shows the geographic coverage of these plants and also covers individual plants such as Nankin Mills. Another of Henry’s lifelong interests was social engineering, as demonstrated by the Sociological Department he established at Ford Motor Company. This is a story also covered on our website; the collections set we’ve created supplements the story with some of the statistics Ford collected on its employees and photographs taken during visits to employee homes.

Undesirable Home Surroundings Found on First Investigation, Ford Sociological Department, 1914-1915

Some of the sets give you a deeper glimpse into Henry’s life. A set covering his Youth demonstrates that from an early age Henry showed a fascination with both the mechanical and the natural world. His love of nature would persist and can later be seen in his frequent camping trips; a set on the Vagabonds, as he and his comrades called themselves, covers both stereotypical camping activities and objects that might lead one to suspect the Vagabonds were not exactly roughing it, like a photo of their extensive entourage.

Pocket Watch, 1850-1875 (Repaired by Young Henry Ford)

Not everything Henry did was a success. A set on his Failures covers some of the areas where Henry struggled, such as the Detroit Automobile Company and the Ford X-8 engine. Conversely, if you want to know where Henry got inspiration, check out some of his Heroes, from his mother to William Holmes McGuffey to Thomas Edison. To see Henry’s likeness captured at various seminal points in his life, from his teenage years through his final decade, check out our set of Portraits.

Portrait of Mary Litigot Ford, circa 1865

Finally, no review of our Henry Ford collections would be complete if we didn’t talk about ourselves just a bit. You can get a concise story of the founding of The Henry Ford, aka the Edison Institute, on our website, but we have now created a set of collections items related to the Founding of the Edison Institute as well. From the construction of the Museum building to our cornerstone, inscribed by Thomas Edison himself, these artifacts will give you a glimpse into the early days of The Henry Ford.

Cornerstone of Edison Institute Signed by Thomas A. Edison, Sept. 27, 1928

Check out all our Henry Ford collections sets via the list below and let us know what you think!

Henry Ford: On the Way to the Model T
Henry Ford: Model T
Henry Ford: Post-Model T
Henry Ford: Assembly Line
Henry Ford: $5 Day
Henry Ford: Tractors
Henry Ford: Aviation
Henry Ford: Soybeans
Henry Ford: World’s Fair
Henry Ford: Village Industries
Henry Ford: Sociological Department
Henry Ford: Youth
Henry Ford: Vagabonds
Henry Ford: Henry Ford’s Failures
Henry Ford: Heroes
Henry Ford: Portraits
Henry Ford: Founding of the Edison Institute

Ellice Engdahl, Digital Collections Initiative Manager at The Henry Ford, wishes Henry a happy 150th and thanks him kindly for founding this amazing collection.

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 I find among the papers and photographs of Henry, Clara and Edsel Ford. Perhaps I am a history geek, but many a time my research has led me to very memorable and enjoyable experiences, as was recently the case.

A good deal of my work takes me to Accession 1, the Fair Lane papers, comprised of the documents, photographs and ephemera found throughout Fair Lane, the Fords’ home, after Clara passed away in 1950. Among the 74 cubic ft. of the Fair Lane papers, you will find documents related to the Fords’ various activities beyond Ford Motor Company.

These are the records of the Fords’ everyday lives—from drawings made by their young son, Edsel, to the sympathy cards they received upon his early death. The boxes include receipts of purchases they made, correspondence from famous friends, like the Edisons, and itineraries from trips abroad. The accession also includes dozens of compelling letters sent to Clara Ford from people asking her for money, and from others asking her to speak to her husband on their behalf to buy a family heirloom for his museum or employ a family member during the Depression. Thank goodness the Fords saved so much, for it gives us an insight into the forgotten details of their experiences, times they shared, decisions they had to make, and the heartaches and challenges they faced.

During a recent research project, I came across a letter from Helen Keller to Clara Ford, dated March 29, 1949, written two years after Henry’s death. In the letter, Helen Keller (1880-1968) thanks Clara for her donation to the American Foundation for Overseas Blind. The Fords, Henry and Clara, as well as Edsel, had begun in the 1920s to donate to causes led by Helen Keller. Ford Motor Company’s job training and placement for blind workers was one of the catalysts that began their association.

