The Development of Hood Ornaments
The concept began with the earliest automotive temperature gauges, which were mounted on external radiator caps. Before these motometers, drivers were at the mercy of overheating engines with no warning. But the new improvement also offered manufacturers a new artifact on which to display some distinctive emblematic form or stylized logo.
Motometers began displaying wings and other features as the idea spread. Soon there were sculpted pieces into which the motometer attached. However, the need for an exterior heat gauge was eliminated with the introduction of water temperature gauges mounted on the dashboard. Exterior radiator caps also began to disappear as manufacturers opted for radiators accessed beneath the hood. The mascot then became purely ornamental, and with no need for functionality, ornaments became far more creative.
Popular and Prominent Mascot Motifs
By 1930 the mascot was taking several prevalent forms. The goddess was an extremely popular motif, with examples found on Buick, Cadillac, DeSoto, Plymouth, Packard, Oldsmobile, Studebaker, and Graham. Other mythological figures also had their moment, as found in the Gardner griffin, Chevrolet’s gryphon, and the Duesenburg pegasus.
Animal forms were very popular - lions were depicted by Peugeot and Franklin, Packard had the Cormorant, and Ford used the quail in flight. Hispano Suiza, Fonck and Morgan adopted separate versions of the stork, while Oakland, Chevrolet and Marmon had eagles.
Forms based on inanimate objects included a crescent moon (Moon), a sail (Talbot), a diving helmet (Dagmar and Checker), and a crown (Briscoe, all the way back to 1918). The winged wheel was a motif shared by Studebaker, Austin, Charron, Pierce-Arrow and Chevrolet, some of them well before the most popular rendition surviving today was adopted as the symbol for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Some of the most well-known hood ornaments include the Lincoln greyhound, the Pierce-Arrow Archer, Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Ecstasy ("The Flying Lady"), and stylized examples like the Cadillac Goddess of 1934, Duesenberg’s Duesenbird, and the eagle on the 1930s' REO truck.
The custom houses and other manufacturers of these works of art included Louis Lejeune of London, Rene Lalique of France, and, as early as the turn of the 20th century, Elkington in Britain and the Doehler Jarvis Company in the United States.
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