Partly engraved DS, signed ““Henry Ford” and “Edsel B. Ford”,” one page, 7 x 4.5, June 6, 1941. A diploma from the Macon [Michigan] High School of the Edison Institute Schools. issued to El Ray N. Finnegan. Among the senior Ford’s wide-ranging educational projects was the establishment and sponsorship of the sort of one-room schools that evoked his own youth. As part of Greenfield Village, his personal museum of historic structures in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford purchased the one-room schoolhouse he attended in his youth, had it reconstructed at the Village, and reopened it to a new generation of pupils. Present at the rededication was Ford’s close friend and childhood desk mate Edsel A. Ruddiman, after whom he named his only son. The diploma is housed in its original leather folder with the recipient’s name stamped in gilt on the cover. Accompanied by a copy of a 1939 article about Macon School including a group photo picturing the original recipient with his classmates. A hint of mild toning to edge, otherwise fine condition. Charming and unusual! Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
