Fingers Facilitate Talking

The first classified telephone directory in 1878 consisted of a single piece of paper by the New Haven District Telephone Company in Connecticut. The fifty subscribers paid to have their names and addresses listed in the directory. The legend of how the pages became yellow five years later would seem to stem from a Cheyenne, Wyoming printer who ran out of white paper. Regardless, research indicated that black type on yellow paper was easier to read than black on white. A well-known fact to many subsequent graphic designers. It also served to separate the white residential listings from the yellow business listings. 

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company was founded in Chicago in 1864 by Richard Robert Donnelley. His son, Reuben H. Donnelley, founded the otherwise unrelated company formerly known as R. H. Donnelley. Reuben established the first official telephone directory in 1886, creating an entire industry that would become known as the Yellow Page Directory. Initially, they were the exclusive monopoly of R. H. Donnelley and the telephone companies. In 1917, the company was incorporated and moved to New York City though they kept their Chicago operations. When Reuben Donnelley died in 1929, the company continued to contract with the Bell System to publish telephone directories nationally. By 1961, R. H. Donnelley became a wholly owned subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet.

Note: By the turn of the twentieth century, the telephone served as the only technology that could be used to contact anyone in the world in real time and only accessible through the Yellow Page directories. The newest phone books—delivered free—were an indispensable item for home and business owners. The dot com boom meant that the yellow page days were numbered. 2009 marked the death of the yellow page directories with the bankruptcy of R. H. Donnelley.

A thorough history of the Yellow Page directories can be found here.

Unique Across America

Cadillac was famous in the 1950s for its slogan, "Standard Of The World." Disregarding styling, overall quality, or the intended customer, the Nash Ambassador might have used a similar slogan based on their innovations that were "Unique Across America." Regarding the advertisement above, my research focuses on the Nash Ambassador after their complete restyle for 1952 in celebration of Nash's 50th anniversary. The design looked like nothing else on the road. Interpret that any way you like. 

The 1954 Ambassador was the first American automobile to have a front-end, fully integrated heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system. While other manufacturers in America at the time offered A/C on some models, their air conditioning units were driven by a large and heavy, trunk-mounted expander and heat exchanger that carried the air into the car via clear plastic tubes and out through ceiling-mounted vents. Nash's unit was inexpensive, compact, fit under the hood, and could either circulate fresh or recycled air. 

The aero-designed 1955 versions, above, now had the "Scenaramic" wrap-around windshields and an entirely new smooth front-end styling featuring a new oval grille that incorporated the headlights. The front fenders featured raised wheel arches contrary to what was a Nash trademark since 1949. For 1956 the Ambassador models featured a re-styled rear with larger round taillights sitting atop a large chrome "pedestal." The models were offered in a variety of two- and three-tone color schemes. The 1957 models were the first cars equipped with vertical "quad" headlights in the front fenders. Way before Pontiac started this trend some eight years later.

The Ambassador would be completely redesigned for 1958, with increasingly awkward and busy styling. The Nash marque would be dropped to become the Rambler Ambassador and by the fourth generation, would be known as AMC Ambassador. The Ambassador line from 1963 through the Sixties was one of the more attractive automobiles on the market from a design standpoint, though nothing groundbreaking when one considers the "Big Three" designs. The AMC Ambassador models would struggle on until 1974. Except for a few select models, it was the beginning of an ugly decade for all American automotive designers.

Shifting Priorities

An interesting illustration touting all the things where Goodyear rubber is used, captured during a shift change at a factory. From raincoats to traffic cones; work shoe soles to the rubber bumpers used at truck docks; rubberized railroad crossings, tires and many more items taken for granted. I find the fabricated sedan interesting in the artwork's center. Several automotive manufacturer's details are combined to create an automobile that never existed. Echoing the artist's creativity is the light green sedan to the right of center in the background. It appears to be a 1958 Mercury but with an unknown grille.

The Dynamic 59 Guggenheim

Tooling around in your brand new 1961 Oldsmobile may have offered a bit of uniqueness but it was pale in comparison to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. The Upper East Side landmark on Fifth Avenue, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was initially controversial to some traditionalists for its unusual shape and display arrangement. Their lack of vision for the building has long since been forgotten. Not completely forgotten is the classic Oldsmobile. 

