[ last update:
01.26.2015 ]
The (new) Cadillac Database©
Photo Pages
Cadillac
1928
Return to The (New)
Cadillac Database© Index Page
or go back to the Cadillac photo index page to pick another
year
or go to the La Salle photo index page
Unless
otherwise specified all photos and illustrations are from Yann Saunders'
collection of Cadillac photos, advertisements and product catalogs, reproduced
courtesy of the Cadillac Motor Car Division and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
The styling of Cadillac
automobiles, in the recognized sense of the term, began around 1925, the year Fleetwood
was absorbed by the company. Before the great Harley Earl joined Cadillac and was given
the task of designing the entire line of the new La Salle models in 1927, J. Frank
de Causse (for the Locomobile) and Al Leamy (for the Wills St. Claire automobile) both had
earned respect for their successful styling of a whole a line of automobiles, rather than
just a few individual custom jobs. However, it was Earl who effectively fathered the
idea of establishing a special department in a motor manufacturing organization where
styling and comfort, inside and out, would be given as much importance as an automobile's
performance and reliability.
Earl's 1927 La Salle
showed how art and technology could be happily married. By 1928 a conscious
effort was being made by the new auto stylists to match interior designs to exterior
styling themes and colors. You can tell easily, from the
superb illustrations below, that Earl's "Art and Color Section" was
gathering impetus following its recent creation and the introduction of the hugely
successful La Salle - the first "stylist's car" - the previous year.
Most of the cars described
and richly illustrated on this page were first shown during the custom body salons held in
New York [Hotel Commodore, November 27 to December 3, 1927], Chicago [Hotel
Drake, January 28 to February 4, 1928], Los Angeles [Hotel Biltmore,
February 11 to 18, 1928] and San Francisco [Hotel Palace, February 25 to March 3,
1928].
These pictures are from some of
Cadillac's finest brochures from the twenties, of which a detailed list may be found in
the "Sales Literature" section for 1928. One of these
in B&W was scanned for me kindly by Norwegian Cadillac enthusiast Kjell Kraakmo.
Another is entitled Fleetwood Creations for Cadillac and La Salle - 1928 - Coachcraft
in the Contemporary Mode. A third one (the finest in my opinion) is the
full-color 1928 product catalog entitled Color Creations from Nature's Studios
featuring a proud, preening peacock in a brightly colored garden on the otherwise black
cover; the latter was published in 1927 jointly by the Fisher Body Corporation, the
Fleetwood Body Corporation and General Motors; according to the copy writers, the color
creations shown [you will find more in the La Salle photo section
for 1928] were, Nature's own way of "revealing her masterly
manipulation of color through the medium of superb motor car creations." Color
is everywhere, "Here in the gay plumage of a bird, there in a gorgeous undersea
fish; now in a rose resplendent in June sunlight, and again in the lavender shadows on
January snows; in the fragile splendor of an afternoon butterfly and in the
adamantine heart of a gem buried deep in the core of the earth - everywhere and always,
Nature hangs her earth with rich tapestries and veins its rocky bastions with vivid
hues."
Pause a while. Park your
monotonous Japanese jelly-bean car and feast your eyes on some beautiful automobile
designs of the twenties!
 
Front and rear clips of the 1928 Cadillac models
|
The
Cadillac-Fisher Custom Body line
The roadster for
two passengers
The 2-pass. roadster [ above and below ]
The seating arrangement in the roadster
|
| The coupe for two passengers
The coupe for two passengers
|
| The convertible coupe
The color of this car was
inspired by those of the Grand Canyon, "by far the most sublime of all earthly
spectacles." It is painted in complementary shades of Afterglow Brown and
Buttress brown,
all striped with orange; capturing the canyon's background sky, the
wheels, brake drums, fender beads and splash plates are done in Bright Angel Blue; rare
are Cadillac convertibles
that have cloth upholstery in lieu of leather; this is one of them; it uses a
special waterproof whipcord upholstery by Wiese; the hardware is bright nickel with a rich
orange inlay
[ Seating arrangement in 2-pass. convertible coupe ]
Factory publicity shot of the racy 2-pass. coupe
Survivors
 
A lovely survivor from the Imperial Palace
collection, Las Vegas, NV
This one was undergoing a full restoration in 2008; I
believe it belongs to my friend Dick Shappy of Providence, RI
|
The phaeton for
four passengers
|
| The sport phaeton for four passengers
"Emerald - The
beauties of Chaldea prized its verdant hue"
The car is painted the color of an emerald gem, with Argent Duco being used for the
fenders, the rear door insert, and the slatted valance
over the gas tank; green leather is used for the interior trim and a bead of green
edges the carpet, the top boot and the trunk
In the opinion of this writer, Cadillac stylists truly mastered the sport
phaeton design with their creations for the 1928 model year. The car above
is particularly stunning in its racy appearance. Notable
in the sport phaeton style is the folding cowl and equally folding
secondary windshield that protects the rear seat passengers
Factory promotional photo
Survivors
Two lovely survivors
[ Photo: courtesy Maurice D.
Hendry and Automobile Quarterly ]
This beautifully restored sport
phaeton resides in the Gateway collection, in Colorado; it sports the
rare, Cadillac trumpet tooter (right)
[ Photos: Internet, 2013 ]
|
The touring car for
seven passengers
The seating arrangement in the touring car
|
The coupe for five
passengers
[ seating arrangement in 5-pass. coupe ]
|
The town sedan
The seating arrangement in the town sedan
A nice survivor
|
| The sedan for five passengers
|
The sedan for seven
passengers
The seating arrangement in the 7-pass. sedan
 
