Lincoln Motor Company

Lincoln Motor Company was formed in 1917 by father and son Henry Leland and Wilfred Leland. The elder Leland named it for the first president for whom he voted. Lincoln built airplane engines during World War I, then shifted to production of luxury automobiles. Faced with a difficult economy and disappointing sales, the company entered receivership.

Lincoln found salvation in another father-son duo, Henry Ford and Edsel Ford. Ford Motor Company purchased Lincoln Motor Company in 1922. The $8 million deal spared Lincoln from closure, and Lincoln’s luxury cars expanded Ford’s product line beyond the economical Model T. Edsel Ford guided Lincoln with a simple but highly personal vision:

Lincoln grew into one of America’s most admired luxury automakers, and it remains so today. The Henry Ford’s collections include important Lincoln automobiles, archival materials, photographs, publications, and videos. Below are links to some of our most significant resources related to the history of Lincoln Motor Company.

Lincoln Automobiles

• 1922 Lincoln Camp Vehicle – Built to carry food and supplies for Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone on their “Vagabonds” camping trips
• 1923 Lincoln Touring Car – One of the first Lincolns built under Ford ownership, given to Thomas Edison by Henry Ford
• 1929 Lincoln Convertible Victoria – Edsel Ford gave Lincoln a sophisticated look to match its luxury status
• 1936 Lincoln Zephyr Sedan – This mid-priced model helped carry Lincoln through the Great Depression
• 1937 Lincoln Brunn Touring Car – Lincoln Model K buyers could choose a body directly from Lincoln, or purchase a bare chassis and commission a body from a custom coachbuilder
• 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet – Edsel Ford and designer Bob Gregorie gave this car a European-inspired “continental” look
• 1941 Lincoln Continental Convertible – This Continental was Edsel Ford’s personal car
• 1953 Ford X-100 Concept Car – Built to celebrate Ford’s 50th anniversary, this car has an engine and drivetrain by Lincoln
• 1956 Continental Mark II – Continental was its own make, separate from Lincoln, when this car appeared, but it paid tribute to Edsel Ford’s original 1940–1948 Lincoln Continentals
• 1964 Lincoln Continental Stretch Limousine – Built for Pope Paul VI and later used as an official parade car in Chicago
• 1996 Lincoln Sentinel Concept Car – Design cues on this sedan pay homage to Lincolns of the 1940s and 1960s

Presidential Limousines

• 1939 Lincoln Presidential Limousine Used by Franklin D. Roosevelt – First limousine modified specifically for presidential service, also used by Harry Truman
• 1950 Lincoln Presidential Limousine Used by Dwight D. Eisenhower – Also used by Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy, with “bubbletop” to protect from inclement weather
• 1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine Used by John F. Kennedy – Car in which Kennedy was riding when he was assassinated in 1963, rebuilt and used by Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter
• 1972 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine Used by Ronald Reagan – Also used by Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush

Archival Collections

• Elwood Paul Engel Papers – Engel’s automotive design career included time at General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, and his projects included the 1961 Lincoln Continental
• John Tjaarda Papers – As a design engineer at Briggs Manufacturing Company, Tjaarda worked with Edsel Ford and Bob Gregorie to create the streamlined Lincoln Zephyr
• Lincoln Advertisements – Selection of advertisements produced by Lincoln Motor Company
• Lincoln Continental Design Development Photographs – Finding aid for a photograph collection assembled by John Najjar, a Ford designer and stylist for more than 40 years
• Lincoln Design Drawings – Selection of automobile renderings drawn by Lincoln designers
• Lincoln V-12 Sales Records, 1932 – Finding aid for a collection of letters to and from the Lincoln Division Sales Department, concerning Lincoln’s 12-cylinder engine introduced in 1932
• Morgan L. Gies Presidential Vehicles Photographs Collection – Photographs, press kits, and clippings related to Lincoln presidential limousines
• William M. Schmidt Papers – Schmidt was with the Lincoln-Mercury design studio from 1940 to 1955, where his work included the Lincoln Futura concept car