Mr. Guggenheim, a member of a wealthy mining family, began collecting works of the old masters in the 1890s. He met artist Hilla von Rebay, the museum's first director. In 1926, she introduced him to European avant-garde art. She envisioned a space that would facilitate a new way of seeing modern art. Fast forward to 1943, they wrote a letter to Frank Lloyd Wright asking him to design a structure to house and display the collections. Rebay thought the seventy-six-year-old Wright was dead, but Guggenheim's wife knew otherwise. It took Wright fifteen years, over 700 sketches, and six sets of working drawings to create and complete the museum, after a series of difficulties and delays during the 1940s and subsequent personality conflicts with its new museum director during the early fifties. Wright's design for the Guggenheim incorporated geometric motifs, such as squares, circles, rectangles, triangles and lozenges. The building was completed in 1959 with an added annex and renovation in the last thirty years. It was Wright's last major work. He died six months before its opening, at ninety-one.

A Special Daughter

Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal introduced to the United States in 1955 by one of their food kitchen researchers, Jimmy Harris. As the father of seven boys, he was pleasantly surprised by the birth of one daughter, Kathleen. He called her his "Special K." Since "K" was the first letter in the Kellogg's logo, the company allowed him to use the name for the new cereal. The general public might think the "K" simply stands for the special cereal from Kellogg's. 

The Original Oreo

Hydrox is a cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie that debuted in the United States in 1908 and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits for over ninety years. Hydrox was largely discontinued in 1999, three years after Sunshine was acquired by Keebler, which was later acquired by Kellogg. In September 2015, the product was reintroduced by Leaf Brands.

The Oreo brand was created in 1912. It offered more creme filling, a sweeter imitation of Hydrox, and eventually surpassed Hydrox in popularity. It resulted in the Hydrox cookies being perceived by many as an Oreo off-brand. 

Mr. Kerr and Mr. McGee

The Kerr-McGee Corporation was an American energy company involved in oil exploration, production of crude oil, natural gas, perchlorate, and uranium mining and milling in various countries. Anadarko Petroleum acquired Kerr-McGee in 2006, itself being acquired by Occidental Petroleum in 2019.

Founded in 1929 as Anderson & Kerr Drilling Company by Oklahoma businessman-politician Robert S. Kerr (1896-1963) and oil driller James L. Anderson, its name was changed to Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, Incorporated after Dean McGee (1904-1989) joined the firm in 1946. The company initially focused mostly on off-shore oil exploration and production and was one of the first companies to use drillships. Beginning in the early 1950s, Kerr-McGee was involved in several nuclear endeavors. The 1957 illustration above would seem to catapult off these explorations. The sub-heading about landing on the moon turned out to be an accurate prediction.

Parallels

Here is a parallel in B-movie careers more than an exact resemblance. Willard Parker (Worster Van Eps 1912-1996), right, signed with Warner Bros and Columbia, while John Archer (Ralph Bowman 1915-1999) signed with Universal and Republic. Archer had numerous television guest spots making him, arguably, the more familiar though Parker's three-year, single series, Tales of The Texas Rangers was popular. 

Both started their careers in the late 1930s and both died at age 84, three years apart. Alas, I would like to tell you they married the same woman (not at the same time) but that would prevent you from believing any of this.

Lunar Bosh

American Bosch ARMA Corporation (AMBAC) was located in Garden City, NY. At the start of 1960, it employed approximately 6,000 employees. AMBAC was founded in Brooklyn NY in 1918. It began by manufacturing high-intensity searchlights for military use but soon expanded into the design and manufacture of analog electro-mechanical gunfire control systems for use on US naval vessels.  

During WWII, almost all of the US military's gunfire control systems were manufactured on Long Island, New York. The ARMA Division of AMBAC, Ford Instrument Company, and Sperry Gyroscope Company represented the state of the art in such systems and proved their capability to meet the government's needs. After the war's end, ARMA was awarded a contract by the US Air Force to design and manufacture the tail gun turret gunfire control system for the Boeing B-52.

There was constant discord within the ARMA Division between management and the unionized technical staff. Several long strikes occurred in 1951, 1953, and 1955 that left a level of bitterness among the employees. The 1960-1965 Atlas Missile Guidance System was the last large contract awarded to the ARMA Division. By 1973, American Bosch ARMA Corporation, including its ARMA Division, was sold to the United Technologies Corporation and was relocated to UTC's Pratt and Whitney facility in Stratford, Connecticut.

