>Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, James Cagney, Mae West, Lupe Velez, Joe E. Brown, Dolores del Rio, Howard Hughes, William Randolph Hearst, HM King Alfonso XIII of Spain, HM Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, HRH Prince Nicholas of Romania: many famous Hollywood stars and members of high society owned a Duesenberg.
Duesenberg Model J Limousine-Landaulette Throne Car
>This car, the heaviest, longest and widest Duesenberg ever built weighs about 3000 kilogrammes. The car is intended to seat ten: American evangelist ‘Father Divine’ and his ‘courtiers’. Father Divine established the International Peace Mission Movement in the 1920s. Amongst other things, it campaigned the rights of minorities and expanded rapidly in the 1930s. Father Divine’s followers came from all layers of society.
I also saw the Swan Car and the Baby Swan Car at the Louwman Museum. It had brushes to clear the elephant shit from the road, had glowing eyes, and could belch steam from its beak to clear people from street in front of it, while it could even dump its own simulated bird shit behind it to mark its trail. And it even had a Cygnet / Baby Swan Car daughter!
>This Brooke Swan Car is truly extraordinary. It was the creation of the eccentric and wealthy Scotsman Robert Nicholl ‘Scotty’ Matthewson, who lived in early 20th century Calcutta, the capital of what was then British India
>Matthewson wanted to shock the local elite with his car, and he certainly succeeded in doing so.
>The bodywork represents a swan gliding through water. The rear is decorated with a lotus flower design finished in gold leaf, an ancient symbol for divine wisdom. Apart from the normal lights, there are electric bulbs in the swan’s eyes that glow eerily in the dark. The car has an exhaust-driven, eight-tone Gabriel horn that can be operated by means of a keyboard at the back of the car. A ship’s telegraph was used to issue commands to the driver. Brushes were fitted to sweep off the elephant dung collected by the tyres. The swan’s beak is linked to the engine’s cooling system and opens wide to allow the driver to spray steam to clear a passage in the streets. Whitewash could be dumped onto the road through a valve at the back of the car to make the swan appear even more lifelike.
>The car caused panic and chaos in the streets on its first outing and the police had to intervene. Matthewson sold the car to the Maharaja of Nabha, whose family owned it for over seventy years.
>The car was discovered years later in its original state, albeit in poor condition. The sumptuous Indian silk upholstery had been eaten away by rats.
>In 1991 it came into the ownership of the Louwman Museum and was fully restored. New upholstery was commissioned from an Indian weaving mill following the discovery of remnants of the original material under the seats. All the gadgets were made to working order again. In 1993 the Swan won the Montagu Prize at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance in California.
>To accompany the large ‘Swan Car’ The Maharaja of Nabha had this smaller version made for use on his estate in the 1920s.
>The body was hand-beaten from steel sheet and fitted with an electric motor. It was called the ‘Baby Swan’ or ‘Cygnet’. Note the cygnets at the front. This is probably the oldest Indian-made automobile.
>Both cars are now reunited in the museum, like ‘mother and daughter’.
Jay Leno borrowed it for a while, but it's back in the Louwman Museum now (which is currently closed, but reopens March 3):
Duesenberg Model SJ Lagrande Dual-Cowl Phaeton
https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/car/duesenberg-model-sj-lagr...
>Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, James Cagney, Mae West, Lupe Velez, Joe E. Brown, Dolores del Rio, Howard Hughes, William Randolph Hearst, HM King Alfonso XIII of Spain, HM Queen Marie of Yugoslavia, HRH Prince Nicholas of Romania: many famous Hollywood stars and members of high society owned a Duesenberg.
Duesenberg Model J Limousine-Landaulette Throne Car
https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/car/duesenberg-model-j-limou...
>This car, the heaviest, longest and widest Duesenberg ever built weighs about 3000 kilogrammes. The car is intended to seat ten: American evangelist ‘Father Divine’ and his ‘courtiers’. Father Divine established the International Peace Mission Movement in the 1920s. Amongst other things, it campaigned the rights of minorities and expanded rapidly in the 1930s. Father Divine’s followers came from all layers of society.
I also saw the Swan Car and the Baby Swan Car at the Louwman Museum. It had brushes to clear the elephant shit from the road, had glowing eyes, and could belch steam from its beak to clear people from street in front of it, while it could even dump its own simulated bird shit behind it to mark its trail. And it even had a Cygnet / Baby Swan Car daughter!
https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/car/brooke-25-30-hp-swan-car...
>Brooke 25/30-HP Swan Car
>This Brooke Swan Car is truly extraordinary. It was the creation of the eccentric and wealthy Scotsman Robert Nicholl ‘Scotty’ Matthewson, who lived in early 20th century Calcutta, the capital of what was then British India
>Matthewson wanted to shock the local elite with his car, and he certainly succeeded in doing so.
>The bodywork represents a swan gliding through water. The rear is decorated with a lotus flower design finished in gold leaf, an ancient symbol for divine wisdom. Apart from the normal lights, there are electric bulbs in the swan’s eyes that glow eerily in the dark. The car has an exhaust-driven, eight-tone Gabriel horn that can be operated by means of a keyboard at the back of the car. A ship’s telegraph was used to issue commands to the driver. Brushes were fitted to sweep off the elephant dung collected by the tyres. The swan’s beak is linked to the engine’s cooling system and opens wide to allow the driver to spray steam to clear a passage in the streets. Whitewash could be dumped onto the road through a valve at the back of the car to make the swan appear even more lifelike.
>The car caused panic and chaos in the streets on its first outing and the police had to intervene. Matthewson sold the car to the Maharaja of Nabha, whose family owned it for over seventy years.
>The car was discovered years later in its original state, albeit in poor condition. The sumptuous Indian silk upholstery had been eaten away by rats.
>In 1991 it came into the ownership of the Louwman Museum and was fully restored. New upholstery was commissioned from an Indian weaving mill following the discovery of remnants of the original material under the seats. All the gadgets were made to working order again. In 1993 the Swan won the Montagu Prize at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance in California.
https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/car/cygnet-the-baby-swan-car...
>To accompany the large ‘Swan Car’ The Maharaja of Nabha had this smaller version made for use on his estate in the 1920s.
>The body was hand-beaten from steel sheet and fitted with an electric motor. It was called the ‘Baby Swan’ or ‘Cygnet’. Note the cygnets at the front. This is probably the oldest Indian-made automobile.
>Both cars are now reunited in the museum, like ‘mother and daughter’.
Jay Leno borrowed it for a while, but it's back in the Louwman Museum now (which is currently closed, but reopens March 3):
https://www.autoweek.nl/autonieuws/artikel/swan-car-uit-louw...