EDSEL B. FORD OFFICE PAPERS, 1903-1945 (Bulk 1920-1940)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Finding Aid for EDSEL B. FORD OFFICE PAPERS, 1903-1945 (bulk 1920-1940) Accession 6 Finding Aid Published: October 2011 20900 Oakwood Boulevard ∙ Dearborn, MI 48124-5029 USA [email protected] ∙ www.thehenryford.org Ford Motor Company Edsel B. Ford office papers Accession 6 OVERVIEW REPOSITORY: Benson Ford Research Center The Henry Ford 20900 Oakwood Blvd Dearborn, MI 48124-5029 www.thehenryford.org [email protected] ACCESSION NUMBER: 6 CREATOR: Ford, Edsel, 1893-1943. TITLE: Edsel B. Ford office papers INCLUSIVE DATES: 1903-1945 BULK DATES: 1920-1940 QUANTITY: 143.2 cubic ft., and 2 oversize boxes LANGUAGE: The materials are primarily in English. Other languages include French, Spanish, and Japanese. ABSTRACT: Edsel B. Ford, the only child of Henry and Clara Bryant Ford was secretary of the Ford Motor Company from 1915 to 1917 and president of the company from 1919 until his death in 1943. The papers are primarily comprised of correspondence, subject files, and financial records. The bulk of the records relate to company business in the 1920s, 1930s, and early 1940s. Page 2 of 163 Ford Motor Company Edsel B. Ford office papers Accession 6 ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: The papers are open for research. COPYRIGHT: Copyright has been transferred to the Henry Ford by the donor. Copyright for some items in the collection may still be held by their respective creator(s). ACQUISITION: Ford Motor Company donation, 1964. RELATED MATERIAL: Related material held by The Henry Ford: - Edsel Ford Automotive Scrapbook, 1911-1925. Accession 660 - Audio Speeches series, 1938-1943. Accession 1689 - Financial records. Accessions 52, 261, 279, 483, and 543 PREFERRED CITATION: Item, folder, box, accession 6, Edsel B. Ford office papers, Benson Ford Research Center, The Henry Ford PROCESSING INFORMATION: Collection processed by Ford Motor Company Archives staff, October 1951. Researchers should note that the finding aid for the Edsel Ford Office papers has gone through several transformations over the past years. To locate information using older citations may require consulting previous versions of the finding aid. It may also be helpful to focus on locating specific subject headings rather then relying solely on box numbers as those have changed. Please consult Research Center staff for further information. Formerly, within the Personal files series, there were cross reference inserts used to direct users to other areas. The inserts have been removed but these cross references have been collected into a separate file as a spreadsheet. Please consult Research Center staff for further information. DESCRIPTION INFORMATION: Original collection inventory list prepared by Ford Motor Company Archives, March 1953. Finding aid prepared by Benson Ford Research Center staff, April 2010, and published same month. Finding aid reformatted by Brian Wilson, October 2011, and republished same month, following Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) and local guidelines. Page 3 of 163 Ford Motor Company Edsel B. Ford office papers Accession 6 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Edsel Bryant Ford was born November 6, 1893 in Detroit, Michigan, the only child of Henry and Clara Bryant Ford. Educated in public schools and the Detroit University School, he was persuaded by his father upon graduation from high school in 1912 to assume responsibilities at the Ford Motor Company’s new Highland Park Plant rather than going on to college. When Henry decided to build tractors as well as automobiles in 1917, he formed a new corporation, Henry Ford & Son, Inc. and began to produce the Fordson tractor in a Dearborn factory. Edsel was, however, already handling major responsibilities beyond tractors within the Ford organization. He was elected secretary of the company on November 1, 1915, and vice-president as well as secretary on January 18, 1917. On December 30, 1918, when Henry Ford resigned as president of Ford Motor Company, Edsel was named president effective January 1, 1919, a position he would hold for the rest of his life. (He was also appointed treasurer in 1921.) Particularly adept in planning, sales, and advertising, Edsel assumed responsibility for the business side of corporate affairs, overseeing, for example, the company’s massive expansion from 1919 to 1925. In addition to the functional aspects, Edsel believed an automobile could be beautiful. After the company purchased Lincoln Motor Company in 1921, he took charge of Lincoln design and marketed Lincolns with customized coachwork by leading American and European designers. He introduced and was instrumental in the design of the Model A in 1929, the Lincoln Zephyr in 1936, the Mercury in 1938, and the Lincoln Continental in 1940. Edsel had a lifelong enthusiasm for aviation and was a major sponsor of Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s flights over the South Pole in 1919 and the North Pole in 1926. After the Stout Metal Airplane Company was absorbed by the Ford Motor Company in 1925, he encouraged the design of a trimotor airplane and fostered