The 1958 illustration is by Frank Tinsley (1899-1965).

Parallels

Depending on the angle or lighting, Virginia Gilmore (1919-1986), above left, and Jane Greer (1924-2001) possessed similar facial appearance. Yet both actresses are better known by only one of their films, Western Pacific and Out Of The Past, respectively. What separates them is their lifespan, perhaps accounting for Greer being the more famous.

Parasites

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the idea of carrying an additional flying craft was rampant. The concepts were totally impractical, if not deadly, ideas. The above is one example of a helicopter being able to attach and release from an F-94 jet fighter. The first question would seem to be, why?. The giant, 10-engined, Convair B-36 intercontinental bomber experimented with carrying parasite fighter escort jets. One system allowed two jet aircraft, each anchored at both wingtips of the B-36. A second program used a trapeze design lowered from one bomb bay which a fighter could hook the nose to a recieving hook. Although each system worked under ideal conditions, both were deemed impractical, especially given the best defense for the B-36 was altitude.

Supermarket Drive-In

Fred McNabb illustrated an idealistic series of futuristic concepts for the New Departure Manufacturing Company, founded in Bristol, Connecticut by innovators Albert and Edward Rockwell in 1901. By the way, Albert was also the founder of the Yellow Taxicab Company of New York. New Departure later became a division of General Motors. 

The above 1956 illustration seems to have numerous details that are mystifying, at the very least, like the conveyor belt for sending out groceries on a rainy day. I cannot imagine this concept succeeding east of the Rocky Mountains in the winter. Plus loading the preferred brands one is there to purchase. They did seem to envision the drivers' ability to open the trunk from inside the 1959 models, however. Not being able to comprehend there will be more than seven shoppers at a time is a huge oversight. Let alone the idling cars behind as if at a McDonald's drive-up window. Optimistically, perhaps these were the "express lanes" when shopping for no more than twenty items. One had to shop inside the store for a full shopping experience. Without ever knowing it, it seems the bazaar illustration was heading in the right direction regarding "remote" buying. What McNabb and New Departure could not have possibly envisioned was the Internet. Or shutting down the economy in 2020. Shopping without ever meeting any live person has become common for those who experience "life" via a Smartphone.

See McNabb's full-page ads here.

Infuriating Infrastructure

The Interstate Highway System, officially known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, was so named because the President signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Its intent was to make travel safer with efficient routes, eliminate traffic jams, and speedy, safe transcontinental travel. Idealistic ideas for mid-century travel. The all-freeway system was designed with nationally unified standards for construction and signage. The money for the Interstate System was handled in a Highway Trust Fund that paid for 90 percent of highway construction costs with the states required to pay the remaining 10 percent. The eventual payments, however, were through higher taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel. Something Eisenhower wanted to avoid.

Generally patterned after the Autobahn system in Germany, General Eisenhower noted their efficient use during World War II. The original intent was to speed around cities, not through them, for quick transportation of military equipment in the event of a conventional or nuclear war. Local politicians and individual state movers and shakers, however, began slicing through inner cities disregarding any historical significance in the name of progress. In this regard, this 1960 illustration predicted things fairly accurately. Never mind the Disney mono-rail.

The Sixty-Six Year Old Whopper

In 1953, Keith Kramer and Matthew Burns bought the rights to a special grill machine called the Insta-Broiler and named their restaurant Insta-Burger King. James McLamore and David Edgerton purchased one Insta-Burger in 1954, renamed it Burger King, and opened the first restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. The duo came up with a gas grill that they called a "flame broiler," and eliminated the problems of the Insta-Broiler. The Burger King mascot was created in 1955 and the driver of that 1957 Pontiac (above) may have ordered a new Whopper for the first time. A full chronological history here including the origins of Mr. McLamore.

Frank Bullitt

Appropriate praise has been placed on the ground-breaking chase scene within the film Bullitt (1968). Amazing considering its brief screen time, but the film seems made up of gravitating brief moments. Lalo Schifrin’s jazzy “cat and mouse” score to set up the chase—as well as his main theme—carries just as much impact. Beyond this presumed “car guy film,” Steve McQueen is at his apex in a role perfectly suited for his subtleties. A strong "reactor" beyond "actor." One particular scene has Bullitt returning to the hotel where a contract killing took place. There is no dialogue. No music. Only the sound of highway traffic coming through an open window. Contemplating how the murder could have happened, his minute expressions, eye movements and body language make this seemingly dull scene very powerful. Another defining element concerns his co-star, Robert Vaughn, in a hospital communication station. Foretelling the tension coming in the famous chase, the two characters come to terms. They do not like each other. Bullitt’s tolerance reaches its end with the self-aggrandizing Chalmers. “You work your side of the street, I’ll work mine.” It is a beautiful “un-acted” moment, making it overwhelmingly realistic. A quality that sums up the entire film.

