SUPER RARE XL VINTAGE MICHELIN MOTORCYCLE TIRE PORCELAIN SERVICE STATION SIGN 15”x12”
Posted by PETER PORZELACK on
RARE XL VINTAGE MICHELIN MOTORCYCLE TIRE PORCELAIN SERVICE STATION SIGN 15”x12” THIS IS A RARE INVESTMENT IN CAR MEMORABILIA.
A SIGN EXACTLY LIKE THIS WAS IN THE US FOR $2500 SO THIS IS A BARGAIN
Bibendum, commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tyre Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tyre company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tyres, the mascot was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 where the Michelin brothers had a stand,and is one of the world's oldest trademarks. The slogan Nunc est bibendum (Now is the time to drink) is taken from Horace's Odes (book I, ode xxxvii, line 1). He is also referred to as Bib or Bibelobis.
Michelin dominated the French tyre industry for decades and remains a leading player in the market. It was one of the leading advertisers; to this day its famous guide books are widely used by travellers. Bibendum was depicted visually as a lord of industry, a master of all he surveyed, and a patriotic exponent of the French spirit. In the 1920s, Bibendum urged Frenchmen to adopt America's superior factory system, but to patriotically avoid using the "inferior" products of those factories. As automobiles became available to the middle classes, Michelin advertising likewise shifted downscale, and its restaurant and hotel guides likewise covered a broader range of price categories.
8 FACTS ABOUT THE MICHELIN MAN
1. In his early days, Bibendum looked completely different.
In the early days, Bibendum was depicted as a gladiator, a kick boxer, a nimble ballroom dancer in the Italian market, and even a pleasure-seeking ladies' man who took to beer and cigars—the latter a touch added in an attempt to appeal to the wealthy upper-class folks who then had the money to purchase a car.
But in the 1920s, he toned down and took on a more refined, family-friendly image: he quit alcohol, stopped smoking, and even started taking up sports (he's seen running and riding a bicycle while casually flinging tires like frisbees in several ads), shedding plenty of weight and looking more muscular than ever. In a poster from the early 1900s, he is even pictured assisting a family with a flat tire by donating the biggest, choicest tire from his own mid-section, as a blue sky shows through the hole left in his abdomen. Awww.
Prior to 1912, tires were either grey-white or had a light translucent beige hue. Carbon was subsequently added to the rubber formula as a preservative and a strengthener.
Bibendum got his first—and only—speaking engagement in December of 1898 at a Paris cycle show: André Michelin had commissioned a large cardboard cutout of him to be set up at the Michelin booth, and instructed a cabaret comedian to crouch behind to provide animated banter. According to historic records, André had specified that he wanted someone with "perfect elocution," "keen repartee," and "wit without vulgarity.” The spectacle was said to have attracted such a large crowd that pushing and shoving ensued, and the police had to be called in to restore order.
From the early 2000s, however, when Bibendum's commercials were everywhere, he preferred to stay mum. This was a deliberate decision made by advertising agency, Campbell-Ewald. "His silence is an artistic choice... he's the strong, silent type,” said the agency's creative director, John Stewart.
When MICHELIN launched an Italian travel magazine in 1907, Bibendum was given a regular column to pen his thoughts. In an article, he reported on a Ball of Nations he had attended, and praised ladies representing various cultures, with a particular fondness for Italy: "Oh you sublime Madonna, Rome's destiny, accept my homage, you whose eyes shine with the splendors of the Renaissance."
Creator Eileen Gray crafted a plush, comfortable seat known as the Bibendum chair in the 1900s and it is still widely recognized today as one of the 20th century's most distinct furniture designs.
Opened in 1986, Bibendum Restaurant and Oyster Bar in London's Fulham neighborhood is a joint project by prominent British restaurateurs Sir Terence Conran and Lord Paul Hamlyn. The two men acquired the unit within the Michelin House, a specially commissioned art deco building that served as MICHELIN’s headquarters from 1911 until the company relocated in 1985.
The front of the building was originally a tire-fitting bay for passing motorists, and restaurant diners today are still greeted by mosaic floor tiles showing Bibendum holding a goblet of nuts, bolts and other hazards, as well as a dramatic backdrop of stained glass windows portraying him as a kickboxer and a cigar-puffing cyclist. Unsurprisingly, the restaurant is listed in the MICHELIN Guide UK's 2016 edition.
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