Skip to Content

Menu
- Tickets
- Membership
- Support
- Make an Impact
- Shop
- Careers
- Member Login

Collections & Research
Digital Collections
Expert Sets

Visit
Explore
Collections & Research
Education - inHub
About The Henry Ford
History & Mission
Current Events
Membership
Support
Shop
Host an Event
Charitable Registration Disclosure
Careers
Member Login
Packages & Promotions Experience more, save more! See Details

Site Search

Search our website to find what you’re looking for.

Select Your Language

You can select the language displayed on our website. Click the drop-down menu below and make your selection.

Henry Ford: Model T

20 artifacts in this set

This expert set is brought to you by:

The staff at The Henry Ford

This Expert Set was compiled in 2013 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford’s birth.

This Expert Set was compiled in 2013 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford’s birth.

Detailed Description

1909 Ford Model T Touring Car

Automobile

Henry Ford crafted his ideal car in the Model T. It was rugged, reliable and suited to quantity production. The first 2,500 Model Ts carried gear-driven water pumps rather than the thermosiphon cooling system adopted later. Rarer still, the first 1,000 or so -- like this example -- used a lever rather than a floor pedal to engage reverse.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Ford "The Universal Car" Sign, 1910-1918

Advertising sign

Henry Ford's Model T was the first successful "world car"--a car that could be sold around the world with only minor modifications to its basic platform and parts. This advertising sign boasts the universal appeal of a car made and sold not only in the United States but also in South America, Europe, southern and eastern Asia, and Australia.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Ingersoll Milling Machine Used at Ford Motor Company Highland Park Plant, 1912

Milling machine

The Model T's distinction as a landmark car design can be traced in large part to machines like this -- a high capacity precision machine tool that performed just two production steps on the car engine's cylinder block. The Model T as a design achievement is inseparable from many hundreds of engineering, materials, and production innovations.

Use default description of artifact

Details

1914 Ford Model T Touring Car, Given to John Burroughs by Henry Ford

Automobile

This 1914 touring car is one of several Model T automobiles given to naturalist John Burroughs by his friend Henry Ford. Ford Motor Company experienced a milestone year in 1914. The automaker fully implemented the moving assembly line at its Highland Park plant, and it introduced the Five Dollar Day profit-sharing plan for its employees.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Publication, "Ford at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, 1915"

Publication (Document)

This Ford Motor Company leaflet discusses its exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, the Model T, and its U.S. factories. The image of the main plant at Highland Park, Michigan, illustrates the comprehensive manufacturing operations. The plant had facilities for casting, machining, stamping, assembly, and shipping. The massive power plant with five smoke stacks generated the factory's electricity.

Use default description of artifact

Details

1919 Ford Model T Sedan

Automobile

The Model T's basic design received many updates over the car's 19-year life. Some incorporated mechanical improvements, some responded to growing consumer demands, and some simply reduced costs. The 1919 sedans were the first with electric starters and demountable tire rims. These features were standard on other makes but cost extra on a Ford, keeping the base price low.

Use default description of artifact

Details

1924 Ford Motor Company Institutional Message Advertising Campaign, "Organized Economies"

Advertisement

In 1924-25 the Ford Motor Company ran a series of sixteen dramatic advertisements in the Saturday Evening Post and Country Gentleman magazines. Rather than promoting the Model T specifically, the ads aimed to convey the company's scale and philosophy. By this, the fourteenth installment of the series, readers would understand the Model T in the context of the enormity and complexity of the Ford operation.

Use default description of artifact

Details

1924 Ford Motor Company Institutional Message Advertising Campaign, "Opening the Highways to All Mankind"

Advertisement

In 1924-25 the Ford Motor Company ran a series of sixteen dramatic advertisements in the Saturday Evening Post and Country Gentleman magazines. Rather than promoting the Model T specifically, the ads aimed to convey the company's scale and philosophy. The final ad of the series emphasizes that the company is a transformative, service oriented, and mission-based organization -- optimistic and future-focused.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Advertisement for the 1925 Ford Model T, "It is Bringing People Together"

Advertisement

This 1925 Ford Motor Company advertising campaign plays on the Model T's ability to bring people together. Whether carrying worshippers to church, closing the distance between rural neighbors, or widening the world for traditionally home-bound women, the Model T strengthened community ties.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Advertisement for the 1925 Ford Model T, "Where the Nearest Neighbor May be Miles Away"

Advertisement

This 1925 Ford Motor Company advertising campaign plays on the Model T's ability to bring people together. Whether carrying worshippers to church, closing the distance between rural neighbors, or widening the world for traditionally home-bound women, the Model T strengthened community ties.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Advertisement for the 1925 Ford Model T, "An 'Open Door' to Wider Contacts"

Advertisement

This 1925 Ford Motor Company advertising campaign plays on the Model T's ability to bring people together. Whether carrying worshippers to church, closing the distance between rural neighbors, or widening the world for traditionally home-bound women, the Model T strengthened community ties.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Henry Ford and Edsel Ford in Fifteen-Millionth Ford Model T Car on the Last Day of Model T Production, May 26, 1927

Photographic print

On May 26, 1927, Edsel and Henry Ford drove the fifteen-millionth Model T out of Highland Park Plant. This marked the symbolic end of Model T production and Ford Motor Company prepared to start producing the Model A. This image shows Edsel and Henry in the fifteen-millionth Model T, outside the Engineering Laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan.

