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Colorized Mario's Tribute to Vintage Hood Ornaments

1955 Pontiac Amber Hood Ornament

1 1911 Fiat Tipo 6 Radiator Cap Hood Ornament

2 1923 Hispano Suiza Radiator Cap and Hood Ornament

3 1929 Chevy Sedan Radiator Cap Eagle Motif Hood Ornament

4 1930 Pierce Arrow Hood Ornament

5 1930 Rolls Royce Spirit of Ecstasy Hood Ornament

6 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Dancing Elephant Hood Ornament. Ettore Bugatti used the Dancing Elephant as a tribute to his late brother who was a sculptor of animals.

7 1931 Studebaker President Hood Ornament

8 1932 Buick Flying Lady Hood Ornament

9 1932 Mack Truck Bulldog Hood Ornament

10 1933 Pontiac Chieftain Hood Ornament

11 1935 Plymouth With Schooner Hood Ornament

12 1937 Jaguar SS100 Roadster Hood Ornament

13 1939 Packard Hood Ornament

14 1940 Chevy Hood Ornament Speed of a Locomotive Hood Ornament

15 1940 Plymouth Deluxe Touring 4 dr sedan Hood ornament

16 1941 Cadillac Convertible Coupe Winged Woman Hood Ornament

17 1941 Packard Hood Ornament

18 1948 Chevy Fleetline Hood Ornament

19 1948 Ford Hood Ornament

20 1948 Plymouth Special DeLuxe Club Coupe Hood Ornament

21 1948 Pontiac Torpedo Silver Streak Hood Ornament

22 1948 Tucker Hood Ornament

23 1949 Cadillac Goddess Hood Ornament

24 1949 Chevrolet Deluxe Hood Ornament

25 1949 Desoto Hood Ornament

26 1949 Ford Hood Ornament

27 1950 Buick Gunsight Hood Ornament

28 1950 Cadillac Hood Ornament

29 1950 Dodge Ram Hood Ornament

30 1950 Mercury Hood Ornament

31 1950 Oldsmobile 88 Jet Plane Hood Ornament

32 1950 Plymouth Hood Ornament

33 1950 Pontiac Silver Streak Hood Ornament

34 1951 Chevy Hood Ornament

35 1951 Chrysler New Yorker Swept Wings Hood Ornament

36 1951 Plymouth Hood Ornament

37 1952 Desoto Hood Ornament

38 1952 Ford Victoria Hood Ornament

39 1952 Mercury Monterey Hood Ornament

40 1952 Pontiac Chieftain Amber Hood Ornament

41 1953 Buick Skylark Hood Ornament

42 1953 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Hood Ornament and Emblem

43 1953 Chevrolet Hood Ornament

44 1953 Pontiac Chief Amber Face Hood Ornament

45 1954 Chevrolet Hood Ornament

46 1954 Plymouth Belvedere Hood Ornament

47 1954 Pontiac Star Chief Hood Ornament

48 1955 Cadillac Stylized Woman Rocket Hood Ornament

49 1955 Chevy Hood Ornament

50 1955 Dodge Lancer Hood Ornament and Emblem

51 1955 Ford Fairlane Hood Ornament and Emblem

52 1955 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Hood Ornament and Emblem

53 1955 Plymouth Belvedere Hood Ornament and Emblem

54 1955 Pontiac Amber Chief Hood Ornament

55 1956 Cadillac Sedan DeVille Hood Ornament

56 1956 Ford Fairlane Hood Ornament

57 1956 Lincoln Hood Ornament

58 1956 Mercury Montclair Hood Ornament and Emblem

59 1956 Pontiac Star Chief Hood Ornament and Emblem

60 1957 Chevrolet Hood Ornament 2 Per Hood

61 1957 Dodge Hood Ornament and Emblem

62 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Hood Ornament

63 1957 Pontiac Star Chief Hood and Fender Emblems

64 1958 Buick Special Riviera Hood and Fender Emblems

65 1958 Edsel Hood Ornament

66 1958 Ford Hood Ornament

67 1958 Mercedes Benz 220 Cabriolet Hood Ornament and Emblem

68 1959 Cadillac Hood and Fender Emblems

69 1959 Chevy Impala Hood and Fender Emblems

70 1959 Chrysler Imperial Hood Ornament and Fender Emblems

71 1959 Desoto Fender Emblems

72 1959 Ford Hood Ornament

73 1959 Nash Metropolitan Convertible Hood Ornament

74 1959 Oldsmobile 88 Hood and Fender Emblems

75 1959 Pontiac Star Chief Hood and Fender Emblems

76 1959 Thunderbird Hood Ornament

77 1965 Ford Mustang GT Hood Grille Ornament

78 1971 Cadillac Eldorado Iconic Crest Hood Ornament

79 My Dad's 52 Ford Hood Ornament he gave me after he bought a new Eagle Hood Ornament for his car. I used to play with the Jet Plane and I kept it all these years. Thanks Dad, and Happy Birthday in Heaven today August 25th! I still have the Hood Ornament.

