Louis Réard land yacht

 

Based on a 1938 Packard with the nautical theme body built by the French coachbuilder Chapron, this car was commissioned by Louis Réard, a designer and manufacturer of women's swimwear.

 In 1946, a competitor, Jacques Heim came up with the idea of the world's smallest two piece swimsuit and called it the Atom, after the smallest bit of matter known.

 When the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll were conducted on July 1st 1946, Réard had already copyrighted the name for his even smaller swimsuit. The "Bikini" was introduced at a fashion show on the 5th and was predictably a sensation.

In an effort to promote the new bikini, he had this car made to tour resort towns and beachfronts, often with young women in bikinis riding on the rear deck. The car was used for promotion for about three decades. More story here. 

Update: much better story here. 

Folding windshield

 Sadly, not used much on modern sports car designs...

Triumph factory destroyed

 The Triumph factory was destroyed when Coventry was bombed on November 14, 1940. Among the casualties were the first 50 3TW twin-cylinder army bikes, all packed up and ready for shipment.

Monday Mystery, tappet wrench

 

As it says, it's a tappet wrench and its spreading jaw measures 14.6 mm, so was probably 9/16" when it was new. But for what engine, I wonder?

Parsons Hawkeye grain feeder

 In the last part of the 19th century there was much development in farm automation. For the grain growers, horse drawn harvesters cut the crop and tied it into manageable bundles called sheaves, those sheaves had to be moved into the threshing machine to be processed. The Parsons Band Cutter and Self Feeder company was formed in 1892 to build a device that the company name described, that company grew and the company partners started the short-lived Parsons Hawkeye Mfg. as an offshoot- manufacturing a variation of the machine. One of those partners was a certain Fredrick Louis Maytag, who by 1909 had taken over, merging the companies into his growing Maytag company. 

Below, in those non-free trade days, the company was not ignoring the Canadian market.

Sidecar Sunday

Hughes sidecars being prepared for the TT in 1925.

Giordani Ferrari Indianapolis

This is another beautiful Pierre Guy pedal car, a Giordani Ferrari Indianapolis- in the capable hands of a very young JP- a frequent contributor on the site...  How did it work?

 He explains; "These cars were mainly meant to be a testament to the generosity of the giver, because the crank-operated propulsion was so inefficient you could not hope to make progress up the slightest incline, and conversely, the pedals would beat your feet to a pulp going downhill ! I only remember hating it for looking so good while being so useless..." 1958 catalog here.

European lineup, 1968

 Two big roadburners and a beginners bike. The Japanese big bike competition (for now) was only the CB450 and the T500.

Canadian army, 1941-42

Marc Choko, Canadian War Posters, Editions du Méridien, 1994

 And the romance...

Remembrance Day

DR Cpl. Phillippe Castoilloux asking directions in Normandy.

Unknown DR somewhere in Holland, Fall 1944.