What Ford Motor Company photographs do you have?
Answer
During the first decade of its existence, the Ford Motor Company employed various photographers and photographic firms. The company established its own Photographic Department in 1914.
- Accession 833 (General Photographs Series, 1913-1954) includes the bulk of the Photographic Department's output that was donated to The Henry Ford in 1964.
- In 1918, a second photographic department, the Engineering Photographic Department, was formed to focus on engineering and technical imaging; however, their work also included many of Mr. Ford's personal interests.Accession 188 (Personal for Henry Ford Photographs Subseries, 1918-1950) and Accession 189 (Photographs for the Company Series, 1918-1954) include the bulk of the Engineering Photographic Department's output that was donated to The Henry Ford in 1964.
- Accession 1660 (Photographic Vertical File Series, 1860-1980) consists of photographs that were assembled from a variety of sources, including the collections listed above. This collection was initially created by Ford Motor Company Archives staff in the 1950s, and it was added to until the early 1980s.
A more detailed history of the Ford Motor Company Photographic and Film Departments can be found in our Popular Research Topics. Additional photographs are included in various collections that came from other Ford Motor Company departments and divisions. These collections may be found by searching our Archival Finding Aids. Any images which have been digitized can be found on our Digital Collections Webpage.
The photographs that appeared in Ford Motor Company publications such as the Ford Times and the Ford News came from a variety of sources, in addition to those listed above. The Henry Ford has copies of the magazines in our Ford Motor Company Serial Publications Collection. However, we do not have a collection of the magazines' editorial files or photographic assets.