American Road Marketing and Publicity Photographs Series
A set of photographs called American Road that was created primarily as a resource to help staff of the Ford Motor Company Archives answer requests for historical photographs that fell under the heading "something about roads."
Biographical / Historical Note
Archivists at Ford Motor Company Archives received numbers of requests for images relating to the history of the Ford Motor Company and the history of the automobile in general. This sometimes led to the creation of artificial (rather than archival) collections....
MoreArchivists at Ford Motor Company Archives received numbers of requests for images relating to the history of the Ford Motor Company and the history of the automobile in general. This sometimes led to the creation of artificial (rather than archival) collections. An example is a set of photographs called American Road that was created primarily as a resource to help staff answer requests for historical photographs that fell under the heading "something about roads." As a compilation, it was intended to cover the general and often vague needs for illustrations depicting Ford Motor Company's place in the development of transportation and travel in America.
LessScope and Content Note
Although entitled American Road, the series is comprised primarily of visual documentation of Ford vehicles in the early 1900s, with additional, although fewer, images into the 1960s. In addition, a number of folders include images of transportation modes...
MoreAlthough entitled American Road, the series is comprised primarily of visual documentation of Ford vehicles in the early 1900s, with additional, although fewer, images into the 1960s. In addition, a number of folders include images of transportation modes before the automobile became prominent. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject. Topics include early roads, road construction, driving conditions, bridges, various utilizations of the Model T, women drivers, railroads, cityscapes, streetscapes, landscapes, and an occasional portrait. Most of the images, but not all, remain in the original format (prints and/or negatives) in various photograph collections held by The Henry Ford. Researchers should note that some images that were originally part of this series were integrated into the Photographic Prints Vertical File, Accession 1660, under the subject term Automobiles, Contemporary.
LessCollection Details
Object ID: 64.167.1859.0
Creator: Ford Motor Company. Archives
Inclusive Dates: 1903-1964
Size: 1.2 cubic ft. (3 boxes)
Language: English
Collection Access & Use
Item Location: Not Currently On Exhibit
Access Restrictions: The series is open for research. Access to negatives requires permission of curator.
Credit: From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Digitized Artifacts From This Collection
In many cases, not all artifacts have been digitized.
Contact us for more information about this collection.
New York State Road Before Improvement, 1910
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
In the early 1900s, hard surfaced roadways existed only in cities. Most roads were bumpy dirt paths carved with ruts from the narrow wheels of horse-drawn vehicles and torn up by the tires of heavy automobiles. They became rivers of mud at the slightest turn of weather.
Creators
Object ID
P.833.99920.2
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
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New York State Road Before Improvement, 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.
Cars Parked on Lakeside Road, Michigan, circa 1930
Artifact
Photographic print
Creators
Keywords
Object ID
P.O.19109
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:
Cars Parked on Lakeside Road, Michigan, circa 1930
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.
19th Century Illustration Showing a Path through a Primeval Forest
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
This sketch illustrates the often densely forested 19th-century American interior. Such trails could hardly accommodate a horse and rider, yet alone horse-drawn vehicles. The construction of practical transportation routes - roads, canals, and railroads - would be an immense undertaking in the United States throughout the 1800s.
Creators
Object ID
P.O.3810
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:
19th Century Illustration Showing a Path through a Primeval Forest
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.
Ford Model T on a Forest Road, British Columbia, Canada, 1913
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
A monthly publication of Ford Motor Company, Ford Times was distributed worldwide at no cost. Its purpose was to cultivate loyalty among Ford owners and attract new customers. Images like this one from the February 1914 issue of Canadian Ford Times suggested the dependability and freedom that came alongside Ford ownership.
Creators
Keywords
Object ID
P.O.3984
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:
Ford Model T on a Forest Road, British Columbia, Canada, 1913
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.
Sightseeing in Open Tourist Carriages, circa 1900
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
Around the turn of the twentieth century, thousands of Americans planned sightseeing vacations. They set aside time to simply look at things, often booking tours that transported them into foreign landscapes. Perched atop these horse-drawn carriages, sightseers could absorb their surroundings and transcend the commonplace realities of their lives back home.
Creators
Object ID
P.188.2.H
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:
Sightseeing in Open Tourist Carriages, circa 1900
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.
Loaded Wagon on a City Street, circa 1895
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
Before automobiles became practical, America relied on horses and horse-drawn vehicles to move people, freight, money, and information to places railroads and waterways didn't go. This photograph shows a team of working horses hitched to a loaded wagon.
Creators
Object ID
P.188.2.J
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:
Loaded Wagon on a City Street, circa 1895
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.
Farmer on a Loaded Wagon outside Barn, circa 1925
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
Farm wagons were all-purpose horse-drawn vehicles that could carry crops from the field to the barn or to market. This model -- with an open body and no driver's seat -- was simple, but handy. It readily hauled this load of bagged seed or grain.
Creators
Object ID
P.O.19229
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:
Farmer on a Loaded Wagon outside Barn, circa 1925
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.
Horse and Wagon on Muddy Country Road, circa 1900
Artifact
Photographic print
Creators
Object ID
P.O.3063
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:
Horse and Wagon on Muddy Country Road, circa 1900
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.
Deggendorf on the Danube, Bavaria, Germany, circa 1935
Artifact
Photographic print
Summary
In 1913, Henry Ford established Ford Motor Company's photographic department. Though few internal records describe company photography, remaining photographs reveal a wide range of departmental activity. Over nearly 100 years, Ford photographers documented company ventures, personal affairs, and daily life around the world. This photograph shows buildings and automobiles on either side of Deggendorf's town hall.
Creators
Object ID
64.167.1859.83
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:
Deggendorf on the Danube, Bavaria, Germany, circa 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.
