American Portrayal Of Henry Ford

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32382, 22 August 1970, Page 6

American Portrayal Of Henry Ford

(By

KENNETH ANTHONY)

Philatelists today have a far wider range of stamp designs to collect than their fathers ever had. And as the designer’s scope has widened, it has been interesting to study the way in which the names of commercial organisations

have cropped up in the stampalbum in a way which would never have been expected a generation ago. Even Great Britain, for so long the home of strictly traditional and conservative stamp design, allowed the name of

Cunard to appear on the 5d stamp depicting the new liner, Queen Elizabeth 2. And on the stamp illustrated here, the United States features the name of one of the world’s best-known car manufacturers. It is, however, Ford, the millionaire and philanthropist, rather than the car, that the stamp honours. For this 12c value, which first came out In 1968, is part of the “Prominent Americans” series. Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903, and on the stamp, his portrait appears with the famous Model T Ford in the background. The Model T made its bow at the Chicago Motor Show in 1907, and from then until 1929, no fewer than 15 million of them were produced. Despite all his success in business, Ford’s most imaginative effort for the good of mankind proved a failure. In 1915, he hired a ship and