#archives artifacts

The Ford Presidential Museum collects, preserves, and exhibits an assortment of historical artifacts that illustrate the life and times of Gerald R. Ford so that future generations might better understand the legacy of the nation's 38th President. The objects in our holdings highlight many different aspects of the Ford administration.

One significant subset of the artifact collection is state gifts presented to the Fords by foreign heads of state and officials. President Ford received this silver replica of a Spanish galleon – fully detailed with wire rope lines and sails – from Pedro Cortina Mauri, Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, during a trip to that country in June 1975. Explore more state gifts here.

On the domestic front, when Gerald Ford became President one of his first goals was to combat high inflation, which he declared to be “public enemy number one.” The Ford administration created the Whip Inflation Now, or WIN, program in the fall of 1974. It focused on a variety of voluntary anti-inflationary initiatives that individual citizens and businesses could embrace.

Although the red and white “WIN” logo became the main symbol of the program, people from around the country created items to show their support including bumper stickers, clothing, games, and garden kits. Explore more WIN artifacts here.

The celebration of America’s Bicentennial in 1976 also inspired the public to create a wide variety of memorabilia. Gifts to mark the country’s 200th birthday ranged from mass produced pins and lunch boxes to one of a kind pieces of fine jewelry.

One of the unique Bicentennial objects in our collection is a commemorative pressed wooden plaque that features an “astrological chart of America” decorated with colored stickers. The other side is decorated with a decoupage facsimile of the Declaration of Independence. Explore more Bicentennial artifacts here.

Although the Bicentennial celebration was a high point of the Ford administration, other artifacts call back to tougher times. Faced with mounting evidence of the imminent fall of South Vietnam, President Ford authorized the evacuation of thousands of Vietnamese orphans, known as Operation Babylift, to the United States on April 3, 1975. The following day the first official flight crashed shortly after taking off and led to the deaths of over 130 passengers. Pieces from the wreckage of that aircraft are in our collection.

Despite that tragedy, the flights continued through April 15 and more than 2,000 orphans were flown into the United States by military and private aircraft. The Ford Museum also holds shoes and other clothing worn by the children who made the journey.

Our artifact collection includes many other examples of clothing, from novelty t-shirts to Gerald Ford’s suits. Nearly 200 dresses and gowns donated by Betty Ford show the unique style she brought to the White House as First Lady. Three designers dominated her wardrobe: Frankie Welch, Louis Estevez, and Albert Capraro, who designed this colorful floral chiffon silk gown.

Mrs. Ford wore this gown on multiple occasions, including a state dinner honoring the Prime Minister of Singapore and the taping of her cameo appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Explore more of Betty Ford’s dresses here.

Mrs. Ford’s popularity was an asset during the 1976 presidential campaign as buttons encouraging people to “Vote for Betty’s Husband.” These and numerous other political buttons are now in the Ford Museum’s artifact collection, along with hats, watches, sunglasses, Frisbees, and additional campaign memorabilia.

This sparkly silver elephant shows its allegiance to the Republican candidate with “Ford ‘76″ and “Michigan GOP” spelled out on its sides. Explore more 1976 presidential campaign artifacts here.