Hood ornament
A hood ornament is the name given to a specially crafted model of something which symbolises a car company like a badge, usually located on front center portion of the hood.
Examples of hood ornaments include:
*
Spirit of Ecstasy on Rolls-Royce Motors cars
* The leaping Jaguar on
Jaguar cars
* The three-pointed star surrounded by a circle on
Mercedes-Benz cars
* The Lion on the
Peugeot cars
* The Ram's head on
Dodge cars
* The Crest and
Wreath on Cadillac cars
* The three shields on
Buick Cars
* The
Rocket on
Oldsmobile cars
Encyclopedia
A
hood ornament is the name given to a specially crafted model of something which symbolises a car company like a badge, usually located on front center portion of the hood.
Examples of hood ornaments include:
In the early years automobiles had their radiator caps outside of the hood and on top of the grille. The hood ornament was born as a way of decorating the cap. Hood ornaments were very popular in the
1920s,
1930s and
1940s with many car manufacturers fitting them to their vehicles. As well as the car makers themselves, a very healthy business was created in the supply of accessory mascots available to anyone who wanted to fit a hood ornament or car mascot to their automobile. Most companies like Desmo and Smiths are now out of business with only Louis Lejeune in England surviving.
Hood ornaments are usually cast in
brass or
bronze and finished in a chrome plated finish. In the years when chrome plate was unavailable, they were plated in either
silver or
nickel.
There is now a very strong collectors market for hood ornaments and car mascots. Sculptors such as Bazin, Paillet, Sykes, Renevey, and Lejeune all created very finely detailed sculptures in miniature.
The best known glass mascots were made by
René Lalique in France, but other sellers or producers of glass mascots include Sabino in France, Red Ashay in England and Persons Majestic in the U.S. The latter two had their products made in Czechoslovakia. The Lalique company, like Louis Lejeune, is one of the few survivors from this era of motoring.
Few current vehicles have hood ornaments, partly because they have fallen out of style and partly because they pose a risk for injuries in collisions with pedestrians . Hood ornaments still remain quite common on many models of luxury cars and are a target for vandals and thieves.
