Get the picture, Ford says

Ford Motor Co. is ready to deck out your garage, workroom or--if your wife lets you--the living room. The company has brought thousands of images out of its archives and is now selling them at www.fordimages.com.

Limited-edition prints, advertisements and vintage signs are for sale now, priced from $25 and up. The site launched in January.

More than 5,000 images are on the site and images are being added weekly, according to the company. About 5,000 more should be for sale by the end of the year.

The purpose is to create brand awareness and to remind people of the Ford legacy.

"The entire world of Ford culture is here," said Dean Weber, manager of the Ford Archives. "These images represent the very special place Ford has in not only American history, but world history."

There are millions of images in the boxes, file cabinets and CDs at the Ford Archives in Dearborn, Mich. Weber and his team have been sorting through the files to find the best ones.

The subjects vary. There are portraits and photographs from events, factories, motorsports and product development. The landing page offers a search for dealers, owners and collectors, although we bet there's a little something for everyone under each heading.

The new Web site gets about 500 visitors daily. Marketing manager Betsy McKelvey noted that dealers and car enthusiasts are some of the biggest early customers.

One of the most popular sellers, according to McKelvey, has been a reprint of an ad that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1925. The ad was called "Opening the Highways to All Mankind," and it features an image of a family overlooking the countryside with plenty of Fords in view.

Another big seller is custom vintage-style wood signs for businesses. New dealerships can get signs made to appear that they have been in business for years. Dealers also buy them to give to customers and to decorate showrooms.

FordImages.com will continue to add to the site, according to McKelvey. In particular, products that aren't represented yet will find their way up, along with images from other places around the world to fully reflect the company's presence.

By Jake Lingeman