80 Mom, Dad and Me with our brand new 1952 Ford. I was 5 years old here. You can see the original Hood Ornament on the car which Dad gave me later on when he replaced it with an Eagle ornament.


Video and audio clips

Hood Ornaments - Why Invented & Why Gone


Cascadia Classic presents: Hood Ornaments


Rolls Royce Spirit of Ecstasy


Ettore Bugatti used the Dancing Elephant Hood Ornament as a tribute to his late brother who was a sculptor of animals. This video is of Lalique making the Dancing Elephant Figurine.



Related

More Cars of the 1950s
More Pontiac Coverage

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Comments

Mario on Aug 25, 2023 said:

Hood Ornaments are specially crafted sculptures symbolizing a car make like a badge, located on the front center portion of the hood. It has been used as an adornment since the inception of automobiles.

In the early years, automobiles had their radiator caps outside the hood and on top of the grille serving as a temperature gauge of the engines coolant fluid. Since the exposed radiator cap occupied a prominent place on the vehicle, opportunities arose to transform it into an art form.

Hood ornaments were popular in the 1920s through the 1950s, with many automakers fitting them to their vehicles. Many hood ornaments were themed to reflect the advanced technology of the times such as locomotives in the 1930s, airplanes & gunsights in the 1940s and jet aircraft in the 1950s.

Hood Ornaments inspired a wide array of sculptures that still fascinate classic car buffs today. This is my Tribute to Hood Ornaments. Enjoy! Mario

[Reply to this comment]

Anonymous on Aug 25, 2023 said:

Now THIS is how you do a thread on hood ornaments. WOW WOW and WOW. I checked to make sure my favorite the lit Indian Head was included or I would have been on the warpath. PUNN INTENDED.

Number 1 and 2 both look like it took a true design engineer to come up with those. and again WOW.

The intricate details are astounding. I believe your threads are getting even better Mario....hats off for continuing your saga and goal of 200 posts.

Now stop reading and get back to creating another thread worth a lot of WOWs, like this one.

WOW............

Anonymously Rob.........

[Reply to this comment]

Mario on Aug 26, 2023 said:

Thank you Rob, the lit Pontiac ornament is a favorite of mine also. And I agree some of the more exotic hood ornaments had to be designed and engineered by sculptors.

The detail in #1 is incredible on the 1911 Fiat. It took a Craftsman to design and produce this. How about #4 1930 Pierce Arrow Hood Ornament. George Pierce who made bicycles in 1896 started an auto company in 1901 and had a successful car The Arrow in 1903. Thus the famous Archer on the hood of his most luxurious cars.

Thank you for your comments Rob and glad you still keep us in your thoughts. Best Regards, Mario

[Reply to this comment]

57timemachine on Aug 25, 2023 said:

I wish I knew how to contribute to this post.

[Reply to this comment]

Mario on Aug 25, 2023 said:

Hi George, your comments is your contribution to this post. And I always appreciate your insight. Cheers, Mario

[Reply to this comment]

57timemachine on Aug 25, 2023 said:

Mario, fabulous post of a very important and very endearing aspect of vintage automotive design. So lacking for so many decades now. Just another reason why I so miss the great past. Thank you for sharing. Cheers.

[Reply to this comment]

Mario on Aug 25, 2023 said:

I agree George. I was always intrigued by the variety of hood ornaments on cars while growing up in the fifties. I have my Dad's 52 Ford Hood Ornament from his car when he bought an Eagle ornament. He gave me the original ornament and I still have it. Too bad the hood ornaments faded away from fashion. Cheers, Mario

[Reply to this comment]

57timemachine on Aug 25, 2023 said:

Mario, that photo of you with your mom and dad is so priceless. There is no price for that. That is timeless on many levels. Thank you for sharing that wonderful moment in time. Cheers to you buddy.

[Reply to this comment]

Mario on Aug 26, 2023 said:

Yes one of my many favorite photos with my Mom and Dad. Although they are both gone now, I keep their Spirits alive by remembering them as often as I can.

It was a Great time growing up in the Fifties for me and the cars of that era bring me back to those times.

I hope they do the same for you George.

Cheers, Mario

[Reply to this comment]

ghpcnm on Aug 25, 2023 said:

All of them are beautiful, but I like the Pontiacs best of all.

[Reply to this comment]

Mario on Aug 26, 2023 said:

Hi Dave hope you're feeling better. I like the Pontiac ornaments too but there are stories behind some of the exotic ornaments.

The Fairy #5 on a Rolls is to signify a Rolls rode so smoothly a Fairy could ride on the hood and not be disturbed. Take care, Mario

[Reply to this comment]

Mario on Apr 11, 2024 said:

I colorized the B/W pictures

[Reply to this comment]


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