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By Patrick Lesueur and translated by David
Burgess-Wise. Surely no form of
contest has ever equalled the marriage of luxury and ostentation offered for
many years by the great Concours d’Élégance. Elitist perhaps but their sheer
magnificence seems just as fascinating in our present world as it did in the
first half of the 20th Century. It should be remembered that these events
allowed the most celebrated artists and artisans boundless freedom of
expression. Everything was put into the melting-pot to achieve one end – the
realisation of a dream.
The vital step for organisers of such events was to choose a
venue famous for its air of leisurely hedonism, such as Longchamp, Deauville,
Cannes, La Baule, Vichy, Nice or Enghien, where costly automobiles, their
elegant silhouettes crafted by the great names of contemporary coachwork ,
could parade. To enhance the atmosphere, these exotic creations were presented
by pretty ladies, mostly recruited from fashionable society, dressed in the
latest fashion by the leading Parisian couturiers in an attempt to achieve the
best possible symbiosis with the machines that they accompanied.
Without wishing to diminish the important role played in the
spectacle by these actors, it was of course the aristocratic automobiles that
the eager spectators had come to admire.
This book offers a delicious journey back in time to witness
the golden age of the Concours d’ Élégance.
Over fifty coachbuilders covered in the book from Antem to
Weymann.- 240mm x 290mm (portrait)
- 206 pages
- Hardcover
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