 The motoring artist Gordon Horner died last Thursday (January 26, 2006) at the age of ninety. Gordon Horner worked for “The Autocar” where he became their staff artist right after World War II. He produced artwork with much attention to detail, like this Lagonda at speed (see below). Later Horner developed a looser style with abundant use of bold colours, particularly bright blues, reds and yellows that predominate many of his works. A good example is the above Bentley. Apart from “The Autocar” Gordon Horner also made artwork for magazines like “The Motor Cycle” and in later times contributed to “Classic Car”. Gordon has always been interested in older cars, especially the pre-war Riley’s that often featured in his work. Although Horner did not want to be branded as a motoring artist only, yet today his work is viewed as that of an exceptional artist who recorded an important period in motoring history. Gordon Horner at the age of 88 with his Riley images courtesy Tony Clark January 30, 2006
 This frieze of a young girl apparently taking driving lessons was found by Fons Alkemade. He noticed it on the wall of an apartment block in Paris that can be found on the corner of Rue Lauriston and Rue de Presbourg, close to the Arc de Triomphe. The building dates from around the early 1900’s and presumably it belonged to a company that had something to do with motoring, because there are many other beautifully detailed friezes of car scenes on the wall. I’ve no idea what the car can be? Or is it just an artist’s impression? Oh, and I do hope that the little dog at the girl’s feet enjoyed the ride too.  photo Fons Alkemade January 28, 2006
 On these pages you'll find several articles with the theme: “Prewar cars are still everywhere around us!” But I never expected to find this one. I was born in The Hague, The Netherlands and spent my whole childhood there. So you can imagine my surprise when on a visit I suddenly spotted this early hand-painted sign on a blank wall. As a young boy I must have walked by this sign many times without seeing it. It’s an advertisement for a garage that rented in-door parking space. The first advertising murals appeared around 1900 and were in use until the early forties. Too bad many of these murals have been destroyed, but fortunately there are people who take pity on them and try to restore them in their former glory. photos Rutger Booy January 2, 2006
 Always the 5th of December is a day full of anxiety for Dutch children as they nervously await the arrival of “Sinterklaas”. On his white horse Sinterklaas rides the roofs (mfa.nl) of the houses and gives presents to boys and girls that have been good. It’s a very old custom that dates back to the fourth century when the Turkish Bishop Nicolaos of Myra was revered for his many good deeds. In later years Saint Nicolaos’ grave in Demre, Turkey was robbed by pirates and his bones brought to Bari, Italy, which was then a Spanish colony. The myth of his good deeds spread from Spain to Holland until in the seventeenth century it was brought by Dutch settlers to New York where Sinterklaas evolves into Santa Claus who brings presents at Christmas time. And the white horse becomes a sleigh with reindeer. But horse or deer, I prefer the Oldsmobile. I have been a good boy, haven't I? (postcard: collection Hans Horwitz; photo of grave: Rutger Booy)
December 5, 2005
 Flowers for a lady, and a winner’s kiss too! And she deserved it, because she just won the race in her Bugatti. Her racer is a Bugatti Type 52, the ultimate children’s status symbol of the twenties and thirties. Originally designed by Ettore Bugatti for his second son Roland, it’s a faithful replicated half-scale version of the racing Type 35 (ddavid.com). Powered by a single 12 volt electric motor with an integral 4-speed gearbox, the Type 52 was capable of a speed of ten to twelve mph. Braking was done by way of expanding wooden shoes in rear drums. Even then very expensive. Originals are now very highly sought after. (photo courtesy Jaap Horst of the Bugatti web).
December 2, 2005
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 I just have to show you this very nice watercolour. It’s a little blue Peugeot on the Lyon racetrack during the Grand Prix de France in 1914. I'm not sure, but suspect it depicts Boillot on his last lap, just before he had to give up. The full story of this race can be read here. The watercolour was made by Jean-Marie Guivarc'h, a present-day artist whose work has been featured before on PreWarCar. Jean-Marie has in his watercolours a very realistic approach on his subjects, and a natural atmosphere, thus creating a positive feeling about times gone by. Because many of his watercolours depict scenes at Le Mans, Jean-Marie has been invited by the “Bridge Club du Mans” to hold an exposition of his work, only this time the accent will be on all kinds of pre-war cars. Which of course is exactly why I urge you to go and have a look. The exposition will be held from November 24 until January 3, 2006 in the Rue Molière in Le Mans. For more details of the exposition follow this link to Nationale7.
