From 1924 to 1926, teams from the University of Michigan ventured into the Mediterranean, Near East, and North Africa to undertake pioneering archaeological projects. Successful as these campaigns were, they were also beset by thefts, a disastrous fire, endless bureaucratic snafus, encounters with a fake count, and other unexpected hurdles. Essential participants in these adventures were two Detroit-made “dig” cars—a Graham Brothers truck and a Dodge sedan, both donated by the Dodge Brothers Company. Each carried hundreds of pounds of equipment, personnel, and supplies, all while navigating miles of uncharted deserts, perilous mountain passes, and remote locations devoid of anything resembling a road. This richly illustrated book provides a lively narrative of these important expeditions, casting the vehicles as protagonists in these far-flung adventures.

The official photographer for the campaigns, as well as the man who drove and maintained the vehicles, was George R. Swain. A longtime high school teacher and principal, an inveterate explorer, and an avid writer, Swain was hired to document the archaeological discoveries. He became equally intrigued, however, by the modern world around him, writing insightful letters home to his family about the people and places he encountered and taking hundreds of ethnographic images. By framing the “seeable” (Swain’s photographs) with the “sayable” (his writings), From the Motor City to the Mediterranean invites us to contemplate the poetry and poverty of life in distant and storied locations of the 1920s. His photographs and letters—some published here for the first time—immerse the reader in one man’s journey with the intrepid vehicles. Together, they explore places rarely seen by the outside world during a decade of seminal social change after the Great War.

Ann Arbor: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, 2024
xi+156 pages, 136 images, 3 tables
Paperback, 10 x 10 inches
ISBN: 978-1-7330504-5-6
$29.95