Early in the nineteen twenties, French aviator and inventor Gabriel Voisin sought to leverage the popularity of the French Impressionism movement to sell motor cars.
The 1924 Delaunay Belleville is one of the most bizarre pieces of literature that Dr. Simeone has ever seen.
Did you know that West Virginia once produced a luxury car that was five to six times more expensive than a comparable Ford of the same era?
Based on our research, we think this might be the oldest surviving automotive oil can in the world. We believe that this very clear image is that of an 1897 DeDion Bouton. The clarity is remarkable, especially when you consider that this particular object will most likely be 125 years old next year.
Dr. Simeone tells the story.
In the early days of the automobile, a team of entrepreneurs sought to create a car without valves and gears. They would name their new enterprise The Gearless Automobile Company.
Dr. Simeone tells the story.
Product sales literature is the pride of our library. In many instances the automobile maker had no other way to explain and illustrates the benefits of his vehicles, particularly before the era of mass media. As such, sales brochures are considered the “official” description of the car, with illustrations, specifications, and the information one might need to make a purchase decision. We believe this brochure might be the first one ever created.
Sales brochures have become an important part of the history of the automobile. Among our collection of great sales brochures, we have found one which we find very puzzling.
Alex Kow was one of the most prolific, and in demand artists of his day. His work, mostly advertising ads and few posters, focused exclusively on French manufacturers and was always signed “A. Kow”.
Early automotive brochures were influenced by a lot of different factors, including nature it seems.
Our library collection contains two well-produced brochure which appear to be selling a car, but were more likely an early example of a designer conducting market research.
The motorcycle got off to a bad start and for its first decade was generally considered a fun object for daring men.
We all think that hybrid cars are a novel invention, but did you know that hybrid automotive technology has been in use since as early as 1905?