Use default description of artifact

Details

1927 Ford Model T Touring Car, The Fifteen-Millionth Ford

Automobile

After 19 years and some 15 million cars, Ford Motor Company ended production of its venerable Model T. Company officials designated this car as the Fifteen Millionth and ceremonial "last" Model T. They gathered at Ford's Highland Park plant to watch Henry Ford and Edsel Ford drive it off the assembly line on May 26, 1927.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Ford Model T in the Mud during the New York-Seattle Transcontinental Race, 1909

Photographic print

Ford Motor Company promoted the Model T's reliability by entering two cars in the 1909 Transcontinental Race from New York to Seattle. It was a demanding contest over rough country at a time when roads were nearly nonexistent. After 23 days, one of the Model Ts reached Seattle first. It was later disqualified due to repairs made en route.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Family in Ford Model T in Front of Farmhouse, circa 1910

Photographic print

The Model T was particularly beneficial to farm families. While those in the city had access to railroads and streetcars, or could bicycle on paved roads, the farmer was limited to the distance his horse -- or feet -- could travel. The affordable Model T ended that isolation for good.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Ford Model T Chassis Being Lined up outside the Highland Park Plant, circa 1913

Photographic print

Ford Motor Company's Highland Park plant hummed with activity during the 1910s. With the introduction of the moving assembly line, the plant went from building some 200,000 Model Ts in 1913 to more than 820,000 in 1919. Here workers are seen lining up chassis outside the plant for a publicity photo. The final shot showed 1,000 chassis -- one shift's production in 1913.

Use default description of artifact

Details

1914 Ford Model T Touring Car Parked on Street

Photographic print

The affordable and popular Ford Model T gave its owners an unprecedented degree of freedom in their travel. Car owners were no longer dependent on railroad or streetcar schedules and routes. This 1914 Model T was photographed in front of a car barn where streetcars were serviced and stored between their regular runs.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Sawing Wood Using the Ford Model T Sawmill Conversion, circa 1919

Photographic print

Innovative users adapted the Ford Model T to their needs. The Ford's rear axle powered many types of belt driven machinery. This photograph taken about 1919 shows men preparing to cut wood on a portable sawmill powered by a Model T.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Henry Ford with Ford Model T Car, Buffalo, New York, 1921

Photographic print

When this photo was taken in Buffalo, New York, in 1921, Henry Ford was at the height of his powers. He manufactured the world's bestselling car -- virtually half the cars on the planet were Model Ts. He was among the world's richest men. And he was a folk hero to millions of people.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Henry Ford with Ten-Millionth Ford Model T and 1896 Quadricycle, 1924

Photographic print

In June 1924, the ten-millionth Ford automobile--a Model T, of course--rolled off the assembly line. Ford sent this vehicle on a cross-country tour along the Lincoln Highway promoting the company. This photo shows Henry Ford standing between his factory-made 10-millionth vehicle and his 1896 Quadricycle--the first car Henry made.

Use default description of artifact

Details

Gift Memberships Give a year of inspiration. Buy Now

Member Appreciation Days GET DETAILS

Make An Impact. Donate today. Donate Now

Visit

Plan Your Visit
Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
Greenfield Village
Ford Rouge Factory Tour
Giant Screen Experience
Venue Operations & Safety Protocols

Explore

Stories of Innovation
Inside The Henry Ford
Innovation Nation
Recipes & Cookbooks
Blog
Social Justice and Injustice
THF Conversations

Calendar
Kids Activities

Collections & Research

Digital Collections
Digital Resources
Services
About Us

Education - inHub

inHub Overview
Experiences & Field Trips
Curriculum Resources
Invention Convention Worldwide
Innovation Learning
Summer Camps

About The Henry Ford

Mission & Vision
Board of Trustees
Annual Reports
Employment & Volunteering
The Henry Ford & the Community
Press Room
Farm to School Lunch Across America
NAGPRA
Contact Us

History & Mission

Tickets
Membership
Support
Shop
Host an Event
Charitable Registration Disclosure
Careers
Member Login

THF Connect Mobile App
Subscribe to eNewsletter
Contact Us

Text JOINTHF to 76371 for Updates & Discounts

Copyright © 2024 The Henry Ford

Policies
Copyright Policy
Privacy
Sitemap
Terms of Use

20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, MI 48124‑5029

Contact Center: 313-982-6001
Contact Center Hours: Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Sunday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

THF Connect Mobile App
Subscribe to eNewsletter
Contact Us

Text JOINTHF to 76371 for Updates & Discounts

Copyright © 2021 The Henry Ford

Legal Information
Privacy
Copyrights
Sitemap
SMS Terms of Use

20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, MI 48124-5029

Contact Center: 313-982-6001
Contact Center Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Sunday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Buy Tickets