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  • Suit of Coat, Vest, and Trousers, about 1920-1940

    According to our records, the suit belonged to Henry Ford.Born in 1863 on a farm in what is now Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford parlayed a youthful aptitude for engineering into a career as an automotive innovator and founder/president of Ford Motor Company. Among his ideas were the introduction of the first moving automobile assembly line, affordable pricing, fair wages for employees, and the vertical integration of manufacturing processes from raw materials to the finished product. His many phi…

  • Mens Suit, about 1880

    This morning suit belonged to Willis C. Ward. He likely used it for a wedding or other special occasion. It is exquisitely made and looks to have been rarely used.Willis C. Ward was born in 1861 to one of Michigan's wealthest families of the 19th century. His father David Ward, made his fortune in lumber and acquired and sold timbered land throughout the United States.

  • Men's Leisure Suit, about 1970-1978

    Trousers and trouser suits were popular fashions in the 1970s.The pant shapes began as gently flared and reached wide bell bottom proportions by about 1975. They then slowly reduced to straight and wide until by the end of the seventies they were finally narrow again. Also called leisure suits, they were typically made in heavy fabrics including include crepes, wool jersey knits and woven Polyester suiting such as in this suit.

  • Concentration Camp Uniform, about 1940-1945

    Worn by Jan Kamienski, a Polish Catholic who was seized by the Germans inApril, 1940 in Poznan, Poland and set to Dachau, then to Mauthausen, then back to Dachau.He spent a little over five years in a concentration camp when he was liberated by the GIs.He spoke and read German and Polish and was apparently used as a translator in the camps.He was very ill during his internment but managed to survive.He came to Detroit shortly after the war where he met and married the donor of the uniform.He die…