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Cadillac and La Salle Insignia

Hood mascots and stand-up crests


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(le résumé en français se trouve en bas de page)

 

Before the hood ornament came the motometer, an ornate thermometer affair that screwed into the radiator cap; it was intended to keep the driver informed of the engine coolant temperature. 

With improved, thermostatic cooling, the motometer went out the window in the late twenties, to be replaced by sometimes very elegant hood mascots.  These were offered initially by accessory houses then, in 1930, by Cadillac itself.   The first automotive motometer was introduced by a Mr. Boyce in 1912. The fashion soon caught on. Cadillac added its famous script and coat of arms to it. When the temperature gauge was moved to the instrument panel, an empty space was left atop the radiator; the hood ornament filled it adequately.

Cadillac and La Salle models used various types of hood ornamentation since the mid-twenties; these are described and illustrated below.

 

1. The standard motometer type, serving as both ornament and thermometer, was used from circa 1912-1928.

 

2. The deluxe motometer, circa 1926-27

 

3. A cast figurine called the Cadillac Herald or Trumpet Tooter, a Canadian accessory house item popular in the late twenties.  This was the first hood ornament to be approved by the Cadillac company.  He heralded the arrival of a great new car: the 1929 Cadillac models.  This little guy wears a herald's tunic with the Cadillac coat of arms in front. There is a reproduction Tooter on the market that was made in the mid to late seventies; it is done well enough to confuse even an astute buyer; the Cadillac crest on the tunic and the ornate dome on which the tooter stands are different from the authentic piece [differences illustrated below]. The most obvious difference is the shape and color of the tunic crest; the base of the shield (crest) on the repro item is curved; it does not come to a "V" point, as on the authentic piece; in addition, the seven-pointed crown on the authentic Tooter   fans out more to left and right. The repro item is chrome-plated with a shiny, brass-like crest; the authentic Tooter is made of polished nickel and the crest is more a dull bronze.

 

4. The Cadillac heron hood ornament of 1930-1932. The heron was too reminiscent of the Packard pelican and the Guynemer stork on the Hispano Suiza, so it was withdrawn in 1933 and replaced by a more Art Deco heron [photo to come]. A new Goddess (next item) also made its appearance in 1933, for the V8 and V12 models.  Both new types - as well as a new La Salle Torpedo ornament - were announced in the Nov.-Dec.1932 issue of Accessory Facts, a Cadillac Motor Car Company publication in the interest of accessory sales.

 

5.  More popular than the heron was the streamlined, mermaid-like Goddess with her hair flowing behind her in the breeze. She was mounted on an Art-Deco base shaped rather like a large sea shell. The Cadillac Goddess was introduced in 1930 and remained available, albeit in various modified forms, from 1933 through 1956 [collectors:  beware of reproduction copies of this mascot].  Originals are marked Design patent 81303 patented on June 3, 1930.  These chrome-plated diecast zinc mascots were made by the Ternstedt Manufacturing Company. The "shell" base of some reproduction items are stamped "7842"; these were made, inter alia, by the Stant Manufacturing Co. of Connersville, IN. An excellent reproduction item was tooled and made by Wilbur Sanders of Dearborn, MI, in 1965.

Late Extra [5/2002]: I was quite surprised, April 9, 2002, when Gita called me down from the GCCP [the Grand Cadillac Command Post!] to watch Martha Stewart's daily show on TV [personally, the woman's boring monotone monologue "irritates" me!]. Among her guests, that day, were an "antique" specialist (a woman) and a guy with a 1930-32 Cadillac Goddess that he wanted to have identified; he said he had paid $4 for it. Immediately, I thought it was a repro but when he turned it over, it did have the Design Patent and the number 81303 etched in the base so it appeared genuine. The "expert" seemed to know her stuff; she ID'd the piece correctly, mentioning the inscriptions on the base; however, she did add that there was a "recent" reproduction on the market, selling for around $400, that had caused a drop in the value of the genuine article.  

I know about the 1965 repro item (that cost around $10 through the seventies although now it might fetch $50-60).  But I never heard of a "current" repro costing around $400! Does such a thing really exist? Is it "perfect" to the point of having the base inscriptions? Does anybody out there have some corroborating facts?

Both the Heron and Goddess ornaments, above, were born of the imagination of Cadillac stylists; they represent nothing else but beauty and grace, the principal attributes of Cadillac cars in the thirties and later!

 

6.  In 1933 the Cadillac Goddess was re-styled for the V16 models; "she" had short hair, full breasts and outspread "wings" formed by the flowing material of her "gown".  With her stylized wings she was very similar to the Rolls Royce Spirit of Ecstasy.
She was available through the 1937 model year in silver plate (part #894784 - $45) or gold-plate (part #883731 - $50).

7.  The regular 1934 Cadillac Goddess was slimmed down [V-8 part #1405985 before engine #3105001 and V-12 before engine #4100701; after these engine numbers, the part lists as #1412026]

 

8.  The Goddess used on the V-Sixteen models was streamlined even more in 1938 and used on the Sixteens of 1938-1940 (part #1426520). Gone are the lovely curls and the more generous body curves of the 1933 Goddess!

 

9.  The 1936-1937 Cadillac mascots returned to a slimmer, more elongated shape. In 1936 the Goddess was given a glass wing in lieu of the robes/hair that used to flow in the breeze.  The parts book lists the number as 1416230, costing $13.75.  By 1940 she would become very long and low, as would her wing.

