Vintage, early 20th century Singer sewing machine on display in the Lodge House at the Packard Proving Ground.Hilary Davis
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Small-Scale 20th Century Design: The Singer Sewing Machine

A different kind of 20th Century engineering! Exploring the Singer sewing machine.
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Check It Out: Continuing the PPG Library Project

Our holdings include a diverse array of print publications, newsletters, magazines, and Packard-original documents that we plan to preserve and protect for the long term.
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The Packard Rosies of World War II

For Women’s History Month, I thought it might be interesting to search the PPG Vault for photos of women with Packards.  I was pleased to find that women did more than just own Packard cars.  They actually played a variety of important…
Emily R. Benoit
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Collection Processing: An Ode to the Inventory List

Let's see . . . what could be in these boxes? Better keep a detailed record!
1962 Cadillac WilliamBruce Blevins
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William – Part 8 of Why People Name Their Cars After Women (and Sometimes Men)

William is the only car named after a man and that’s because he was a widower.  William is a 1962 Cadillac Sedan de Ville.  He is totally original and totally in much better shape than I am.  He has only been rained on three…
Emily R. Benoit
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Collection Processing: What Should I Do With This Thing?

Need some general guidelines for working with archival materials? Here are some helpful how-tos for those starting the preservation process.
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Albert Kahn, Architect of the Packard Proving Grounds

At the time that Henry Joy picked Albert Kahn to design the Packard factory buildings in Detroit, the German-born Kahn was a young but brilliant architect. He built a reputation for tackling large projects with the construction of Army…
Emily R. Benoit
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Intro to Collection Processing: Why Historical Preservation is Important

Exploring archival administration and historic preservation efforts at the Packard Proving Grounds.
Barbara Ann in 1957Bruce Blevins
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Barbara Ann – Part 7 of Why People Name Their Cars After Women

Barbara Ann is one of those barn find opportunities we all have heard stories about.  I will not go into details on how we two came together, except for a chance meeting of a friend of mine and the then owner’s son.  The photo above…
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John DeLorean and the Fantastic Ultramatic Drive

In the 1940s General Motors stunned the automotive world with the debut of their “Hydra-Matic Drive” automatic transmission. Up until this time a certain learned skill was needed to operate a clutch pedal and a gearbox in concert for…