November 23, 2005
 Back in 1986 Mercedes-Benz celebrated its 100th birthday. To mark this occasion the company ordered the building of several replicas of the original car made by Karl Benz. The patents were issued on January 29, 1886 after which the car became known as the ‘Patent Motorwagen’. Because of the high demand these replicas generated, another series of ninety replicas were made in 2003/2004. These have found their way across the world and can now be seen in several museums. Just because Karl Benz was (one of) the first constructor(s), he had literally to start from scratch, so it was inevitable that he made some errors in his design. One of his ideas was that the flywheel had to be placed horizontally, because he thought that a vertical flywheel would make the ‘Patent Motorwagen’ very difficult to steer because of the gyroscopic effects. Naturally there wasn’t a starter motor, so the engine had to be started by pulling the flywheel at exactly the right moment. And that’s not easy as I found out a few months ago. I was given the opportunity to test one of these Benz replica’s, but despite enormous efforts I failed to start the vehicle.
photo Rutger Booy
November 19, 2005
 A fire extinguisher is certainly no luxury as I found out quite recently. During a drive in the country with several prewar cars, the owner of a Citroen Cloverleaf suddenly saw smoke coming from under his bonnet. It appeared to be an oily rag that had caught fire after it got trapped between the exhaust pipe and the engine block. Sorry, no pictures as everybody was too busy trying to extinguish the flames. In the thirties the Highway Code suggested the following: ‘An efficient chemical fire extinguisher is an essential accessory. Light, compact and easily operated, they are procurable from any up-to-date garage for a few shillings. The device used should be of the type recommended for automobiles and charged with a fluid compounded to deal with petrol fires. To be affective the extinguisher must be fitted in such a position that it can be easily reached in the event of a fire, therefore it should not be fixed under the bonnet, near the petrol tank or under the seat. The running board, or near one of the doors are the best locations for it.'
Cigarette Card collection Rutger Booy, with permission of the copyright owner
September 14, 2005
 This early sight of the Arc-the-Triomphe in Paris was painted by the French artist Edouard-Leon Cortes. Born in 1882, he started at the turn of the previous century, ca.1900, to paint the scenes that he would become most famous for: the streets and monuments of Paris. His views of the city are considered to be the most telling and beautiful images of this genre. He kept on capturing the city during all seasons for more than sixty years. He died in 1969 but his works still remain very much en vogue. A painting similar like the one on the photo recently turned up during a Dutch TV-programme where people bring their collectibles to have them valued by experts. Although Cortes painted many pictures during his lifetime and many of them can still be found, this newly discovered painting was valued between 20.000 and 30.000 euro’s.
photo courtesy Rehs Galleries
September 4, 2005
 It started in the 1970’s with only a few stalls and some spare parts, but nowadays with more then 2000 stalls the Beaulieu Autojumble is one of the biggest events of its type. From a rare spare part to a long wanted motoring-book, and from an exquisite glass mascot to a complete automobile, you’ll surely find what you need. But maybe the best part is Sunday afternoon. Sit on a hill and watch hundreds of people taking home stuff they might never need: old bicycles, dirty oil cans, even dented kiddies’ cars. Last year one of the stallholders said: ‘I’m selling problems, but I will be buying new ones back tomorrow.’ Maybe that’s true, but could there be a better place to start your Christmas shopping? Never!
