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John L. Jacobus |
The Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild
was a national auto design competition sponsored
by the Fisher Body Division of General Motors.
This competition was for teenagers to compete
for college scholarships by designing and building
scale model "dream" cars. Held from
the 1930s through the 1960s, it helped identify
and nurture a whole generation of designers and
design executives.
This richly illustrated book presents the history
of the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild, from its
inception as a philanthropic project by the Fisher
family during the Great Depression, to its expansion
overseas, and finally to its end in 1968. Many
former participants in this famous model building
and design competition share their memories and
photographs of their models, some of which are
startlingly inventive even when viewed today.
Among those designers and design executives who
participated in the Guild are Virgil M. Exner,
Jr., Charles M. Jordan, Robert W. Henderson, Robert
A. Cadaret, Richard Arbib, Elia 'Russ' Russinoff,
Galen Wickersham, Ronald C. Hill, Edward F. Taylor,
George R. Chartier, Charles W. Pelly, Gary Graham,
Charles A. Gibilterra, E. Arthur Russell, William
A. Moore, Terry R. Henline, Paul Tatseos, Allen
T. Weideman, Kenneth J. Dowd, Stuart Shuster,
John M. Mellberg, Harry E. Schoepf, and Ronald
J. Will. The book also describes many aspects
of the miniature model Napoleonic Coach and other
scale model cars the students designed.
About the Author
Retired automobile safety engineer John
L. Jacobus lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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