Automotive History
Visual Materials
Even as early as the nineteen-teens, traffic congestion
in downtown Detroit was a growing problem. Folder
"Photographs, Detroit and Michigan Miscellaneous."
Box 15, Frank Angelo visual materials series.
Click to enlarge.
Note: Several of these visual collections are already listed in other sections of this subject guide, as part of the larger manuscript collections to which they belong.
Aldrich, Robert D., collector
- Robert D. Aldrich photograph series.
- 4 linear ft. and 1 outsize folder
Photographs and films collected by Robert D. Aldrich relating to the people and institutions of Concord, Michigan; include portraits, photos of family and organization activities, photos of homes, businesses, and other buildings; photos of schools and classes, and miscellaneous other photos.
Angelo, Frank
- Frank Angelo visual materials series.
- .5 linear ft.
Vanderbilt Cup, 1905. Folder "Photographs,
Automobiles and related." Box 15, Frank Angelo
visual materials series. Click to enlarge.
Managing editor of the Detroit Free Press, president of the Michigan Press Association (1969).
Portraits, photos of Angelo receiving awards and as participant at various meetings; photos of North Vietnam taken during the 1960s either by or for Felix Greene; copyprints and original photographs accumulated for use in Angelo's illustrated histories of Detroit and Michigan; and videotape of tribute to Judd Arnett including speeches by Detroit political and newspaper personalities.
1934 Pontiac Eights loaded on transport truck. Folder
"Negatives 1-600." Box 1, William Edward Beach
photograph collection. Click to enlarge.
Beach, William Edward
- William Edward Beach photograph collection.
- 1.4 linear ft.
Howell, Michigan photographer.
Photonegatives of buildings, monuments, people, and events in Howell and numerous other Michigan cities.
Chapin, Roy Dikeman
- Roy D. Chapin photograph series.
- .3 linear ft. and 7 oversize v.
Exterior shot of the 1936 Curtiss Aerocar, a Hudson
product. Folder "Curtiss Aerocar." Box 30, Roy D.
Chapin papers.
Interior view of the Aerocar. Folder "Curtiss Aerocar."
Box 30, Roy D. Chapin papers. Click to enlarge.
President of Hudson Motor Car Company and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 1932-1933.
Portraits, photos of conferences and other meetings attended, promotional photos of Hudson automobiles; and photos of Amelia Earhart, Orville Wright, Herbert Hoover, Mark Twain, and automobile industry figures.
Chapin, Roy D., Jr.
- Roy D. Chapin, Jr., visual material series.
- .4 linear ft.
Chairman of the board of American Motors Corporation.
Photos, 1961-1962, of plant opening ceremonies and plant operations of AMC plants in Canada and Argentina, including many photos of George Romney; also promotional film, 1950s, for Nash-Hudson automobiles.
Cartoon alluding to the 1928 Detroit auto show.
Folder "Automobile Interests." Box 1, Percy
Cromwell cartoon collection. Click to enlarge.
Cromwell, Percy W.
- Percy W. Cromwell cartoon collection.
- 6 outsize boxes
Artist for the Detroit Times.
Editorial cartoons and sketches relating to local political and social issues.
Cross, Richard E.
- Richard E. Cross photographs.
- 7 items
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.
As part of the Richard E. Cross papers, the photographs depict Cross's time at the University of Michigan in the late 1930's (including one of Kappa Alpha Theta House) and several of Cross receiving awards and talking to reporters, which date from the mid-1960's. Photos of Cross receiving Steering Wheel Award from the Automobile Club of Michigan also picture other prominent businessmen in the trade.
Darling, Robert B.
- Robert B. Darling photograph series.
- 4 envelopes
Robert Darling, chaffeur and mechanic to Chase S. Osborn,
governor of Michigan. Folder "Automobiles; theatre lobby;
Grosse Pointe Garages." Robert B. Darling photograph series.
Click to enlarge.
Chauffeur to Michigan governor Chase S. Osborn, 1911-1912.
Photos of Osborn's car, some showing the car decorated with patriotic bunting; photos of the car on an Upper Peninsula road, Darling's Grosse Pointe Garage, and the ushers in the lobby of a Lansing theatre; also photoprints of international balloon race held in Detroit, 1927 or 1928.
MIRLYN record
Bruff's Hill, U.S. 16 near Howell, MI. Cement mixer
spreading pavement to improve the highway. Folder
"Negatives 1-600." Box 1, William Edward Beach
photograph collection. Click to enlarge.
