Automotive History
Executives and Management
L to R, first row: George Whitney, Junius S. Morgan, Jr.,
Alfred P. Sloan, Wilson, William S. Knudsen, Walter S.
Carpenter, Jr., R. Samuel McGlaughlin. L to R, second row:
Charles F. Kettering, Donaldson Brown, Henry Crane,
John L. Pratt, Charles S. Mott, Earle Johnson. Folder
"Photographs--Automobiles and related." Box 15, Frank
Angelo papers.
Avery, Clarence Willard
- C. W. Avery papers, 1927-1949.
- 1 linear ft. and 1 oversize folder.
Corporation executive of Detroit, Michigan, associated with Ford Motor Company and Murray Corporation of America, and member of the board of Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Correspondence, speeches, citations, and newspaper clippings, relating to personal affairs, labor-management relations, and Avery's activities during World War II. Correspondents include Edsel B. Ford.
Chapin, Roy Dikeman
- Roy Dikeman Chapin papers, 1886-1937.
- 32 linear ft. and 7 v. [outsize].
Roy Dikeman Chapin, Sr. behind the wheel of a Hudson
automobile. Folder "Hudson Cars; Automobile Testing;
Auto workers." Box 30, Roy Dikeman Chapin papers.
Click to enlarge.
President of Hudson Motor Car Company and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 1932-1933.
Correspondence, speeches, articles, interviews, business papers, receipts, scrapbooks, photographs, and miscellaneous items of Chapin, his wife, and his biographer, John C. Long, concerning family matters, highway transportation, the automobile industry, general economic conditions, foreign trade, World War I, national defense, state and national politics, the Republican Party, and the University of Michigan; also extensive papers concerning the Hudson Motor Car Company, including information on management policies, production, and labor organizing. Correspondents include: Frederick M. Alger, Bernard Baruch, Henry M. Bates, Frederick O. Bezner, Wilber M. Brucker, William L. Clements, James J. Couzens, John D. Dingell, Woodbridge N. Ferris, Harvey S. Firestone, Carl G. Fisher, Arthur Fleming, Edsel B. Ford, Samuel Gompers, Warren G. Harding, Paul G. Hoffman, Herbert Hoover, Joseph L. Hudson, Cordell Hull, Harry B. Hutchins, Pyke Johnson, Henry B. Joy, Frank Knox, Albert D. Lasker, Henry M. Leland, Clarence C. Little, James O. Murfin, Truman H. Newberry, Chase S. Osborn, George P. Putnam, Alfred L. Reeves, Edward V. Rickenbacker, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., George W. Romney, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alfred P. Sloan, Lewis L. Strauss, Julian L. Street, Arthur H. Vandenberg, Albert E. White, Leonard Wood, William H. Woodin, Fielding H. Yost.
Chapin, Roy D., Jr.
- Roy D. Chapin, Jr., papers, 1942-1978.
- 21 linear ft.
Papers of Roy D. Chapin, Jr., chairman of the board of American Motors Corporation.
Personal correspondence, speeches, papers relating to international business operations of AMC and its divisions, and photographs.
Cocks, J. Fraser
- J. Fraser Cocks papers, 1953 and 1972.
- .2 linear ft.
Comptroller of the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation.
Reports and memos relating to the company's automobile and air craft operations at Willow Run, Michigan, in 1953; history of the corporation from 1945 to 1953; and miscellaneous.
Cross, Richard E.
- Richard E. Cross papers, 1936-1975.
- .1 linear ft.
Born in Wisconsin in 1910, Richard E. Cross, businessman and lawyer, was a director at American Motors Corporation and Packer Corporation. He was CEO of AMC from 1962 to 1965. Cross participated in many civic activities, including serving as chairman of Detroit Commission on Community Relations from 1958 to 1964.
The papers contain transcripts of several speeches given by Cross, including one given to AMC and two when he filled in on the Lou Gordon radio show. Also included are some correspondence, and a diary from Cross's first trip to Europe in 1949.
Dodge Brothers
- Dodge Brothers contract, 1903.
- 1 item
Business partnership of John and Horace Dodge, automobile supply manufacturers.
