Curated Sets

Fair Lane carried its share of special guests over the years. Thomas and Mina Edison posed with Henry and Clara Ford, and with Edsel and Eleanor Ford, for this group portrait on the rear platform circa 1923. At other times, guests aboard the car included Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, and humorist Will Rogers.

The Valley City Milling Company was founded in 1884 in Grand Rapids. It sold flour under brand names such as Snowflake, Matchless (seen here), and its most popular brand, Lily White. Following a fire in 1923, the company moved to Portland, Oregon, where it became a successful dog food producer. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is currently located where the company's mills once stood.

In May 1862, men of African descent living in and around Hilton Head, South Carolina, an area occupied by Union troops, were impressed into service as the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry under the command of General David Hunter. This sparked controversy about whether refugees in areas occupied by the U.S. troops could, or should, serve in the military.

The effectiveness of the ads was due in large part to the specially commissioned artwork that accompanied the descriptive text. This painting pulls together a variety of Ford locations and activities: a gritty panorama designed to convey the breadth of Ford's industrial capabilities.

Dr. King's championing of non-violent tactics as a tool for social change was--and continues to be--misunderstood. To King, this did not mean being passive, weak, or cowardly. In a world shadowed by racism, poverty, and violence, he intended it as a peaceful way to persevere through adversity and to preserve human dignity. Many came to criticize his tactics.

This phonograph record, produced in 1969, comprises a "recorded history of space exploration and the triumph of the lunar landing." The front depicts astronaut Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon after descending from the Apollo 11 lunar module; the back shows the three Apollo 11 astronauts and describes the events that led up to that historic mission.