Blog Posts

• An Old Car Festival for the Books: 2017 – The show spotlighted Lincoln in honor of the centennial of its founding
• Edsel Ford’s 1941 Lincoln Continental – Edsel Ford’s role in developing the first-generation Lincoln Continental
• Innovation Icon: Kennedy Presidential Limousine – The Kennedy limousine as a symbol from a tragic day in American history

Books

• Ford: Expansion and Challenge, 1915-1933 – Ford’s purchase of Lincoln is covered in the middle volume of the three-part Ford Motor Company history by Allan Nevins and Frank Ernest Hill, published in 1957
• Master of Precision: Henry M. Leland – Biography of Lincoln founder Henry Leland, co-written by Ottilie M. Leland (Wilfred Leland’s wife) and Millie Dubbs Millbrook, first published in 1966
• The Legend of Lincoln – Assembled in 1985, a collection of Lincoln-related articles and photographs from Automobile Quarterly magazine
• The Lincoln Motorcar: The Complete History of an American Classic – Thomas E. Bonsall tells the Lincoln story in this book from 1981
• The Lincoln Story: The Postwar Years – Thomas E. Bonsall’s 2004 book expands on Lincoln’s operations following World War II

Digital Collections

• Lincoln Automobile – Broad keyword search for Lincoln-related items in The Henry Ford’s Digital Collections

Oil Portrait of Edsel Ford by Diego Rivera, 1932 / THF116599

Expert Sets

• Edsel Ford: The Artist in Our Family – Selection of Lincoln, Ford, and Mercury automobiles influenced by Edsel Ford’s instinctive talent for design
• Lincoln - Birth and Rebirth – Photos, artifacts, and automobiles from Lincoln Motor Company’s first 25 years
• Landmark Lincolns – Some of the automaker’s most impressive and influential models

Ford Motor Company Designer E.T. “Bob” Gregorie, October 1940 / THF139387

Oral Histories

• Automotive Industry Design Oral Histories – Transcripts and audio (where available) of interviews with automotive design professionals like Lincoln designers Bob Gregorie, John Najjar, and George Walker

Auto Dealer Stark Hickey and Detroit Lions Player Clem Crabtree with a 1941 Lincoln Zephyr / THF118251

Photographs

• Ford’s Acquisition of Lincoln – Photographs taken on February 4, 1922, when Ford Motor Company formally purchased Lincoln Motor Company
• Lincoln Automobile – Keyword search for Lincoln-related photographs in The Henry Ford’s Digital Collections database

President Kennedy Riding in the 1961 Presidential Lincoln Limousine with Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt, Washington, D.C., 1963 / THF106487

Popular Research Topics

• Ford Motor Company Parts Drawings (1903–57) – Frequently asked questions about Lincoln parts drawings in The Henry Ford’s Benson Ford Research Center
• Kennedy Presidential Limousine – Frequently asked questions about the Kennedy limo
• Vehicle Production Records – Frequently asked questions about Lincoln production cards and ledgers in The Henry Ford’s Benson Ford Research Center

Pope Paul VI Pictured Visiting New York in 1965 / THF128756

Videos

• 1964 Lincoln Continental Used by the Pope & Neil Armstrong – The story of the Lincoln parade car built for Pope Paul VI and later used in parades through Chicago
• History of the Kennedy Limousine – The story of the 1961 Lincoln Continental limousine built for President John F. Kennedy
• “Continental” - The Name Speaks for Itself – Clip from a 1985 interview with Bob Gregorie, who worked with Edsel Ford to design the 1939 Lincoln Continental
• Long Hood Elegance – Clip from a 1985 interview with Bob Gregorie, who worked with Edsel Ford to design the 1939 Lincoln Continental
• Presidential Limousines – Mo Rocca looks at presidential limos in this clip from The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation
• Something to Cheer About – Promotional film for Lincoln’s 1941 models
• Streamlines Make Headlines – Promotional film for the 1936 Lincoln Zephyr

If you have questions or need further assistance, please contact the Benson Ford Research Center.