Typescript copy of an agreement between Dodge Brothers and the Ford Motor Company for the manufacture of automobile motors.
Donner, Frederic G.
- Frederic G. Donner papers, 1921-1983.
- .75 linear ft. and 1 oversize folder.
Chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the General Motors Corporation.
Addresses given, annual reports, letters to stockholders, biography, and photographs.
Dort Motor Car Company
- Dort Motor Car Company record books, 1914-1922.
- 3 v. in 1 box
Flint automobile company, founded by J. Dallas Dort.
Minutes of directors' meetings and annual stockholders' meetings.
Ransom E. Olds, inventor of the Oldsmobile,
founder of the Olds Motor Company, and
Michigan auto industry pioneer. Folder "R.E.
Olds." Box 30, Roy Dikeman Chapin papers.
Dreyfuss, Allan L., 1919-2011.
- Allan L. Dreyfuss papers, 1948-1991.
- 4.5 linear feet.
Foreign correspondent for Reuters stationed in Germany after World War II; speech-writer for New York mayor Robert F. Wagner and for executives of the Ford Motor Company; member of the Public Affairs staff of the New Detroit Committee.
The Allan Dreyfuss collection has been arranged into the following series: Career (prior to 1963); Articles/Speeches written; New Detroit Committee; Ford Motor Company; and Political. The bulk of the papers relate to his work after 1963 when he came to work with the Ford Motor Company as a speech writer for the company's top executives: Henry Ford II, Alex Trotman, Donald Petersen, H. A. Poling, among others. There are also subject files, reports, and notes of meetings relating to the work of New Detroit.
General Motors Corporation.
- Our share holders invest in tomorrow, ca. 1955.
- 1 film reel (ca. 20 min.):
In late 1953 GM makes an agreement with 330 banking firms to help make an investment in GM. This is an inside look at how stock was offered to GM's stockholders in January of 1954. By March 7, 1954 $325+ million in stock had been issued -- the greatest financial stock sale in history. By the end of 1954 approximately $1.5 billion had been invested. Concludes with President (?) of GM relaying how GM's expansion program will benefit company.
General Motors Corporation. Dept. of Public Relations.
- General Motors Corporation, Dept. of Public Relations records, 1941-1952 and 1955.
- 4 linear ft.
Minutes of the Public Relations Planning Committee, and of the Public Relations Policy Committee; also manual, 1955, of the Manpower Planning Program.
Gerstenberg, Richard C.
- Richard Charles Gerstenberg papers, 1932-1988.
- .8 linear ft.
Automobile executive, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of General Motors Corporation, 1972-1974.
Speeches and transcripts of radio commentaries, 1968-1976; published articles; articles and clippings about him; scattered correspondence; and photographs.
Gossett, William T.
- William T. Gossett papers, 1925-1987.
- 19 linear ft.
Lawyer with the Bendix Corporation and the Ford Motor Company, and member of numerous legal and public service organizations.
Speeches, articles and public statements; material relating to his activities with the American Bar Association, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, and other legal groups concerning his interest in such topics as business ethics, campus government and student dissent in the 1960s, electoral college reform, and legal education; and material detailing his involvement in public service organizations concerned largely with civil rights and education; contracts, agreements, and other documentation relating to reorganization of Wesco Corporation (later National Theatres Corporation), 1933-1936; and reorganization of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures, July-August 1935; also papers of Elizabeth Gossett relating to her public activities; and photographs.
Hudson Motor Car Company
- Hudson Motor Car Company records, 1910-1943.
- .2 linear ft.
Detroit, Mich. automobile company.
Minutes, 1910-1911, of production, sales, engineering and executive committees; general order file, 1910-1913, detailing company policies and decisions; and other scattered records, including articles of incorporation, stockholders reports, and employee contracts.
Joy, Henry Bourne.
- Henry Bourne Joy papers, 1883-1937.
- 19 linear ft., 2 oversize folders, and 2 oversize v.
Packard Motor Car Company automobile, tour
members and onlookers. Scrapbook "Three Men in
a Six." Box 9, Henry B. Joy papers. Click to enlarge.
President of the Packard Motor Company.