Flint, Michigan, photograph collection.
- 1 envelope
Photograph of the interior of Buick Motor Company, plant no. 1 in Flint, Michigan.
Ford Motor Company
- Ford Motor Company photograph collection.
- 1 envelope and 1 v.
Photographs of construction of a Ford plant, 1911; photos of automobile production, showing machinery, assembly lines, and factory interiors and exteriors; and photos of the Ford Rotunda; also photograph album, 1931-1932, produced or distributed by Ford, with photos of the construction of the Ford Dam on the Huron River near Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Ivory Photo
- Ivory Photo photograph collection.
- 31 linear ft.
Interior of a 1962 Cadillac. Folder "Coffey Cadillac--
car, interior. 8/13/62" Box 10, Ivory Photo.
Click to enlarge.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, photography firm.
Photonegatives, and some photoprints, of images largely relating to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, but including Ypsilanti and other Michigan cities: buildings, businesses, houses, street scenes, community activities, and organizations; also photos of automobiles, storm damage, etc. taken to support insurance claims.
Kausch, Jack
- Jack Kausch collection.
- 4 linear feet, 1 oversize folder, and 1 oversize motion picture reel.
GM machine shop at an early auto factory. Folder
"Automobile Assembly" Box 4, Jack Kausch collection.
Click to enlarge.
Jack Kausch was a photographer specializing in family portraits and historical subjects. He was the producer of commercial videos on Detroit and Michigan historical topics.
The collection includes photographs, photographic slides, videotapes, and motion picture films. Topics covered include Detroit and the automobile industry, Detroit landmark businesses, the construction of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and churches and other buildings designed by architect Gordon W. Lloyd.
Lewis, Ralph William
- Ralph W. Lewis photograph collection.
- 1 envelope.
Professor of natural science at Michigan State University.
Photos of general strike demonstration, organized by the United Auto Workers, June 7, 1937, at the Michigan State Capitol, Lansing.
Michigan Bell Telephone Company
- Michigan Bell Telephone Company photograph collection.
- 63 linear ft.
Photographs (positive and negative), slides, and transparencies taken by the company's photographers to document company activities, products, services, employees at work and at leisure, company exhibits and commemorations, and the response of the company to natural disasters and civil disturbances.
Michigan Historical Collections topical photograph collection
- .4 linear ft. and 1 outsize box.
Photographs, from various sources, of transportation, including carriages, automobiles, Great Lakes shipping, railroads, and mass transit, including street railroads; of the mining, forestry, and lumber industries, mostly in the Upper Peninsula; of various ethnic groups and their societies; of Native Americans (1870s-1930s) of the Manistee and Ludington, Michigan, areas; of dwellings, clothing styles and social customs (1860s-1920s); and of Michigan units in the Spanish-American War and the Polar Bear Expedition (1919); also photos of bookplates.
Correspondence concerning the automotive industry, particularly the founding of General Motors, state politics, and the Constitutional Convention of 1907-1908; also docket books, 1883-1921, with record of cases handled by Carton and his partners. Correspondents include: Frederick M. Alger, Russell A. Alger, James B. Angell, Albert J. Beveridge, Aaron T. Bliss, John W. Blodgett, Everett L. Bray, Buick Motor Company, Julius C. Burrows, Clarence M. Burton, Augustus C. Carton, Chevrolet Motor Company, Walter P. Chrysler, Edwin Denby, Detroit United Railway, Luren D. Dickinson, Gerrit J. Diekema, Dort Motor Car Company, Herbert H. Dow, William C. Durant, Durant-Dort Carriage Co., Grant Fellows, Flint Gas Company, General Motors Corporation, Genesee County War Board, Alexander J. Groesbeck, Lawton T. Hemans, Harry B. Hutchins, Patrick H. Kelley, Paul H. King, Frank Knox, Thomas R. Marshall, Michigan Manufacturers Association, Michigan Railroad Commission, Michigan State Bar Association, Michigan War Preparedness Board, Charles S. Mott, Newspaper Cartoonist?s Association of Michigan, Chase S. Osborn, Pere Marquette Railroad Company, Miles Poindexter, William C. Procter, John T. Rich, Albert E. Sleeper, Henry C. Smith, Samuel W. Smith, William Alden Smith, State League of Republican Clubs of Michigan, Justis S. Stearns, Tawas Sugar Company, Charles E. Townsend, Arthur H. Vandenberg, and Fred M. Warner.
