A generously illustrated volume produced by the Ford Motor Company and United Auto Workers Local 325 commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the St. Louis, Missouri Ford assembly plant. Part history of the factory, part photographic yearbook of its workforce, the book serves as a detailed record of Ford's St. Louis presence as well as an endearing and nostalgic glimpse into the American working class in the 1990's.

Highlights include an 18pp. section detailing the various models produced, beginning with the Mercury Four Door Sedan (1949) and ending with the Ford Explorer (1996-) ; numerous views of the assembly line ; hundreds of yearbook portraits of employees ; etc....

An introduction by a Ford executive is ironic, to put it kindly, given the company's shuttering of the plant less than ten years later in a massacre of its American workforce numbers which saw it eliminate some 30,000 jobs:

"I have never worked with a finer group of people than I have the distinct pleasure to be associated with here in St. Louis. Your commitment to making the finest vehicles that we can produce will keep the St. Louis Assembly Plan thriving, and assure a sound future for both you and your families for many years to come."

I find no indication of a print run in the text, though it appears unrecorded in OCLC and scarce to find in commerce.

KALTENBACH, Rick (editor) : [Automobilia] : [Labor]. [Ford St. Louis Assembly Plant 50th Anniversary Yearbook]. St. Louis, Missouri: Ford Motor Company, (1998). 11 1/4" x 8 3/4." 206pp. Smooth blue cloth over boards. Gilt stamped decorated title to front. Some light spots of discolor to front board cloth, overall sound, clean, and unmarked. Very good.