But the 1949 letter is so much more than an organizational thank you. As I read the three-page typed letter, it made me pause, as I imagined this extraordinary woman, penning this beautifully composed letter to Clara, sharing personal moments she experienced traveling the world and providing a personal window into her life.

Letter from Helen Keller to Clara Ford, 1949 (Object ID 64.167.1.453)

Although this letter was not the primary focus of my research, it lured me on to new directions, causing me to ask more questions about the relationship of Helen Keller and the Fords, and the work of Helen Keller. It was a long time ago, back in elementary school, that I had read Helen Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life, but I recalled how remarkable a life she had led. Visiting a few websites allowed me to put the time the letter was written into a better context and learn more about the American Foundation for Overseas Blind, the organization referenced in the letter.

The new search engine available internally at the BFRC allowed the archivist to provide me with a list of all known items related to Helen Keller in other boxes. This is a wonderful new tool for researchers that is just getting launched. With so many records, this will assist researchers with finding material that before relied on a lot of work, skill and sometimes luck, to find related documents throughout the collection.

We located several letters that spanned the decades, sent to Henry, Clara and Edsel. Helen Keller traveled all over the world, speaking and raising money for various organizations that supported research and assistance for blind citizens. I learned that Edsel Ford was one of the lead organizers for one such visit to Detroit in 1930.

Francis Jehl, Edsel Ford, Helen Keller, and Polly Thompson on Porch of Menlo Park Laboratory, Greenfield Village, 1930 (Object ID P.188.3074)

I recalled that during an earlier research project I had seen a photograph of Helen Keller on the porch of the Menlo Park Laboratory in Greenfield Village. Reviewing the search results, we located a few photos of Helen Keller with her secretary and companion, Polly Thompson, along with Edsel Ford and Francis Jehl, Thomas Edison’s assistant. If you look at Helen Keller’s hand, you can see it placed in Polly Thompson’s.

During this research period, I happened to mention the Helen Keller letter to a friend, Sandy North, who is the former Director of the Redford Union Oral Program for the Hearing Impaired. Sandy has long been a great admirer of Helen Keller, even posting quotes of Keller in her classroom for many years. Sandy has been a member of The Henry Ford for many years, but had never visited the Benson Ford Research Center. I invited her to join me to see the Keller letter and photographs.

As Sandy later wrote to me:

Because of my vocation, I have always admired Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind. She learned language through feeling the fingers of her interpreter. She communicated to others through her oral speech…and spoke and wrote in several languages. She was a champion of the poor and women’s rights at a time when women did not have the right to vote. She is my role model.

I had read Helen’s speeches, but I had never read any of her personal correspondence. Here I was holding it! Her vocabulary far exceeded mine and her beautiful descriptive language brought tears to my eyes. Although the letters were typed, her signature was hand-printed by Helen! Best of all, I had copies made of the letters and could bring them home with me!

To think that all of this extensive collection of the Benson Ford Research Center is available to people of our community and people everywhere doing research!

It was a memorable experience for both of us and this blog post has been the result of this very interesting research project.

Along the way, I discovered another path of inquiry as I was researching the American Foundation for Overseas Blind. This organization is now named Helen Keller International. It was founded in 1915 by Helen Keller and George Kessler, a wealthy New York merchant, and is among the oldest non-profits dedicated to preventing blindness and reducing malnutrition. During the World Trade Center terrorist attack, their New York headquarters were destroyed; gratefully no employees were injured, but their collection of Helen Keller papers was lost. This circumstance makes this document even more valuable, not only to The Henry Ford’s collection, but also to Helen Keller International and to scholars studying Helen Keller’s life and legacy.

So I hope that with more and more relevant archival materials being digitized and made freely available online, and with the sharing of expertise among these and other organizations as well, the association of the Fords with Helen Keller and their support for her causes can continue to be preserved and made better known.

Susan McCabe is the former curator of Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn. Shevholds an MA in history museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY at Oneonta. She has researched extensively and lectured on the life of Clara and Henry Ford.

Editor’s note: Another organization with which Helen Keller was associated is the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). The AFB holds of the main body of Helen Keller papers, called the Helen Keller Archives, which includes personal papers that she bequeathed to them as well as professional papers from her tenure with AFB.