Note: The capture above is the spark that ignites the car chase.

Longevity of Design

Saul Bass (1920-1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, he worked for some of Hollywood's most prominent filmmakers. His iconic title sequences for Man with the Golden Arm (1955), North by Northwest (1959), Vertigo (1958), working with John Whitney, and Psycho (1960). Bass used a variety of techniques, from cut-out animation for Anatomy of a Murder (1958) to fully animated mini-movies. As a graphic designer, Bass designed some of the most iconic corporate logos in North America, including Geffen Records, the 1968 Continental Airlines jet stream logo, United Airlines' 1974 stylized "UA" as a tulip logo, the 1972 Warner Bros. "Big W" logo, and AT&T Corporation's first globe logo in 1983. 

Some additional samples of Saul Bass's designs here.

The Four Thousand Pound Cactus

A staple in many Western films, the Saguaro cactus is native to the Arizona Sonoran Desert, the Mexican State of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains & Imperial County areas of California. When rain is plentiful, a fully hydrated Saguaro cactus can weigh between 3,200–4,800 lbs. and live up to 150 years. The photo was taken in the 1930s at Paradise Valley, Arizona, with Camelback Mountain as a backdrop.

Get High For a Quarter

Glide-O-Bike was an optimistic, twenty-five-cent contraption that might possibly be attached to a bicycle. If it could get airborne in a very strong headwind (over a windswept cliff), good luck with that 40-pound two-wheeled anchor. Read the amazing claims in this 1931 advertisement above, like operating your own licensed "bike port." 

A Quinn Martin Epilogue

Quinn Martin was a highly American television producer with at least one television series running in prime time every year for twenty-one straight years, from 1959 to 1980. As QM Productions, Martin established a distinct format for his series—filmed as mini-movies—that was broken into four sections called “Acts." It was essentially a clever device to resume the story after commercial breaks. Each episode wrapped up the story with a short "Epilogue." They were parodies of this format, none better than the six-episode comedy, Police Squad starring Leslie Nielsen. After selling QM Productions, Martin continued developing motion pictures for Warner Bros. with a new company, QM Communications, until his death. 

My highlights of his most noted television-producing career:

1958: "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" anthology TV series for Desilu Productions. 

1959: The landmark series "The Untouchables" (1959-63) for Desilu Productions. Emmy winner. Famous theme by Nelson Riddle.

1960: Established QM Productions. Sold the company in 1978 to become an adjunct professor at the University of California's Earl Warren College, San Diego.

1961: 36 episodes of the ABC police crime drama, "The New Breed," starring Leslie Nielsen and John Beradino. Theme composed by Dominic Frontiere. 1st series under his QM Production company. 

1963: "The Fugitive" drama series. The QM Productions logo became known worldwide. His use of narration was a signature element of the series.

1964: "12 O'Clock High" TV series. Ratings nose-dived after charismatic star, Robert Lansing, was unceremoniously "killed off" at the beginning of 2nd season. Replaced by Paul Burke. Lansing was understandably puzzled by the decision.

1965: "The F.B.I." was his longest-running series based around the James Stewart film, "The F.B.I. Story."

1967: "The Invaders" starring Roy Thinnes as architect, David Vincent, in his 1 year career swap to become an expert on sneaky interplanetary aliens.

 
1970: "Dan August" crime drama series with Burt Reynolds as a police lieutenant. Not unique enough to survive beyond 26 episodes. Innovative theme by Dave Grusin. Reynolds' film stardom made reruns popular.

1971: "Cannon" was a five-year Private Detective series about a rotund investigator who drove a Lincoln Mark IV equipped with a telephone.

1972: "The Streets of San Francisco" ran for five years and made a star of Michael Douglas.

1973-1980: "Barnaby Jones," an unlikely popular detective series about a 65-year-old investigator ran for seven years.

