I think the time has come to introduce you to Charlie Beesley. I’ve known him for about a decade now, and he never fails to astonish me every time he sends me another batch of car pictures.
Charlie wrote me initially around 2003 and in his letter mentioned that he’d managed to put together a slightly different, slightly unusual photo collection that centers on automobiles.
He explained that for years he’d gone around to flea markets, junk shops and postcard shows and simply gleaned. He wasn’t looking for bargains or works of art or something he could use around the house. He was looking for photographs of everyday life, snapshots taken by ordinary people. The snapshooters often struggled with uncooperative cameras, squirming subjects and bad lighting. That suited Charlie fine, and he kept searching for pictures that captured little accidental miracles of offbeat composition, that told a story, that encapsulated some aspect of American life.
So actually, “car pictures” isn’t the right title for this series, because it implies that these are photographs of cars. These are not just photos of cars. Most aren’t even pictures in which the car stands out as the main subject. Charlie went around looking for pictures that had cars in them… simple snapshots… the idea being to come up with records, freezes in time, that basically have to do with culture and history. The snap might be of an event, a vacation, two people out on a date, or it might be just a passing moment in someone’s daily routine. But you’ll see a car in the frame, and it usually captures not only the personality and stylistic preferences of its owner, but also the spirit of the times.
In his searches, Charlie also found and preserved interesting photos that don’t have cars in them. We’re not showing any of those here, but he’s put both types on his three websites, and they’re sites worth visiting: reservatory6.blogspot.com, reservatory3.blogspot.com and reservatory.net.
What Charlie and I want to do in this series is to bring you some of his “car pictures,” arranged in categories. This way you can see his very different and original perspective – the type of illumination you rarely find in car magazines or even on websites having to do with cars, American life or history. In my opinion, Charlie’s been able to put together a wonderfully fascinating, entertaining collection of photographs, and I feel they need a wider audience.
I call Part I of the series “Proud Owners.” It shows cars and their owners in various stages of beaming. They take obvious pride in their recent good fortune. When someone gets a new car, or a new used car, or even after he’s owned the car for a while, he often wants to make a record of it. And that’s what Charlie’s managed to find for this first installment of the series.
Later, he and I will show you pictures of rare specimens: customs, race cars, oddballs – both human and automotive – plus other such pictures that you’re not likely to run into just anywhere. Until then, enjoy “Proud Owners.”
Early motorists weren’t keen to drive in wintertime. This 1905 Reo lacks a windshield, sidecurtains and a heater, yet the proud owner not only braves the elements, but he’s brought along a friend to document his icy spin on the uncluttered background of a lake.
A nearly recumbent driver relaxes behind the wheel of his highly accessorized 1907 Buick. Still no windshield, though.
Despite the radiator script, this car is not a Jackson. It might be a Stoddard-Dayton, and Jackson might be the name of the owner or his city. Either way, it does broadcast pride of ownership.
Two well-dressed couples prepare for a Sunday outing in their nearly new 1912 Chevrolet Classic Six. The license says Ohio 1913.
Detroit Electrics – in fact all early electric cars – appealed to women. There were no gears to shift, and many electrics had closed bodies – rare for the time. This stylish Detroit coupe was built from the late teens into the early 1920s.
Hardly new, the 1916 Pierce-Arrow needs a good washing, yet the owner seems more than pleased. The two look like they’ve traveled a few miles together.
A World War II GI shows off his unrestored but very presentable 1918 Oldsmobile roadster. Olds offered a six-cylinder and a V-8 that year, and this car might have had the V-8.
The owner of this 1919 Mercer roadster installed the full complement of accessory lights, windwings and mirrors.
A young woman poses with her shiny 1920 Kissel roadster, one of the sportier cars of that era.
Here’s a guy who’s proud not only of his 1925 Pierce but also the low, racy roadster he built from unknown (to us) parts – an early example of a hot rod.
Three-wheeled Morgan Aero circa 1927 stuffs economy and sportiness into one compact package. Is there room for a passenger on the other side?