an annual Air Reliability Tour to promote dependable flying. Edsel also encouraged Ford Motor Company’s participation in major events such as the World’s Fairs of the 1930s. Edsel Ford married Eleanor Lowthian Clay on November 1, 1916. They had four children: Henry Ford II, 1917-1987 (who became president of Ford Motor Company in 1943 after the death of his father); Benson Ford, 1919-1978; Josephine Clay Ford, 1923-2005; and William Clay Ford, 1925- . Eleanor and Edsel Ford were generous benefactors to numbers of organizations. Among them were the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Institute of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Detroit University School, and Henry Ford Hospital. In 1932, Edsel brought Mexican painter Diego Rivera to Detroit to create a fresco in the fountain court of the Detroit Institute of Art. Rivera considered the Detroit Industry fresco cycle the most successful work of his career. A. J. Lepine was secretary to Edsel Ford from 1918 to 1943. After Edsel’s untimely death on May 26, 1943, Lepine spent the following nine years managing affairs relating to the estate. The papers include some of these later records. Page 4 of 163 Ford Motor Company Edsel B. Ford office papers Accession 6 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE Scope and content notes have been placed inline with the box and folder listing: Correspondence series: See page 6 Subject File series: See page 107 Financial Records series: See page 129 Personal Files series: See page 131 Reports series: See page 162 Desk Contents series: See page 163 ARRANGEMENT The Edsel B. Ford Office papers are arranged in six series: Correspondence series, 1919-1945 (88.8 cubic ft.) General Correspondence subseries, 1919-1942 (69.6 cubic ft.) Answered by Form Letter subseries, 1933-1936 (0.8 cubic ft.) Motor File subseries, 1931-1945 (2.0 cubic ft.) 1945 Correspondence subseries (0.4 cubic ft.) Telegrams subseries, 1923-1942 (1.6 cubic ft.) Miscellaneous subseries, 1925-1945 (.4 cubic ft.) Subject File series, 1921-1942 (41.2 cubic ft. and 1 oversize box) Financial Records series, 1903-1942 (11.2 cubic ft.) Purchase Orders subseries, 1922-1940 (1.6 cubic ft.) Universal Credit Corporation records subseries, 1928-1932 (1.2 cubic ft.) Personal Files series, 1927-1944 (29.2 cubic ft.) General Personal Files subseries, 1927-1944 (14.4 cubic ft.) Edison Institute Construction records subseries, 1929 (8.8 cubic ft.) President’s Birthday Ball Treasurer’s records subseries, 1935-1940 (2 cubic ft.) Reports series, 1919-1936 (2 cubic ft.) Special Files and Reports subseries, 1917-1936 (4 cubic ft.) Territory Reports subseries, 1921-1927 (1.2 cubic ft.) Receipts and Memberships subseries (0.8 cubic ft.) Desk Contents series, undated (1 oversize box). Page 5 of 163 Ford Motor Company Edsel B. Ford office papers Accession 6 BOX AND FOLDER LISTING Box no. Description CORRESPONDENCE SERIES SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE The Correspondence series is arranged into six subseries. The General Correspondence subseries, 1919-1942 (69.6 cubic ft.), Acc. 6, is the largest and most substantial. It is comprised of correspondence between the office of Edsel B. Ford and a wide range of companies and individuals. The records are arranged by year except for 1919 to 1921, which are inclusive in one alphabetical series. Subsequently, within each year from 1922 to 1942, the material is arranged alphabetically by year. The correspondence was maintained using a numerical filing system supplied by the Amberg File and Index Company. The name of a correspondent or company or subject of the letter was utilized for filing. The files reflect Edsel Ford's involvement in all aspects of company business and his broad and varied interests. Although A. J. Lepine, Edsel Ford's secretary from 1918 until Edsel's death in 1943, created guidelines to follow for determining which word in a company name or subject term was primary, consistency was, in reality, rare. Researchers are advised to search under related terms and words within a term to find relevant material. From 1923 to 1942, a card index was maintained by office staff to provide subject access where knowledge of subject was considered significant. This original card index is available in the Benson Ford Research Center (BFRC) reading room at The Henry Ford; however, since Ford Motor Company retained a large portion of the series, the index does not accurately reflect BFRC holdings. Researchers should also note there is overlap with other series, particularly the Subject Files series. The Answered by Form Letter subseries, 1933-1936 (.8 cubic ft.), Acc. 6, is correspondence managed by Lepine and other staff on behalf of Edsel Ford, utilizing repeatable text. Although the form letters changed from time to time, their purpose was to respond to every letter that arrived except for those which merited individual answers. For example, form letters were utilized to respond to offerings of paintings, antiques, and other objects for sale; fund raising, membership, and committee requests; requests for endorsements, autographs, loans, and investments; and proposals for new manufacturing projects.