Making Television Better

Roy Huggins was a successful novelist, television producer, film and television screenwriter, and creator of numerous television series, with his most successful being Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Fugitive, The Rockford Files, and Hunter. For his later television screenwriting, he used the pseudonyms Thomas Fitzroy, John Thomas James, or John Francis O'Mara.

Huggins was given Executive Producer credits for 14 episodes of The Fugitive reboot starring Timothy Dalton in 2000. It squeaked out 23 episodes from the old "spoiler alert" premise. Roy Huggins died on April 3, 2002. The day the writing stopped.

My chronological highlights of his career:

1948: "I Love Trouble" crime movie introduced Stu Bailey character (Franchot Tone). Based on Huggins' novel, "The Double Take." Also wrote screenplay. Character reinvented for "77 Sunset Strip" TV series.

1948: Wrote story for the movie "The Fuller Brush Man" starring Red Skelton.

1950: Huggins' story from The Saturday Evening Post, "Appointment with Fear" became "The Good Humor Man" film starring Jack Carson.

1954: Huggins provided screenplay for the crime film, "Pushover," starring Fred MacMurray and Kim Novak in her first major role. Average suspense noir noted for photogenic Novak.  

 
1955: Producer/writer and developed Warner Bros. TV western "Cheyenne" starring Clint Walker, the 1st hour-long western. Originally a "wheel program" that alternated with 3 different Westerns.

1956: Producer/writer for one season of "Conflict," a TV anthology series. James Garner caught producer Huggins' attention with comedic performance in a time travel scenario entitled "Man from 1997."

1957: Series creator for Warner Bros. Western "Maverick." Huggins envisioned star, James Garner, as an anti-hero. Garner's comedic expressions were unique for a Western at the time. 17 years later he revamped the premise into "The Rockford Files."

1962-63: Executive Producer of 17 episodes of the 1st 90-minute, western, "The Virginian." Filmed in color, the series was loosely based on a 1902 Western novel by Owen Wister. Huggins began tenure as vice president for the TV division at Universal.

1963: Series creator for the hugely popular series, "The Fugitive." An idea that nearly every myopic network executive rejected. Catapulted David Janssen to an icon of TV stardom. Quinn Martin produced.

1965: Series creator of "Fugitive" inspired "Run for Your Life" which starred Ben Gazzara as an attorney with fatal decease. Attempted to squeeze 30 years in only 1-2 years (85 episodes).

1968: Created "The Outsider" with Darren McGavin as an ex-con who spend 6 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Then became a private investigator in LA. Premise more successful with James Garner.

1971-73: Exec. Producer for "Alias Smith and Jones" western series playing off success of the blockbuster movie, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Initially with Peter Duel & Ben Murphy, Duel's suicide re-cast Roger Davies in role. 

1973-74: Toma was a promising series and execs. figured Tony Musante would change his mind of continuing after 1 year. He did not. Many on the Toma writing staff would write episodes for "The Rockford Files." Retooled with Robert Blake as "Baretta." 

1976: Producer for 13 episodes of "City of Angels" series set in the 1930s starring Wayne Rogers as unethical private detective. Successful film, "Chinatown," was its inspiration.

1974-80: Concept for "The Rockford Files" as modern Maverick character. Series co-created with Stephen J. Cannell. Perfect fit for Garner. Great scripts and cast.

1976: Executive producer, 8 episodes, of "Captains and the Kings" TV Mini-Series. A rags-to-riches tale of an Irish immigrant (Richard Jordan) in late 1800s co-starring a long list of "who's who" in Hollywood per mini-series standards.

1984: Exec. Producer for 10 episodes of "Blue Thunder" (based on the movie) about an advanced prototype police helicopter and the ground crew battling crime. James Farentino, Dana Carvey. 

1985-90: Exec. Producer for 68 episodes of "Hunter" (1984-91). The show was influenced by the "Dirty Harry" character. 2 reunion TV movies led to 5-episode series in 2002-03, but without Huggins due to his ill health.

1993: Exec. Producer for the film "The Fugitive" starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Successful film. Great screenplay. Never understood change of Gerard's name from Philip to Sam.

