Painted advertisements: Transportation

Gap (France), viii.1999; pict. N. Mikaïloff

The American engineer Benjamin Hotchkiss started the company with his name in 1867 near Paris. He began to develop weapons but turned to motorcars in the 1900s and became very successful in military and racing vehicles. The crossed cannons forming the logo of the company allude to this military past.

Hotchkiss merged with several other companies. In 1956 with Brandt forming Hotchkiss-Brandt and the last time, in 1966 with Thomson-Houston, led to the end of the Hotchkiss name in 1972.

The position of Suze is not clear. Is there any connection with Hotchkiss? We have many other Suze-murals in the liquor section. And we have a red Hotchkiss hidden by Antar lubricants.

Agen (France), 11.vi.2000

Read more about Brandt (home appliances).

Naintré (France),
xii.1998

UNIC,
400 service points in France

The type face of UNIC suggests that it is a Fiat brand.

Orly Ville (France),
iii.1999; pict. A. Guët

Automobiles FIAT

A faded SIMCA in the background.

Baud - Hennebont (Morbihan, France),
iv.2000; pict. M. Chartier

UNIC - Camions FIAT

This wall confirms that UNIC (at least in France) is Fiat.

The typeface proves that this is the older mural.

Choisy (France),
v.2000; pict. A. Guët

Automobiles FIAT

Bonneuil (N19, 94 France),
xii.2000; pict. C. Morsard

Yenne (N504, France), ii.2001;
pict. M. Chartier

Camions UNIC FIAT

Modern version of the wall.

Sevilla (Spain), vi.2007; pict. A. Guët

Studebaker - Automoviles de 6 cilindros

The Studebaker brothers, in 1852, founded a company to produce wagons and entered the automotive business in 1902 with electric vehicles. It was not before 1913 that Studebaker introduced the first gasoline powered automobiles under its own name.

The advert is dated 1924. Look at the door handles: this kind is only found on the earliest cars. Notice also that the vehicle is populated with women only!.

Advertisements on tiles are endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. We have found tiled walls elsewhere, one in Belgium and France each, but both are for companies selling tiles and therefore don't count (see Gilliot and Grignon Sr)

More tiles: Philips light bulbs, Carvalhelhos mineral water, Fertilizer Nitrato do Chile

Merchtem (Belgium), iv.1999

Automobiles MINERVA

Minerva was an important Belgian manufacturer of luxurious cars.
Minerva was particularly succesful during the 1920ies.

Middelkerke (Belgium), vii.1999

Vehicules Industriels
MINERVA

LAMOT brand removed

Overview of complete wall

Mechelen (Belgium), 01.vii.2001;
spotted by M. Breugelmans

Automobiles
MINERVA
sans soupapes

Zoutleeuw (Belgium),
iv.2007

Automobiles
MINERVA
Le moteur sans soupapes

near Amiens (France),
vi.1999; pict. A. Guët

Etréaupont (Aisne, France),
vi.1999

SIMCA (short for Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile) was formed in 1934 to manufacture Fiat cars in France.

The Swallow-bird dates from the middle of the 20th century when the Aronde model was very popular. (Aronde is old French for Swallow.)

Déols (France),
1997; pict. C. Fiquet

The swallow logo was used for the first time in 1938. It was the version with two wings which served for 20 years.

In 1958 a new swallow took flight and in 1966 the bird was replaced by the Chrysler pentastar.

Chateauroux (France),
v.2005; pict. Ph. Rigault

The logo with two wings was used from 1938.

Chalons s Marne (France),
i.2000; pict. C. Fiquet

Simca - à votre service
or Simca - at your service

The more recent version with only one wing was used from 1958 on.

Draveil (France),
ix.2006; pict. A. Guët

à votre service - Simca
or
at your service - Simca

Touques (14, France),
27.xii.2011; pict. A. Guët

The same wall holds a Biscottes Darry advert.

Saulieu (France), 29.viii.2015; pict. J. Helmons

Garage de la Tour
SIMCA ARONDE

A wall with many layers and in a terribly poor condition, but interesting because the name of the model Aronde is written as a word. All our other adverts show the stylized bird.

SIMCA car history from 1934 (latest check 12.vii.2023)

Warcq (08, France), 01.vii.2016; pict. F. Renaud

SIMCA VEDETTE

In 1954 Simca bought an unprofitable plant from FORD. Ford's Vedette model which was made there soon became the Simca Vedette. Later on Simca combined the body of the Vedette with the Aronde's engine into the new Ariane which was launched in 1957. This gives us an approximate dating of the mid 1950s for this advertisement.

Vilvoorde (Belgium),
vi.1998; pict. A. Guët

Remorques
VARMO
Opleggers

Calais (France),
v.1999; pict. A. Guët

Trucks Mercedes-Benz

Saint Valère sur Somme (France),
ix.2000; pict. M. Chartier

Citroën

Quevy (Belgium),
i.2004; pict. B. Van Mol

André Citroën started his car factory after the First World War. He relied very much on advertising and kept files with data about prospective clients. Like many contemporary brands, he placed many signposts to encourage safe driving.

Musée des arts décoratifs in Paris tells the whole story: Citroën's history (latest check 12.vii.2023, they keep changing the their name and URL).

Brisbane (Australia), 07.xii.2007; pict. G. Taran

The World Economic Car — Citroën — ??? everywhere

Most peculiar. This is a ghost image of an advertisement painted on a wall gone since long.

mirrored

; pict. A. Guët

Chevrolet OPEL Chevrolet

Soissons (France),
vii.2000; pict. C. Fiquet

OPEL - General Motors service

St Fargeau (77 France),
iii.2005; pict. A. Guët

Chevrolet

Adam Opel, in January 1863, founded his company and started making household goods. Very soon his company was a leader in European sewing machines, and made also many bicycles. From 1898 on they manufactured cars under several licensing agreements and started to make vehicles of their own design in 1906.

After a fire severely hit the factory in 1911, the sewing machines were dropped. Opel continued with bicycles, cars and motorcycles. In 1929 General Motors bought the majority in the company and the rest in 1931.

The Chevrolet Motor Car Company was formed in 1909 by an alliance between William Durant, who founded General Motors (GM) a year earlier, and Louis Chevrolet. Louis was born in Switzerland and first got a living repairing bicycles in France, but moved to America and became a leading racecar driver. The company was successful from the beginning. The Chevrolet car company became part of the General Motors Company in 1918 but by then Louis had already left the company because of a dispute about the selling position of the brand. Chevrolet wanted exclusive cars while Durant prefered popular ones.

Ivry (France), v.2000; pict. A. Guët

Triumph - Austin
lubrifiées avec ???

Triumph began at the end of the 19th century as a brand of bicycles sold in London by a Siegfried Bettmann (from Germany). Later on the company made its own bicycles, then motorcycles and eventually cars. In the 1930s and in order to survive they switched to luxury, expensive cars and from the 1950s also sports cars. Cars that live up to their name was the slogan. The name disappeared from the roads in 1984.

In 1905 Herbert Austin founded the Austin Motor Company. Austin's cars were luxury vehicles too. The brand was used until 1987.

The preferred lubricant was probably Castrol, but we will know for sure only if we find another mural.