7-pass. sedans, in service in the thirties
|
The imperial
(limousine) sedan for five passengers
|
The imperial
(limousine) for seven passengers
 
The Morpho Menelaus, an exotic South-American butterfly known for its
magnificent blue hues is what inspired Cadillac stylists seeking a special color for this
otherwise standard
Fisher-bodied limousine. The Butterfly Wing Blue [sic] harmonizes
with the sable of the fenders, upper body and belt molding; tufted satin is used for
the headliner; appointments include
a heavy robe decorated with a needlepoint butterfly; other butterflies are inlaid
in the walnut moldings of the partition, the doors and the vanity cases; iidescent blue
inlays highlight the bright nickel hardware
|
The Fleetwood
Custom Body line
The sedan for seven
passengers
Style #8000
|
The sedan cabriolet
for seven passengers
Style #8005
[ features a leather roof covering ]
|
The imperial
(limousine) for seven passengers
Style #8010
[ a limousine with divider ]
|
The imperial
(limousine) cabriolet for seven passengers
Style #8015
[ a limousine with divider and leather roof covering ]
 
"Autumn, the mellow
season of harvest" inspired the golden brown appearance of this staid family
limousine; the body is painted Arbor Lake while the fenders, roof and belt molding
are done in
Woodsmoke Brown; the top is covered with Burbank cloth and all bright metal parts,
both inside and
out, are brass-plated [was this Cadillac's first "gold package" option?];
the Ternstedt hardware
is specially finished in bright gold with Wine colored inlays; full width,
forward-facing
auxiliary seating make this a most comfortable car for seven occupants
|
The sedan for five
passengers
Style #8020
|
The sedan cabriolet
for five passengers
Style #8025
[ features a leather roof covering ]
|
The imperial
(limousine) for five passengers
Style #8030
[ a limousine with divider ]
 
"A flash of flame
through equatorial forests" reads the text, that compares the color of this car
with that of the exotic bird of paradise; fenders, moldings and running gear are
painted Featheredge Brown, like the breast feathers on the bird; the body panels
and wheels are Paradise Red, like the bird's tail; delicate pinstriping is in Waigiu
Yellow; the
Ternstedt hardware is bright-edged, two-tones of gold
with satin inlays; two folding auxiliary seats in the rear compartment allow 7 passengers
to be accommodated on occasion.
|
The imperial
(limousine) cabriolet for five passengers
Style #8035
[ limousine with divider and leather roof covering ]
|
The sedan cabriolet
for five passengers
Style #8045
[ featuring enclosed rear quarters and a leather roof covering ]
|
The imperial
(limousine) cabriolet for five passengers
Style #8055
[ limousine with divider, enclosed rear quarters and a leather roof covering
]
|
The transformable
town cabriolet (town car)
Style #3512
[ a short-bodied town car with
enclosed rear quarters and leather roof covering ]
Style #3512
[ Custom version,
prepared for show, with special hood finish ]
Who is this pretty starlet?
|
The transformable
town cabriolet (town car)
Style #3520
[ a long-bodied town car with quarter windows and leather roof covering ]
 
Cadillac stylists "turned
to the midnight sky" in their quest for a suitable color for this town
car. The body is painted Midnight Blue and that color extends in a sweeping curve
over the hood to blend with the Sable of the hood sides, fender, belt molding
and leather roof. The special dark blue Wiese upholstery is studded with silver
needlepoint "stars". The Ternstedt hardware is
done in silver with deep blue inlays. Two, large comfortable auxiliary seats with
unusually high back rests enable this car to accommodate seven occupants in the highest
degree of comfort. When not in use the spare seats fold neatly into the partition
|
The transformable
town cabriolet (town car)
Style #3525
[ a long-bodied town car with enclosed rear quarters and leather roof covering ]
 
Cadillac favored the terms town
cabriolet to designate the more prosaic town car. This body style is
"transformable" by removing the leather cover over the chauffeur's
compartment. Cadillac began to use the word cabriolet in the late
twenties to designate any model with material [cloth or leather] applied over the
metal roof. In fact, the word cabriolet is French; it means
"convertible", as in a fully folding roof so it is out of place on a
car with a fixed roof. As to the color of this car, Arden Green, the text reads "the
deep green of the forest is peaceful, cheerful, refreshing. It invites to
relaxation, to whole-souled enjoyment of the hour." The lower body,
hood sides and belt molding are done in black with yellow pinstriping. The hardware
has a special green gold Finnish. This car too has light-weight auxiliary folding seats
for two
The seating arrangement in the town car
 
|
The transformable
limousine brougham (town car)
Style #3591
[ a long-bodied town car with large quarter windows and painted metal roof ]
 
Nowhere else but in the
Mediterranean, at the heart of Europe, "is the sea of so cerulean a hue. It is
shot through with turquoise and aquamarine; it abounds in deep sea greens; it sparkles
with living silver in the sun." This superb Cadillac brougham [a transformable
car with large quarter windows] abounds in the multiple sea tones of Italian
waters. While Como and Verona are not exactly Mediterranean cities, nonetheless, the
matching colors of this elegant town car are Verona Blue and Como green. Hardware is
inlaid with blue green and there are two light-weight auxiliary folding seats for
occasional passengers
Survivors
[ Photo: Clive Cussler
collection, Denver, Colorado ]
|
Details
 
Driver's position and highly ornate inner door panel
 
Left: Tail lights and decorative valance panel over
fuel tank
Right: fuel filler spout and chassis detail
|
Return to The (New) Cadillac Database© Index Page
or go back to the Cadillac photo index page to pick another
year
or go to the La Salle photo index page
© 1996,
Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image: 1928 Cadillac town car by Fleetwood ]
