Moving Picture Show Is A Henry Ford Hit

Aug. 18, 2011 - PRLog -- PMS Press is pleased to announce that author Phillip W. Stewart was honored as the recipient of the Henry Ford Heritage Association 2011 Book Award for his landmark reference work, “Henry Ford’s Moving Picture Show: An Investigator’s Guide to the Films Produced by the Ford Motor Company, Volume One, 1914-1920.”

Each year, the awards committee of the Henry Ford Heritage Association presents the HFHA Book Award to a deserving honoree who, in the committee's opinion, has best exemplified the ideals set down in the HFHA mission statement: “To foster interest in the life and accomplishments of Henry Ford, and to preserve and interpret the landmarks associated with his life.” The Award was presented at the annual HFHA - Henry Ford Birthday Celebration Dinner which took place this year at the Roush Automotive Collection in Livonia, Michigan .

Henry Ford was a Movie Mogul?

It’s true. There was a time between 1915 and 1925, during which Henry Ford oversaw the largest motion picture production and distribution operation on the planet. Because of Ford's interest in the potential of motion pictures as an educational, training, and advertising medium, he started a motion picture department in his company in 1914. In the early years, the department concentrated mainly on current events, educational features, and historical presentations. During World War One manufacturing and patriotic efforts on the home front were emphasized. After the war, the focus turned to promoting Ford products, modern farming methods, good roads, and traffic safety. The department also documented the activities of Ford, his family, and his friends. For almost a decade, Henry Ford was the largest motion picture film producer in the world.

Henry Ford’s Moving Picture Show

These historically significant films are now in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration where they are well preserved, but research is challenging. This book and the future volumes of the “Henry Ford’s Moving Picture Show” series resolve this issue by providing a film’s title, description, and catalog numbers together in the same cite. This critical information has never been published before. Together with the 935 films in the title index and 891 entries in the subject index, this first volume provides a timeless reference to the moving images produced from 1914 through 1920 by the Ford Motor Company.

"Henry Ford’s Moving Picture Show: An Investigator’s Guide to the Films Produced by the Ford Motor Company, Volume One, 1914-1920." (ISBN 978-0-9817444-7-6, hard back, $39.95/978-0-9817444-6-9, trade paper, $34.95, 301 pages, pms press, 2011) is the fifth book in Mr. Stewart's Historic Footage Project. More information is available at the author's website at www.pwstewart.com. All of Mr. Stewart's valuable motion picture related reference works are available from Amazon.com and other on-line book resources.