artomotive

Classic cars, defined by the human hand

Glory Days

ITIS all too easy to blithely trot out terms like "the glory days" when discussing the history of our favourite classic cars. But it is difficult to ignore the resonance, or perhaps even the relevance of such a phrase when we come to the subject of automotive history.

These days, cars are designed on a computer, and built by robots. Nowadays there is very little romance to driving, our vehicles are simply tools. But there was a time when cars were designed with pen and paper, modelled in clay, and even hammered, and bolted, and created by hand. There was a time when the now long extinct romance of the open road held a special allure, and when the automobile was seen as a vehicle of freedom, excitement, and luxury.

There was a time when artists captured the joi de vivre of motoring, and when the glossy advertising brochures, and posters were drawn by talented illustrators. A time when draughtsmen drew up plans, and when the drawings and illustrations were published in brochures, magazines and comics, and were eagerly collected.

This is a celebration of those times, and a chance to make some of the wonderful plans, drawings, artwork, and articles of those bygone days available to a wider audience.