One of the most popular features to recently appear in Old Cars was a July 23 story featuring period photos from the original European concours d’elegance events held during the 1930s. Many readers asked for more, and so we present this latest selection.
Since most concours events were canceled for 2020, we hope these images help fill some of what was lost last year. Perhaps they will also build anticipation for the possible return of such events in 2021.
A stunning Delage that appears to have the fastback Aerosport coachwork by Letourneur et Marchand built on some D8 and D6 chassis. The unidentified woman with the Delage is pictured at the Bois De Boulogne concours on June 9, 1938. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
A Bugatti Type 46 with coachwork by Gaston Grummer that Americans would call a victoria coupe. The low angle of this image belies the car’s long and low profile, which was further emphasized by its rear trunk and dual rear spares. The Bugatti is pictured here at a concours in Paris around 1930. It is known to have been awarded the Trophee International de l’Elegance Feminine at a concours in Nice, France, that year. Identified as chassis 46405, this Bugatti still occasionally appears on the concours circuit. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
The wife of jeweler Louis Arpels was awarded the Honor Prize for her Delahaye drophead’s elegance at a concours in Paris, France, during 1937. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
Countess Bernard D Oncieu De Chaifardon with her Type 57 Bugatti at Bois De Boulogne, France, during June 1939. The car wears Galibier coachwork, a name applied by Bugatti to its Type 57 sedans. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Image
Miss Burney Nino wears garb almost as flamboyant as the Figoni et Falaschi-bodied Talbot-Lago T-150C SS teardrop coupe she’s posed against at the Bois De Boulogne in Paris on June 9, 1939. Note the car’s white tires, a very rare sight by the 1930s. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
In 1937, Andre Bith had the Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix chassis once raced by famous driver Louis Chiron fitted by Louis Dubos with a Bugatti Atlantic-type body. The car then appeared on rallys and the concours circuit. It is pictured here with Miss Lucette Joussy at a concours at Bois de Boulogne, France, in June 1938. Getty Images
An unidentified automotive contestant at the concours d’elegance in le Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France, in 1931. Is it a Talbot roadster? An Alvis? Readers? Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
A stunning Delage drophead coupe and an unidentified madame at a concours d’elegance during the Hippique des Artistes Day at the Tremblay racecourse in Champigny-sur-Marne in Val-de-Marne, France, on June 17, 1936. The Delage may be a D8 with coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi or Henri Chapron. Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Another shot from the 1936 automotive elegance competition during the Hippique des Artistes Day in France. This image shows an American representation from the likes of LaSalle, Cadillac’s lower-priced but innovative and equally trendsetting companion marque. Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
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