Prosperous and pleased, this middle-aged couple pulled their 1928 Pierce-Arrow to the side of the road in upstate New York so they could have their picture snapped – simple as that.
We don’t know whether this gentleman owns the 1930 Stutz SV16 Monte Carlo or if he’s a salesman. Either way, it’s a gorgeous car, and he’s obviously quite pleased to be in the picture. The Stutz’s fabric body is by Weymann of Indianapolis.
Another rare and racy automobile, this 1930 Willys-Knight Great Six Plaidside roadster, styled by Amos Northup. The setting appears to be a new and incomplete Southern California housing development – or possibly an old Spanish mission.
And here’s a casual owner leaning against his 1930 Ford Model A-400 convertible Victoria. The picture was taken on a trip to California.
Dema E. Harshbarger sits proudly behind the wheel of her 1931 Reo Royale victoria coupe, another Amos Northup design. Miss Harshbarger did a lot of driving as president of the National Civic Music Association, an organization of 257 American cities that subscribed to concerts for which she supplied musicians and orchestras.
A bathing beauty and an equally fetching 1932 De Soto roadster pose on a foggy northwestern Pacific beach. The car wears 1941 Washington license plates.
This gentleman’s dog can hardly wait until his well-dressed master lets him jump into the warm front seat of their 1933 Hudson Major Eight.
This woman is obviously fashion conscious, not only in her dress and Schiaparelli-style bicorne hat but very definitely in the 1933 Reo Royale victoria she’s chosen as her personal transport.
There must be a reason why the owner of this very nice 1933 Studebaker wears a business suit, but then tops it off with a 10-gallon Stetson.
Proud father shows off his daughter along with his 1934 Nash Big Six. Looks like Mom took the picture, and they might all be headed to church from their home in Seattle.
An obviously pleased young woman poses alongside her top-of-the-line 1934 Oldsmobile eight-cylinder convertible. La Salle used the same engine that year, but the La Salle version developed 20 more horses (110 vs. 90).
Talk about top of the line! The Depression apparently hasn’t affected this fortunate dowager. With her hand on the door handle, she calmly prepares to board her 1935 Cadillac V-16 Fleetwood three-window coupe and drive away in dignified luxury. Cadillac built two such coupes in 1935 and one in 1936.
The tidy Minnesota middle-class house in the background, along with the owner’s obvious pride in his 1935 Chrysler Airflow, lends this picture a definite air of upward social mobility.
The young man, dressed all in white, looks like a medical student or some sort of professional. If that’s the case, his 1936 Studebaker Dictator three-window coupe fits right in.
This owner found economy and style in his unadorned 1937 Willys. It’s one of the last cars designed by Amos Northup. The inscription on the back of the photo says, “Sunrise Park, Mt. Rainier, Wash.”
The proprietor of this car exudes pride of ownership as he leans coolly against the fender of his 1937 Lincoln Zephyr.
The 1937 Ford shared styling with its Zephyr brother, and what’s interesting in these pictures is the formal attire most middle-class men wore in the 1930s. Today they’d likely be in jeans.
The 1938 La Salle dwarfs its owner, who seems satisfied that he’s in command of such a large and formidable vehicle. The photo was taken in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Accessories always point to pride of ownership, and this 1939 Mercury from Kansas shows an assortment that’s visible but not overdone.
This picture, taken in 1956, features a young serviceman in government-issue work overalls showing off his like-new 1940 Cadillac. He’s probably proud not just of the car, but, more especially, of the work he’s put into it.
And what’s the first thing a proud Chet Gausta of Everett, Washington, does when he brings home his new 1940 Nash? He washes it.
He’s dressed like a jockey, and he’s all smiles as he shows us his brand-new 1942 Buick convertible. Plates indicate District of Columbia.
This gentleman could be a funeral director, but he looks happy enough in front of another rare wartime model, a 1942 De Soto with hidden headlights.
This photo was taken in Germany just after World War II. The two American soldiers apparently either bought or commandeered a late-1930s Tatra Type 87, and they seem to be enjoying their good fortune.
