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The
Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild
AN ILLUSTRATED
HISTORY
By John
L. Jacobus
Contact
the author by e-mail and tell him
that you read
about the book at The Automotive Chronicles
for a 20% discount off the retail
price.
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It has been a thrill to
be associated with John Jacobus and his
book. Because of my personal interest in
the subject I wanted to be sure it received
the public exposure it deserved and I have
written two articles about it previously.
But the book has taken off on its own power.
It has invigorated the memories of thousands
of former Guild participants and those who
were associated with the Guild. The reviews
are in and they are appearing everywhere.
Patrick Bedard, "Car and Driver's"
Editor-at-Large wrote a full page review
in the March 2006 issue. If you have not
read his glowing review, please take the
time to do so.
The author's reaction?
"...You can't possibly buy that
kind of publicity and I feel extremely fortunate
that a top auto magazine took another look
at the FBCG. As we both agree (think), the
Guild is not mainstream or mass market,
but a highly specialized niche. I liked
that... finding the old carved block of
word in the barn approach... 'Let me have
that...' and then '...carving out a career'.
A clever writer..."
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Automotive design entered a period
of rapid evolution in the mid-1930s, transforming utilitarian
boxes into aerodynamic works of art. The bioplane became
the monoplane and then the jet plane. By the late 1950s
even cars had sprouted wings (fins). By the end of the
1960s cars had once again become conservative.
The Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild flourished during
the transformation period. Teenagers looked at Detroit's
latest offerings and said, "I can do better".
Few of these students of design knew of the masters
— GM's Bill Mitchell, Studebaker's Raymond Loewy,
Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg's Gordon Buehrig and others.
They just wanted to design cars. Drawing in study halls
and at home, they began to build Fisher Body Guild models.
For many of us the best automotive book for 2005 was
The Fisher Body Guild: An Illustrated History.
Looking at later production models, many of us believe
we may have had an influence on GM in some way. The
shape of the grille, or the chrome trim, looked familiar.
Maybe we did.
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GM
Concepts from the Late 1930s
Click on thumbnail
for larger view |
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