Moody, Blair
- Blair Moody visual materials series.
- 3.4 linear ft.
Detroit newspaperman and United States Senator from Michigan.
Photos and films relating to Moody's career as a foreign correspondent and politician; also family photos of the Moody and Downey families, including portraits of Civil War soldiers.
Newton, Charles Tyley
- Charles Tyley Newton photograph series.
- .75 linear ft.
Ypsilanti, Michigan automobile salesman, antique collector for Greenfield Village, and real estate agent for the Ford Motor Company.
Collected photos relating to Newton's historical investigations and business dealings for Greenfield Village and Ford Motor Company, arranged by subject and place name (Originals and copy prints).
Oakland Motor Car Corp.
- The new Oakland eight: General Motors' lowest price eight: New--yet sixteen years old.
- 1 print
1930 Advertisement for Oakland Motor Car Company's Oakland Eight vehicle.
Oakland Motor Car Corp.
- New series Pontiac big six: Now an even finer car bears this name.
- 1 print
1930 Advertisement for Pontiac automobile
Price, Hickman
- Hickman Price photograph series.
- .4 linear ft.
Executive with the Kaiser-Frazer Corp., later with Willys Motor Inc.
Portraits and family photos; photographs related to the production of the Jeep in Brazil.
Proctor, Hazel, collector
- Hazel Proctor photograph collection.
- ca. 200 photonegatives and 1 v.
Photographs collected for book, Old Jackson Town; includes copy negatives (filed in negative file) and a copy of the book annotated with negative numbers (filed in printed collection).
Sackett, Ray Carleton
- Ray Carleton Sackett photograph series.
- .2 linear ft.
Detroit, Michigan automobile executive.
Portraits of Sackett; informal photos of Sackett with friends and family members, of family activities, and of the Sackett home in Saginaw, Michigan; photos relating to Sackett's experience as student at the University of Michigan, and to Sackett's professional activities in the automobile industry; also views of Ann Arbor, Michigan and other Michigan locales.
Ungermann, Charles William
- Charles William Ungermann photograph series.
- .2 linear ft., 1 v., and 2 outsize folders.
Detroit traffic safety police officer, 1942. Personal
Scrapbook. Box 1, Charles William Ungermann photograph
series.
Detroit, Michigan, police officer.
Photographs of Detroit, Michigan buildings, streets, people, and activities, especially as they relate to the work of the Detroit Police Department; group and individual portraits and photographs of Detroit Police, and photos of police training; photos of war bond drives and other war work during World War II; and photos of WJR radio broadcasting during the 1930s.
U. S. World Peace Commission
- Work camp [1939].
- 1 16mm motion picture.
Documents a summer work camp in Flint, Michigan; includes views of auto plants, auto workers, and other Flint scenes, and the building of a playground in a Black neighborhood.
Welch. A.R.
- A. R. Welch photograph collection.
- 1 envelope and 1 outsize folder.
Founder of Welch Motor Car Company, Pontiac, Michigan.
Portrait; photos of company building and employees, and of Welch and others in automobile; photo of automobile, presumably a Welch product; and group portrait of automobile industry leaders.
Welch, Kenneth Curtis
- Kenneth C. Welch photograph series.
- 1.6 linear ft.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, architect and planner.
Photographs of Welch's architectural projects throughout the United States, especially shopping centers, including Northland (Southfield, Michigan) and Breton Village (Grand Rapids, Michigan); also a variety of projects in Grand Rapids, Michigan, including photos of downtown buildings and streets and Fountain Street Church; photographic studies of downtown and shopping center businesses in various cities; and aerial photos of several Michigan localities.
Z.T. Gerganoff (Architectural firm, Ypsilanti, MI.)
- Z.T. Gerganoff architectural drawings, 1928-1977.
- 28 folders and 1 linear ft.
Architectural drawings of the firm of Z.T. Gerganoff, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, (and predecessor firms of R.S. Gerganoff and S.T. Gerganoff).
Drawings and specifications for various area churches, service stations and auto dealerships, the Washtenaw County Building, the Ypsi-Ann Building, and miscellaneous businesses and private residences.
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Developed by Rachael Dreyer, Graduate Reference Assistant, July 2009.