This 1949 Nash Airflyte isn’t new, but its mistress seems to have taken good care of it, and they’ve become quite attached to one another. The car wears a 1951 Virginia license plate in a Pensacola, Florida, frame.
Glamor doesn’t enter into it. She’s wearing sensible shoes, is conservative in dress and conservative in her choice of transport (1949 Plymouth Suburban all-metal wagon). She is, in fact, the very model of suburban practicality…
…as opposed to this grand dame, identified as Cora, who wears a stylish chapeau and drives one of Raymond Loewy’s trendy bulletnose 1950 Studebakers. Oh, Cora!
Here’s the Henry J family from Maine. Hubby Harold and wife Betty must have sat down at the kitchen table and calculated that two Henry Js – a six-cylinder Deluxe and a four-banger Standard – would be way cheaper than one big, ostentatious Buick.
And another family…the father still loves his 1952 Kaiser, so much so that his son bought a 1954 model.
This gent’s the antithesis of the Henry J family. He bought the most luxurious 1952 Buick hardtop he could find.
In that same vein, this California Oldsmobile owner went all the way with his 1952 Super 88 Holiday hardtop.
The 1953 Hudson Hornet was three years old when this respectable Seattle couple decided to have their picture taken with it.
Lots of people wanted Studebaker to make a convertible out of the 1953 Loewy coupe. Charlie Beesley’s brother, Bill, actually did, lopping the top off with the help of a Kadena AFB buddy while stationed in Okinawa. Before returning to the U.S., Bill sold the car to another serviceman, who promptly drove it into the sea.
Looking very stylish in her full-length fur coat, this California matron is still outdone by her lovely 1954 Buick Riviera hardtop.
Years before pickups got citified, the pristine 1954 Ford F-100 became an ideal match for this young California farmer. The truck carries a special “farm” license plate.
Back when you could still buy a Hudson Italia for a couple of thousand bucks, this fellow, Robert Mackay, used one as his everyday driver. He took pride in his ride despite the bent grille and missing bumper ornament. The photo was taken in 1964 in Fort Front Royal, Virginia. Mackay had driven down from his home in Rochester, New York.
There’s justification for a casual sort of pride in the man who drives a 1955 Corvette V-8, then and now.
Ditto this Florida driver who bought himself a 1955 Thunderbird.
This young Southern California woman takes just as much pride in her nine-year-old, like-new 1956 Rambler.
He’s not dressed like an anti-establishment wonk, but back then, his 1958 Volkswagen put him into that social category.
This SoCal miss opts for the power of a 1958 Corvette fuelie.
Crew cut, polo shirt, khakis, aviator shades…looks like he’s off to college in his new 1960 Chevrolet Impala convertible. Goodbye, Mom!
Unlike the VW Beetle, the three-cylinder, two-stroke DKW was so rare and exotic in 1960, especially the hardtop, that even establishment types could get away being seen driving one. The car wears a Santa Monica license frame.
The Canadian Ford Frontenac, essentially a transplanted, facelifted Falcon, was produced only in 1960. This young lady seems pleased with her rare find.
Headlights all over the place, this 1962 Dodge Dart wagon, designed under Virgil Exner, gives these two jaunty matrons all the style and utility they could wish for.
Charlie Lanscardi of Renton, Washington, picked up his Series 1 Jaguar E-Type while stationed in Germany. His other set of wheels was a military tank. Dunno about the tank, but he obviously liked driving the XKE.
Less so this gentleman cooped up inside his BMW Isetta 300, yet he appears suitably impressed nonetheless.
Masculine machinery, the 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado and the man in the tilted hat (rancher? contractor?) seem made from the same stuff. Montana license indicates Yellowstone County, Billings area.
This guy and his 1958 Thunderbird are parked outside a motel, perhaps on vacation. We can only speculate, but maybe he asked his wife to snap a picture before they hit the road again.
Here’s another man who puts thought into what he wears and drives. Notes with the photo indicate that he’s a Los Angeles acoustics engineer, attended Bob Bondurant’s race-driving school, drives a 1970 Porsche 911T and lives in this very nice Spanish Eclectic-style cottage.