 

 

10.  This mascot has not been identified; I have seen already a couple like it (this one belongs to a collector in Europe who was kind enough to supply the photos). It looks very much like the regular 1936 mascot but does not have the glass vane nor even the slit that could accommodate it the latter.

 

11.  By 1937 the Goddess hair had grown longer.  Her single wing got three engraved horizontal lines to depict a bird's feathers. The part number is listed as 1420642, costing $15.   Today, you might expect to pay more than ten times that price for a nice original.

 

12.  The mascot for 1938 was lower and sleeker;  the "hair" was about the same length as the previous year.   The glass wing remained but the engraved "feathers" were gone.   The part number is listed as 1426147, costing $15.

 

13.  Regular Cadillacs of the 1939 and 1940 model year followed with the tradition of the glass-winged Goddess.  Lines became smoother, with no markings or engravings for the hair or wing.  The part number is listed as 1429756, costing $13.75.

 

14.  The mascot used on Cadillac cars of 1941 and 42 was, in fact, the handle for the latch mechanism to lock and release the motor hood.   Probably the most ornate of all the mascots was the 1941 model.  Like the one for 1942 it was cast in one piece, integral with the hood latch mechanism, which makes it difficult to exhibit simply as an art object, unless you build a large, box-like base to conceal the bulky mechanism². The part number is listed as 1442135, costing $13.75. In the 1950 MPL it lists as #3630029, for $18.25.

 

²  In the seventies, the 1941 mascot became a popular accessory with many customizers.  A light-weight replica was made; it sold by the hundreds.  The replica is usually easy to recognize because the interior of the wings are smooth, although I have seen one with inner "feathers", suggesting there may have been two versions; the repro mascot is hollow (light-weight) and smaller (shorter) than the original.  In addition, there is no base (i.e. no integral hood latch mechanism)

 

15.  The 1942 Goddess grew wider and lower. She was also less ornate, with straight hair and long airplane-type wings. The part numbers listed are #1444407 (chrome finish) and #1447385 (gold-bronze finish);  both listed for $13.75.

[ Click here to view the La Salle
hood mascots: 1927-1940 ]

 

16.  From 1946 through 1956 the Cadillac Goddess grew even wider, longer and much sleeker.  The hair turned into broad wings and she also took on lovely, smooth facial features, not to mention a bosom that might have put to shame Ms. Ruth Egnor, better known as TV's Dagmar   who's particular body endowments resembled closely the protruding, bullet-shaped bumper guards of the 1954-1956 Cadillacs (in fact, these are commonly referred to as Dagmars).  Just looking at the '55 Cadillac bumper extensions is enough to convince one that the designer of that front clip was obsessed - as I am too - by those delightful attributes of the female form!

 

17.  Standard Cadillac models lost the Goddess hood ornament in 1957, when she was replaced by a simple pair of upright wings. However, on the bespoke Eldorado Brougham models [only 99 built], a long, narrow, very sleek Goddess was mounted. Although highly streamlined, nonetheless, it was reminiscent of the Goddess styles used on the Cadillacs of the late forties through the mid-fifties.

 

18.  With the exception of the 1959 Eldorado Brougham, the Cadillac Eldorado models did away with the Goddess for good, in 1956. She was replaced  by two, small upright wings.

 

19.  On the  1957 and 1958 Eldorado models, these protruding wings were installed in pairs at the leading edge of the front fenders.  Gone was the Cadillac hood mascot as we had known it for some thirty years. 

 

Late-Model stand-up crest emblems

 

 

[ Click here to view the La Salle
hood mascots: 1927-1940 ]

 

Trivia (1):  In 1983, before my 1960   Eldorado Biarritz could be licensed for use in Switzerland, it had to be inspected by the Bureau des Automobiles in Geneva (I guess that would equate with America's Department of Motor Vehicles - DMV).  The safety-conscious inspectors declared that I would have to lower the front-fender, tell-tale directional signal light housings from three down to two centimeters (i.e. from about 1½ inches to "only" ¾ of an inch!  But worse than that, they said I would have to round off the tips of the rear fins.  A long correspondence ensued with the inspectorate in which I sent a couple of dozen photos of various collectible Cadillacs of the fifties and sixties that had been duly licensed to operate in Switzerland and that had equally "offensive" fins and other dangerous protrusions.  In the end, thank goodness, I was allowed to keep the car in the same condition it had been built at the plant!

Trivia (2):   In 1995, I visited the new Automobile Museum at Geneva (near the airport at Cointrin).  Part of the exhibit at that time was a showcase full of car mascots, including a few from Cadillac and La Salle cars.  I did not have a camera with me but I did note many erroneous descriptions (90% of them, in fact):   #6  was described as a 1937-38 model; it was, in fact, from  1936;  #7 was marked 1952, although it was used on Cadillacs from 1946-1956 [except on the 1956 Eldorado];  #8 was identified as a Cadillac mascot but it was not one of them; #9 was marked 1929-30 when in fact it was from 1938-40;  #35 was marked La Salle 1936; in fact it was from the 1940 car.

 

Further interesting reading about hood mascots:

(1)  Book Car mascots by Giuseppe di Sirignano & David Sulzberger, Crescent books, NY, 1977
(2)  Cadillac - Standard of the World, The Complete Seventy-Five Year History, Maurice D. Hendry, Princeton Publishing,
       1st edition 1973 (SBN 0-525-10650-2) - many re-prints since 1973

 

Go back to the Cadillac insignia index page
or return to the "Miscellaneous Cadillac Stuff" index page
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© 1996, Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image:  the beautiful Goddess mounted on the hood of the Sixteens for 1933 ]