photo Rutger Booy
August 30, 2005
 On July 22nd, seventy years ago, a 56-year old Frenchman kissed his wife goodbye, started his Citroën 11CV, and set out for an epic drive. His name was François Lecot, his profession ‘hotelier’, his aim to set a record that was to be unequalled for years to come. Day, by day, night by night, regular like a Swiss watch, he drove the distance Paris - Monte Carlo - Paris, along the Route Nationale 7, only stopping at his home near Lyon, to sleep a few hours. This went on for more than a year, from July 1935 until July 1936, when he had driven a total distance of 400.000 kilometres, ten times around the world! Before starting out, Lecot had asked the Citroën factory to sponsor him, but they flatly refused. He therefore bought an 11CV from his own money and made several modifications. The most obvious were the two-piece windscreen that could be opened to be able to drive through the morning fog and two accelerator pedals, by which Lecot was able to overcome fatigue in his leg. More technical details of this 11CV can be found on these two pages (in French). After a few weeks of driving, people living along the route started to recognize Lecot and made way for him. Because of his special red and green driving lights, at night lorry drivers instantly knew it was Lecot in front of them. One source says that he only once interrupted his driving to participate in the Rally Monte Carlo, but another source tells us that the interruption was made, because Lecot was also a keen cyclist, to participate in the Tour de France. I don’t know what to believe. The photo shows François Lecot being celebrated in Paris and comes from the collection of Traction postcards by Jean-Yves Amathieu).
July 22, 2005
 What do you do when racing a Model T isn’t exciting enough…? Why not add some pigs to join in the fun. That’s exactly what the people in Tillamook, Oregon did. Since the mid-twenties they organize the annual Pig-N-Ford race at the Tillamook County Fair. Purpose is of course to drive around the track as fast as possible, but first you have a Le Mans type start running to a pen, grab a pig and, while holding the squirming porker, hand crank your Model T. After the engine starts you hop aboard and, still holding the exited pig, storm down the track. When crossing the finish line, you switch off the engine, dump the pig in its pen, grab another one and start the whole process all over.
The hardest part is of course to keep the pig from escaping while driving. When a pig does get loose, you have to catch it before you can drive on. The first team of driver and swine to complete two laps is declared winner.
Five Model T’s compete at each heat, they are completely stripped down and tuned for racing, but are otherwise completely stock. Only exception is the fitting of Model A wire wheels, because the wooden-spoked T-wheels regularly splintered under the strain. There will be two races on Thursday 11, two on Friday 12 and two on Saturday 13 August. Winners of these races will compete in the World Championship Finals on Saturday immediately following the two qualifying races. Secure your seat in the Grand Stand now!
photo's courtesy Jeff Dixson from Pig-n-Ford)
July 16, 2005
 One of the main attractions in the German town of Friedrichshafen is the Zeppelin museum. The inventor of the Zeppelins, Graf Zeppelin, was born in Friedrichshafen and also the factory that still makes them is located there. The city certainly is proud of its history, because not far from the museum, in front of the ‘Rathaus’ (city hall), is a fountain with a group of bronze statues.
Among them this Maybach engine completely made of bronze. Of course engines like these were used to propel the Zeppelins. I wonder if they were also used in Maybach automobiles?
photos Rutger Booy
June 25, 2005
 It’s entirely possible that this picture has nothing to do with pre-war cars, but still I couldn’t resist showing it to you. Looking up I saw this gargoyle on the front of the Saint-Gummarus church in Lier, Belgium. Probably made in the 15th or 16th century, but the resemblance with a pre-war driver (or even an aviator) down to the goggles and flying cap couldn’t be more striking. So much so that I now begin to think that maybe even back in the Middle Ages there must have been racing heroes. Or maybe they had the gift to foresee the future…? photo Rutger Booy May 21, 2005
 When I saw this cross-section of the Titanic, I immediately started dreaming: what if? What if the forward cargo hatches of the Titanic were filled with motorcars?
What if these cars could still be salvaged from the bottom of the see? What if…? But then I had to face reality. Contrary to the layout of the hold, according to the cargo manifest there was only one Renault motorcar on board Titanic when she sunk in 1912. And it was crated, not hoisted aboard as depicted in the 1997 James Cameron movie of the disaster. And what would remain of the car after all these years on the bottom of the sea? Probably not very much. Most of the wood will have been rotten away; metal parts rusted thoroughly and very likely all the decks collapsed on top of each other. The only parts that will have survived are the brass headlamps, as evidenced by the brass parts that were found on the Titanic during the 1987 exploration. Will we ever know? In a way I hope not, as I think that the site of Titanic should remain as it is, as a memorial to all the things that went down when she sank. Ahh, but I can still dream? Can I?
Cargo plans courtesy 7C’s Press/Titanic Historical Society & Titanic Museum
May 15, 2005
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