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 to the traveling exhibition “Designing Tomorrow” that is currently in Henry Ford Museum. Take a trip back in time with her in today’s blog post as we head to to the fair.

Welcome to the Ford Building at Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition here in the year 1934! We hope that our exhibits will inform and inspire you, along with the millions of other visitors we expect to attend the fair and see our exhibits this year. Henry Ford has a passion for world’s fairs and he is always enthusiastic about showing the public how we do things at Ford Motor Company.

Sales Brochure, “Know the Thrill of Driving the New Ford V-8,” 1934

How far we’ve come since Mr. Ford invented his first car, the Quadricycle. And although we are currently deep in an economic depression, our exhibits will surely impress upon you how busy we are developing new products for your current and future enjoyment.

Brochure, “Ford at the Fair,” Century of Progress Exposition, 1934

We are proud to boast the largest corporate exhibition at the Century of Progress Exposition this year—11 acres in all! Our stunning Exposition Building was designed by Albert Kahn, who has designed many buildings for us, including the exceptional Ford River Rouge Plant. Mr. Kahn cleverly planned the circular court in the center of our Exposition Building to simulate a graduated cluster of gears.

Now come inside for a closer look at how our exhibits present the fascinating story of the Ford motor car.

Globe in Court of the World, Ford Exhibition Building, Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Ill., 1934

First off, you’ll see our centerpiece exhibit, “Ford Industries Cover the World.” This huge rotating globe identifies the locations of our company’s production plants around the world. Our company is truly international in its reach.

Presenter inside the Rotunda of the Ford Exhibition Building, Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Ill., 1934

Circling the outer edge of the center court we present “The Drama of Transportation,” showing the evolution of horse-drawn and horseless carriages leading all the way up to our modern 1934 Ford V-8.

Quadricycle inside Replica of Henry Ford’s Workshop, Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Ill., 1934

Now let’s turn left and enter the smaller wing of the building. Here you’ll find the “Henry Ford Century Room,” celebrating 100 years of mechanical progress. This room includes early electric generators brought here from Mr. Ford’s growing collection at his museum in Dearborn, Mich., along with his first workshop and his first car.

Booklet, “The Industrialized American Barn,” 1934

Beyond this room you’ll see exhibits reflecting Mr. Ford’s interest in bringing together agriculture and industry, particularly his passion for growing and processing soybeans for car manufacturing. Mr. Ford even staged an all-soybean meal here recently, where he invited 30 reporters to partake of several specially made dishes. The reporters were not so sure about soybeans in their food but they had to admit that the future of soybean-based plastics, paint, and oil looks bright!

Menu of Soybean Dinner Served at Ford Exhibit, Century of Progress, Aug. 17, 1934

Now let’s head over to the large wing on the other side of our Exposition Building. Here we have many exhibits that showcase our modern industrial practices.

Out of the Earth Exhibit, Ford Exhibition Building, Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Ill., 1934

For example, inspired by Mr. Ford’s passionate interest in using natural materials to manufacture car parts, our “Out of the Earth” exhibit demonstrates how natural resources—like iron, aluminum, rubber, asbestos, and of course soybeans—go into the making of specific parts of the Ford V-8, mounted on top as a cutaway view.

Proof of Safety Exhibit, Ford Building, Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Ill., 1934

Farther down this wing, you can see the amazing “Proof of Safety” exhibit. Here three Ford V-8’s are suspended from the rim of a welded steel wheel of the type used on all our Ford V-8 cars. This should assure you of the strength and dependability of the modern cars we are producing.

Souvenir Brochure, “Roads of the World, Ford Exposition, ‘A Century of Progress’ Chicago,” 1934

While you’re touring the many exhibits and demonstrations at the Ford Exposition building today, be sure to visit our impressive “Roads of the World” display outside. This large oval track features 100-foot-long sections that resemble 19 world-famous thoroughfares, ranging from the earliest Roman roads to the smooth paved highways of today.

Alas, our time is up. We hope you enjoyed your brief tour today, and are as excited as we are about the bright future we all have ahead of us.

Thank you for visiting and come back soon!

