I find it fascinating that someone can be so fascinated by car mascots. Mind you, I'm not one to talk: I like looking at different designs of buses. A friend of mine loves railway sidings -- go figure! I guess it's a man thing. Anyway, I very much enjoyed reading this, and I even recognised the Pontiac one -- no idea how I could have known it.
I, too, was surprised by the depth and number of the photos that were out on the Interwebs. People spend a great deal of money to get some of the mascot examples. This came up as a topic as I've been looking at the intersection of art and the automobile. Quite a busy place, that. And I guess it comes from me asking why and how do people ornament certain things. Rebecca mentioned "beautiful ladies." And they are plentiful in the mascot world. I thought about adding a section just devoted to them, but it was too, too much.
Great post, Mark - really interesting! I love the diversity of these bonnet ornaments - 'Spirit of Ecstasy' and the Mercedes star are very different, but they are of course instantly recognisable as symbols of the brand.
These days it's all about branding, but I love how the early ornaments - the ones of beautiful ladies! - are very reminiscent of the figureheads of old ships, aboard which they were revered as symbols of hope and protection to safeguard a vessel in war and on perilous voyages.
Yes, and I think those figureheads have an ancient history. My guess is that the early car owners thought of their cars as "landyachts," too!
And THANK YOU for telling me about my mistaken "Leave a Comment" button! I'll have to be more careful in the future. In matters of comments on Substack, what-you-see is not necessarily what-you-get. I noticed that you recounted your run-in with the comment misdirection in today's post on your newsletter.
I find it fascinating that someone can be so fascinated by car mascots. Mind you, I'm not one to talk: I like looking at different designs of buses. A friend of mine loves railway sidings -- go figure! I guess it's a man thing. Anyway, I very much enjoyed reading this, and I even recognised the Pontiac one -- no idea how I could have known it.
I, too, was surprised by the depth and number of the photos that were out on the Interwebs. People spend a great deal of money to get some of the mascot examples. This came up as a topic as I've been looking at the intersection of art and the automobile. Quite a busy place, that. And I guess it comes from me asking why and how do people ornament certain things. Rebecca mentioned "beautiful ladies." And they are plentiful in the mascot world. I thought about adding a section just devoted to them, but it was too, too much.
Great post, Mark - really interesting! I love the diversity of these bonnet ornaments - 'Spirit of Ecstasy' and the Mercedes star are very different, but they are of course instantly recognisable as symbols of the brand.
These days it's all about branding, but I love how the early ornaments - the ones of beautiful ladies! - are very reminiscent of the figureheads of old ships, aboard which they were revered as symbols of hope and protection to safeguard a vessel in war and on perilous voyages.
Yes, and I think those figureheads have an ancient history. My guess is that the early car owners thought of their cars as "landyachts," too!
And THANK YOU for telling me about my mistaken "Leave a Comment" button! I'll have to be more careful in the future. In matters of comments on Substack, what-you-see is not necessarily what-you-get. I noticed that you recounted your run-in with the comment misdirection in today's post on your newsletter.