Many people, including myself, consider the automobile an art form. There is a tremendous amount of thought and consideration that goes into the design of both the interior and exterior of a vehicle. When “horseless carriages” evolved into “automobiles,” a
Many people, including myself, consider the automobile an art form.
There is a tremendous amount of thought and consideration that goes into the design of both the interior and exterior of a vehicle.
When “horseless carriages” evolved into “automobiles,” a great deal of attention was given to the design of what was essentially nothing more than a decoration that dressed up the utilitarian radiator cap.
Eventually, the radiator cap was removed from the top of the grille and hidden under the hood, but that didn’t curtail stylists from continuing to use hood ornaments as a design element.
Among the illustrations I selected for this feature, there are hood ornaments from Auburn, Buick, Cadillac and DeSoto. Perhaps I should have continued the alphabetic chain with Edsel, Ford, etc.
However, I chose to concentrate on hood ornaments that follow the theme of “girls and goddesses” that were frequently used as hood ornaments in a bygone era.
You will notice that many of the illustrations are from the 1930s, considered the “golden era” of automotive design by many historians.
Later features will highlight other hood ornament themes.
Enjoy the show.
