Tag Archives: 1920s

foto of the day. Bentley Boys.

One of these fine days, i’m going to get around to reading  more about the hardcore rock and roll stories of the original Bentley Boys.

In 1923, three dedicated automobile enthusiasts decided to create a competition based not only on speed, but also on endurance. This was the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours, destined to become one of the world’s most prestigious races. For Walter Owen Bentley and other manufacturers, the idea seemed pretty crazy, but that did not prevent him from rising to the challenge by sending one of his cars to take part in the first edition. 1924 witnessed a glorious triumph: the British firm won the Le Mans 24 Hours with a Bentley 3 Litres – a feat that it accomplished four more times, in 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930, the two latter victories being earned in a Speed 6.  This was the era of the legendary Bentley Boys: Benjafield, Birkin, Davis, Rubin, Kidston and above all Barnato, the most famous of them all, a multi-millionaire South African diamond merchant. Gifted sportsmen, authentic connoisseurs of life’s many pleasures and mostly fabulously wealthy, the Bentley Boys raced first and foremost for honour, fired by a taste for challenges.”

src: breitling

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“The Story Of Gasoline” (1924, silent film)

I”m just hoping one of you has a spare 43 minutes and 17 seconds to sit through all of this….let me know what happens later!  Cool images in there though.

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vintage road foto: South Grade Rd.

SOUTH GRADE ROAD.

this photo is taken from the 1920s…..very cool.  Located in the Palomar Mountain area of California.

source: http://palomarskies.blogspot.com/2009/11/long-and-winding-road.html

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foto of the day. 01312010.

one of the greatest cars ever made— the Bugatti Type 35b. the first time i saw one in person at the Cranbrook Concours, i just took a seat on the grass and stared at it for about 30 minutes.  I’ll never forget the way it made me feel…….

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Balla: Speed Of The Automobile

FILE UNDER: petrolhead art.

02_giacomo_balla_-_velocita_d_automobile_-_velocita_n_1jpg

I’ve long been an admirer of Futurist art —it was truly punk ahead of its time.  It offended many, was overstated, full of creativity, offensive, but in many ways gorgeous in its honesty, boldness, and artistic integrity.

Balla had originally written the founding manifestos of the Futurist Movement, in which #4 out of 10 was:

“We declare that the splendor of the world has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A racing automobile with its bonnet adorned with great tubes like serpents with explosive breath … a roaring motor car which seems to run on machine-gun fire, is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace”

an inspiring piece of writing for the 1920s i gotta say….accompanied by this tangential, interesting, and cryptically simple piece of art entitled “The Speed Of The Automobile” (translated into english…)

For more information about Futurism, and the rest of the 10 initial manifestos, visit:

http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/T4PM/futurist-manifesto.html

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