A complete gallery of items used in this display can be viewed at Ford at the Fair Exhibition.

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 and the decidedly poetic names she came up with for a new automobile that was about to be launched by the Ford Motor Company.

In 1955, David Wallace, of Ford’s Special Products Division, started a correspondence with renowned poet Marianne Moore regarding potential names for the company’s new model (then going by the tentative label, “E car”). In his October 19th, 1955 letter, Mr. Wallace first reached out to Ms. Moore, asking her if she would be willing to assist Ford in coming up with a mark that has a “compelling quality” and “that flashes a dramatically desirable picture in people’s minds.” Just over a week later, she submitted her initial offerings and continued to provide work that was creative and stimulating, to say the least. Here are some examples:

• The Silver Sword
• The Resilient Bullet
• Bullet Lavolta
• The Intelligent Whale
• Anticipator
• Mongoose Civique
• Dearborn Diamante
• Varsity Stroke
• Pastelogram

From a letter dated Dec. 8, 1955, she included a single, final proposal—and it may have been her most inspired: Utopian Turtletop.

Alas, these highly imaginative ideas weren’t taken seriously by those at the top and were quickly dismissed. Nary a mention of Ms. Moore, or the still captivating monikers she offered up fifty-plus years ago, could be found in the vehicle’s marketing records, now held in our archive at the Benson Ford Research Center.

In the end, the name chosen was championed early and often by the Ford brass, and may have been a forgone conclusion, hence the standing tag of “E car”: Edsel.

1958 Edsel Citation Hardtop (Object ID: 58.91.1)

Here are some sources for further reading on the Ford-Marianne Moore story:
Lacey, Robert. Ford, the Men and the Machine, Little Brown and Company, 1986.
Warnock, C. Gayle, The Edsel Affair…What Went Wrong? A Narrative, Pro West, 1980.
“The Department of Amplification,” The New Yorker, April 13, 1957.

Portrait of Gertrude Stein, New York. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection, LC-USZ62-103679 DLC

By Rebecca Bizonet, an archivist at The Henry Ford

Another interesting association between the worlds of cars and poetry comes from the experimental writer and poet Gertrude Stein. Some time ago we’d been asked to do some research into whether Stein ever wrote anything for Ford Motor Company. It turned out she hadn’t—or not that we could find—but we did discover that she was a devoted fan and owner of Ford vehicles. She wrote about the Fords in her life, among many other topics, in her memoir, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (playfully written as if it were the work of her partner; available online as part of her Selected Writings here). What we found in our collections was that a later poet, Donald Hall, had written a short piece on “Gertrude Stein and Her Fords” for the June 1978 issue of Ford Times (a publication we’ve visited before). In both Stein’s work and Hall’s breezy summary, we learn that Stein’s first Ford, “Auntie” (she seems to have been fond of naming her vehicles) was a Model T Ford truck, acquired in 1917, when it was shipped over to France, where she lived as an expatriate, by family in the United States. Stein and Toklas used Auntie to deliver supplies to French hospitals as part of their work for the American Fund for French Wounded during World War I. Stein’s second vehicle she christened “Godiva,” because the little Ford runabout arrived, in 1920, in a very stripped-down fashion, with few or no amenities.

This Model T runabout was of about the same vintage as “Godiva”—though obviously it operated in a very different setting and was put to a very different use! Stein might have admired the juxtaposition in imagery. Ford Model T Runabout Converted to a Tractor, Reaping Grain, circa 1919. (Object ID: 83.300.1205.1)

Stein was apparently known in and around Paris not just for her brisk, not to say reckless, driving, but for her stopping: Hall writes that she would stop Godiva near noisy intersections to work, as the cacophony all around her (French motorists at the time were required to sound their horns at intersections) actually improved the flow of the “automatic writing” technique she liked to employ. They say that you never know when inspiration will strike, but in this case Gertrude Stein certainly did!

Photo Credits

• Marianne Moore, 13 November 1948. Carl Van Vechten [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
• 1958 Edsel Citation Hardtop, The Henry Ford
• Model T Runabout, The Henry Ford
• Portrait of Gertrude Stein, New York. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection, LC-USZ62-103679 DLC