Your Neighborhood A&P

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) was the largest grocery retailer in the USA for the first half of the 20th Century. The management had the resources to be able to lower consumer prices and at the same time keep their profits just above the break-even point. Most small retailers, many not able to stay afloat for more than a year anyway, hated chain stores because they were unable to compete with this strategy. Congressional lobbyists set out to destroy A&P with ridiculously high taxes in the mid-1930s then suggested splitting the dominating store into several companies in the 1940s. The attacks were against any large chain store, but being by far the largest of them all, A&P was especially hit hard with unproven accusations and a lack of understanding of how their business model worked, even into the 1950s. The eventual death of both controlling brothers left its successor unequipped to modernize A&P's conservative management. During the 1960s few were shopping at their outdated supermarkets with higher prices. A&P's constant battles were something to behold. 

An excellent consensus of what happened to A&P.

Read about A&P's famous Eight O'Clock Coffee.

Affordable Personal Computers

Founded in 1998 by Lap Shun Hui, eMachines was a manufacturer of economical personal computers, ranking 4th in American computer sales by the next year. It was a joint venture of South Korean companies Korea Data Systems and TriGem. The company sold PCs for $400 and $500, all without a monitor. eMachines was acquired by Gateway, Inc. in 2004, and itself acquired by Acer Inc. in 2007. The eMachines brand was discontinued in 2013. If the above screen brings back memories, there is a complete history here. 

Interactive Airport

An engaging 1961 illustration over forty years before outdoor observation decks were off limits after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. No more appreciable sounds of prop-engined airliners mixed with jet airliners, the smell of aviation fuel, or hearing support vehicles jockey around to provide services for the airlines. 

Maybe the artist needed TWA's approval on the fuselage livery of their Boeing 707s. The tail livery is nondescript, however. A livery history at TWA.

Redirecting The Auto Industry

There were numerous clever advertisements for the North American Rabbit (Golf) beginning in 1975, a ground-breaking repackaging of the Beetle. This 1979 advert pointedly chides Chrysler's Omni/Horizon attempt to cash in on the original. Purists may want to ignore the new 1979 "Schwinn" side markers and the US-trendy square headlamps.

Soviet Aspirations

Foretelling the future of the robot vacuum is Whirlpool's Miracle Kitchen of the Future, a display at the American National Exhibition, held during the summer of 1959 in Moscow. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in the so-called “kitchen debate.” It was an exhibition of American art, fashion, cars, capitalism, and model homes. Kodachrome photo by Bob Lerner for the Look magazine article "What the Russians Will See." Read the report at Cold War.

Raymond Loewy Again

Though International Harvester was steeped in truck manufacturing, the industrial designer Raymond Loewy was commissioned in 1935 to revitalize their image. The result was the clever "head-on tractor view" logo representing the company's farming heritage. The black represents the tires while the red is the tractor body with the square block over the eye likely the spring-tensioned seat. 

A career overview of  Loewy.

Action-filled Compositions

Peter Helck (1893-1988) was an American illustrator who specialized in depicting the racing circuits of Europe. He estimated that he had produced more than 600 sketches, drawings and paintings during his career. He was there in the early days of auto racing with the Vanderbilt Cup Race of 1906. He worked for many of the major automobile magazines, in particular The Autocar, which took him to England and to major races in France and Italy. In the 1930s Helck was commissioned by the Sinclair Oil Company to produce a large-format road map. This map did much to build Sinclair's reputation and to promote driving for pleasure.

His compositions became more well-known, he also successfully pursued a path in commercial work, becoming an acknowledged expert in the portrayal of industrial subjects and machinery. Among others, his advertising work included Packard, TWA, Caterpillar Tractor, Sinclair Oil, GE, Mack Trucks, Alcoa, and Republic Steel. Perhaps his most famous US series was with the Chevrolet truck division of General Motors in the 1950s. His work made him a first-rate salesman, too. The details of these paintings placed the viewer within the scene and suggested Chevrolet was apparently the only truck manufactured. One source of his realism was that he painted on location, not from photographs. Though he obviously combined various subjects for a completed utopian painting.

The P-51 of Pens

The Parker Pen Company was an American-British manufacturer of luxury pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin. Parker received a patent on his "Lucky Curve" fountain pen feed in 1894. The company's first successful pen was the 1899 Parker Jointless. The Lucky Curve feed was used in various forms until 1928. Like other products of the World War II generation, the Parker "51" was associated with the North American Mustang P-51. The company's headquarters moved to England in 1986. As of 2011, headquarters were again moved to France. Check out Parker's brief history here.