Topic: Solved: Wendax 815 - Hérald

[Wendax]

The triumph of the motorcar.

For one point, please respond and identify this car.

[Wendax]

up

[D-type]

As the picture is "Somewhere West of Laramie" is it a Jordan Playboy?

[Wendax]

No

[Wendax]

Up again

[grobmotorix]

I remember an Ader advertisement, made in this style, so is it a french Ader?

[Wendax]

Not Ader, but French.

[Craig Gillingham]

Gardner Serpollet?

[Wendax]

No

[Bill Murray]

A bit off topic, but this photo fascinates me.
I would never guess the car as the time period is way before my area of interest, 1935-1945.
However, I have once again become interested in automotive history in former colonial countries of that time period after joining this Forum and I wonder, Gerd, if your original source gives the country that this painting depicts.

It looks like a very upper class gentleman with the whip is "encouraging" a working class type as well as the oxen and horses to get the coach over the grade.  As well, at least one passenger is seen to be pushing the coach and a lady and gentleman companion are trailing the whole mess.

The automobile driver seems to be raising his hand in triumph as he passes the coach, I assume this is the point of the advertisement, and the car looks to be sort of a "tourist" conveyance as well.

Finally, in the foreground is what appears to be a man in perhaps a European uniform and what appears to be a "local tribesman" with a rifle who may be providing protection to at least the coach, sort of like in the US Wild West.

Back to the painting and the question, is this to represent somewhere in French West Africa???

[Wendax]

Bill, unfortunately I don't know. In a very fine way you describe the fascination the iconography of this old advertisement started when I first saw it. This mixture of Wild West cliches with Biedermeier style painting really makes one wonder about the setting. Perhaps it is just supposed to be a rural French scenery, who knows?

[nicanary]

Uhm.. the two people in the foreground appear to me to be two hikers, the man with a backpack and the woman wearing a headscarf, with a hat hanging from her neck and holding a walking staff.

I think the ad is supposed to be promoting the automobile over horse/walking as a method of transport in the Alps.

Having said that, why is the guy with the whip dressed as a circus ringmaster?

[Craig Gillingham]

Is it something like a 1903 Panhard?

[Wendax]

The year could be about right, but the company is much less known than Panhard.

[Craig Gillingham]

Was the company still building cars in the 20's?

[Wendax]

No

[grobmotorix]

Turcat-Méry?

[Wendax]

Less known

[Craig Gillingham]

12hp Gladiator?

[Bill Murray]

nicanary:

Thanks for keeping up with my thoughts.
Since I cannot answer the autopuzzle, I played around with the concept of the painting itself.

In Googling "French coach drivers 1890-1910" I found that the drivers almost always wore such a "costume" with the top hat and tails etc.  That would seem to answer that question.

In looking long and hard at the painting again, I agree that my imagination and lust for adventure got away from me.  The two in the foreground are a man and a women hikers and not a soldier and a native attendant with a turban as I had imagined.

So, yes, the advert is most likely saying a motor car is better than a coach in the French Alps.

Bill

[Wendax]

12hp Gladiator?

No

[nicanary]

nicanary:

Thanks for keeping up with my thoughts.
Since I cannot answer the autopuzzle, I played around with the concept of the painting itself.

In Googling "French coach drivers 1890-1910" I found that the drivers almost always wore such a "costume" with the top hat and tails etc.  That would seem to answer that question.

In looking long and hard at the painting again, I agree that my imagination and lust for adventure got away from me.  The two in the foreground are a man and a women hikers and not a soldier and a native attendant with a turban as I had imagined.

So, yes, the advert is most likely saying a motor car is better than a coach in the French Alps.

Bill

I just showed the ad to my 27-yr old, honours degree -educated daughter. She identified the two people in the foreground as two robbers lying in wait, one with a rifle. So you are vindicated.

[grobmotorix]

I think the couple in the foreground is just taking a rest.
And she´s holding a walking stick in her hands that she has used to when walking along the steep road.

Now the are just exhausted and watch the scenery.

[Craig Gillingham]

Was this picture originally on a postcard? I thought it may be easier to try and find where the picture came from, rather than guess the car. The car doesn't really have any distinguishing features, and it looks like most early 1900's French cars.

[Wendax]

The online source I've got it from has it as a postcard. I don't know whether originally it was a poster though.