Hello all,
I have an interesting 1940 Cadillac and LaSalle color booklet. It is approximately 5"x 2" rectangular in a vinyl case that snaps on one end. The inside consists of 14 individual color cards with felt backings. Each color card has the "Combination #" for each color. Each card also lists the name of the color and the available wheel colors. Based on the color names, I know that it is for 1940. I have attached some photos.
Has anyone ever seen something like this before. My father gave it to me and said that it was rare. I've not seen another like it.
Any help would be appreciated,
Jeff Kay
CLC#7630
Jeff,
I've seen a lot of Cadillac literature, especially for the era you are talking about. I have never seen this item or seen it listed for sale. It might be worth checking with Yann Saunders as he has seen (and probably has) everything. But I'd say that this type of item is exceedingly rare.
John Emerson
1952 Cadillac Sedan 6219X
This is really interesting and I have never seen this before and I watch this era all the time. Making it double rare is an apparent error in naming the color at least the one in the last picture. This looks like combination 13 not 15. 13 is upper Chicory Green and lower Evergreen. Combination 15 is as stated on the label but they are clearly blues on the color chips not green.
I've only had a white with black outlined copy of what they did for 1941. They had a clear celluloid sheet with a black outlined picture of a 1941 Series 62 sedan. You could hold the various sheets of colors behind the top and beltline to see what a two toned (or single colored) car would actually look like with the actual colors.
What you have is equally as impressive. It really makes you want to go out and buy a car. Nice find.
Fantastic item.
Would there by any chance be a card showing the elusive Corsican Red or Cocoa Brown ?
Mo, Years ago I contacted DuPont and Rinshed-Mason to see if there were any chips still extant on the special colors. They didn't have anything. The closest I think we ever got to the 1941 spring colors was that a sales rep from R-M was the speaker at a banquet closing a North/South meet in CA in the 1960s. (Bob, were you there?)
Hollis Weihe told me once that he remembered four colors. Brava Brown (which shows up now and then on paint chip charts) an aquamarine, another Maroon, and "something else" from this talk. I have come to the conclusion that Cadillac may have made up about a dozen charts of the special color and upholstery samples for the major distributors and the factory showroom. Where (even one) has gotten to over the last 75 years is probably lost to time.
I can't remember now, but when I drove up to Gary, IN to check on that Brava Brown 60S and checked the cowl plate, the body # was (I think) too low to be a "spring" color. I think I was comparing it to mine which was shipped on 11/11/1940. And Brava Brown is listed as code 52 which is in the "low-middle" of the #s of colors for 1941. Right before Cavern Green which is 53. So if that makes any sense, Brava Brown was NOT a spring color. So I guess we'll have to "guess" what some of these colors looked like.
Quote from: Barry M Wheeler #2189 on December 30, 2017, 10:50:59 AM
Mo, Years ago I contacted DuPont and Rinshed-Mason to see if there were any chips still extant on the special colors. They didn't have anything. The closest I think we ever got to the 1941 spring colors was that a sales rep from R-M was the speaker at a banquet closing a North/South meet in CA in the 1960s. (Bob, were you there?)
Hollis Weihe told me once that he remembered four colors. Brava Brown (which shows up now and then on paint chip charts) an aquamarine, another Maroon, and "something else" from this talk. I have come to the conclusion that Cadillac may have made up about a dozen charts of the special color and upholstery samples for the major distributors and the factory showroom. Where (even one) has gotten to over the last 75 years is probably lost to time.
I can't remember now, but when I drove up to Gary, IN to check on that Brava Brown 60S and checked the cowl plate, the body # was (I think) too low to be a "spring" color. I think I was comparing it to mine which was shipped on 11/11/1940. And Brava Brown is listed as code 52 which is in the "low-middle" of the #s of colors for 1941. Right before Cavern Green which is 53. So if that makes any sense, Brava Brown was NOT a spring color. So I guess we'll have to "guess" what some of these colors looked like.
Very interesting, thanks. Yes guessing is the only option :)
Jeff,
Only once have I ever seen anything like what you have shown. From my notes, it was on eBay in 2004 and part of a set of 1940 paint chip and upholstery books offered by a vendor. I did not note who the vendor was (could have been Bob Johnson in Massachusetts; sadly, Bob is no longer with us) but I did keep copies of the photos (attached) just because I thought it was cool.
Jeff
I have the 1941 version, it's really great.