Correspondence concerning his business activities in Detroit, Michigan, his support of the Lincoln Highway Association, his campaign against the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition), and his interest in the Federal Council of Churches; also business letter books, 1888-1892, and 1902-1903; photograph album, 1915, concerning automobile trip from Detroit to San Francisco; scrapbooks, 1883-1937, containing newspaper clippings and articles relating to the development of the automobile industry, national economic affairs and Republican politics; and collection of printed pamphlets and newsletters, 1927-1936, of conservative individuals and organizations, including the American Coalition, American Liberty League, the Vigilant Intelligence Federation, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Elizabeth Dilling, Robert E. Edmonson, the Industrial Defense Association, the National Civic Federation, and the Union League of Michigan. Correspondents include: James J. Couzens, Elizabeth Dilling, Warren G. Harding, Charles E. Hughes, Edward Hunter, Harry A. Jung, Alfred M. Landon, Andrew W. Mellon, Truman H. Newberry, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root, William H. Slayton, and William H. Taft.
Kaiser-Frazer Corp.
- Kaiser-Frazer scrapbook, 1946.
- 1 volume
Michigan automobile company, established 1945; result of a partnership between Joseph Frazier and Henry Kaiser.
Newspaper clippings relating to the activities of Kaiser and Frazer automobile distributors.
Mott, Charles Stewart
- Charles S. Mott papers, 1896-1973.
- 40 microfilm reels
Executive with the General Motors Corporation, and Flint civic leader and philanthropist.
Materials relating to his business career and his charitable and philanthropic activities.
Price, Hickman
- Hickman Price papers, 1918-1968.
- 13 linear ft.
Hickman Price, Jr., executive with the Kaiser-Frazer Corp., later with Willys Motor Inc
Corporate correspondence, including files concerning his work with Willys-Overland in Brazil; also materials relating to his interest in Latin America, including summary reports prepared for President-elect Kennedy in 1960; miscellaneous correspondence with Adlai Stevenson; and photographs.
American Motors President G.W. Romney
with AMC Rambler. Folder "American
Motors period (1954-1962)." Box 1-V,
George Romney papers.
Romney, George W.
- George W. Romney pre-gubernatorial subgroup, 1939-1962.
- 21 linear ft.
President of American Motors, governor of Michigan.
Subgroup includes biographical information; personal, family, and church correspondence; speeches and articles; files from his service with Nash-Kelvinator and American Motors; and subject files detailing civic involvement with Citizens for Michigan, revision of the Michigan constitution, and his gubernatorial campaign in 1962.
Sackett, Ray Carleton
- Ray Carleton Sackett papers, 1896-1966.
- 2.2 linear ft. and 3 v. [outsize].
Detroit, Michigan automobile executive.
Correspondence, 1927-1966, autobiographical sketch, 1965, and assorted newspaper clippings and miscellanea; also scrapbooks, 1896-1958, containing newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia relating to University of Michigan and the automobile industry.
Schwab, Fred E.
- Fred E. Schwab papers, 1930-2009.
- 2 linear feet and 1 oversize folder.
Fred E. Schwab was an influential member of the plastics manufacturing community in the Detroit area. A German immigrant, he opened and ran several plastics manufacturing businesses and was a founding member of the Society of Plastics Engineers.
The collection contains personal materials, most notably files relating to Schwab's emigration from Germany prior to World War II and correspondence (mostly in German) with attorney Hugo Emmerich regarding property claims against Germany. The collection also includes files pertaining to Schwab's plastics manufacturing business, Schwab & Frank and Schwab Plastics, in addition to advertising materials for both companies.
Townsend, Lynn Alfred
- Lynn A. Townsend papers, 1959-1978.
- 2 linear feet and 2 oversize volumes.
Chrysler Corporation executive.
Speeches, clippings, photographs and articles by or about Townsend and the Chrysler Corporation.
Wilcox, Jack H.
- Jack H. Wilcox papers, 1947-1951.
- 5 linear in.
Staff member in the Job Analysis and Evaluation Section, Lincoln-Mercury Division, Ford Motor Company.
Job descriptions; reports relating to proposed salaried union program; and progress reports of Industrial Relations Department.
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Developed by Rachael Dreyer, Graduate Reference Assistant, July 2009.