Steve Suttle Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Now for something completely different:The photo shows Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford - at the time king and queen of Hollywood - with a brand new Model A Ford that Fairbanks got from Edsel Ford for Mary's 1927 Christmas present. The car has obvious AR features including open ended bumpers. According to Harrah's the engine number is A1154.At the time it was said this was the first Model A delivered, but many sources say that Will Rogers was driving all over SoCal in one a couple of weeks before the Fairbanks car was delivered.Two interesting things. First, you can see the Rolls Royce they probably came to the dealership in behind the Ford.Second, and this is the mystery, 1927 California license plates were maroon with white letters.This plate appears to be a light color with dark letters. The 1928 plates were dark blue with yellow letters. Again different.Given the high number, it is unlikely to be a dealer's plate. Anybody have any ideas about this license plate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) I don't think that's an open ended bumper. I see a black line against the tread and the ends seem to be rolled back wards.You've heard the popular saying, "Out of the original 200 open ended A bumpers, 800 have survived". The number 1154 would put it way past either number in the saying.Maybe Will Rogers had an "open ended". Edited August 18, 2012 by Dave Mellor NJ (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Suttle Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 Well, you may be right. Where you can see tire tread through the bumper bars, that might be a bolt, but I can't see the top of the bolt or the nutthat would be on the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Does not look like a California plate to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Suttle Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 Well, it is. Says 19 CALIFORNIA 27 right along the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Suttle Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 And in this second picture you can see the bolt through the ends of the bumper bars. I've always wondered if that top was black or some other darker material other than the light colored canvass most "restorers" use now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Well, it is. Says 19 CALIFORNIA 27 right along the bottom.[ATTACH=CONFIG]150210[/ATTACH]I see it now, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 In the second picture it looks like Mary's shining a spot off the hood with her sleeve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeffm495 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Hi folks- I live in CA and collect and research license plates- I have seen this phenomenon before.First- the year of the plate is not readily identifiable- to me anyway. But the color switch indicates to me that it's taken in 1928, really. Reason is that it was probably a color photo to begin with. These colors invert the darkness of blue and yellow when they are printed in black/white - I have seen this before with 1928 plate photos- it is the reversal done where the yellow turns dark and the blue background washes out and becomes lighter. Blue disappears in B/W. It's the reason blue pens are used in color graphics work- it disappears. Nothing in the text insists that the photo was taken right away as the car was new in 1927- I bet it was taken after January when the 1928 plates came out. The 1927 white on maroon does not do the same thing as the yellow on blue does - the white letters remain white, etc. If there is more provenance on the photo somewhere I could be mistaken, but that's my idea based on this view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpage Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 In '28 the top was a tan whipcord material. Whipcord has a different weave than the material used today. In '29 there were 4 optional top materials. The tan whip -cord, a dark brown and a light brown seal grain leather and a two- tone brown crossgrain leather. The business coupes used the black long short grain top material. Some business coupes were "gussied" up by installing landau irons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Suttle Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 Thanks, jeffm495 for the post.This photo was taken just before Christmas in 1927The last plate issued in 1927 is reportedly 1,457,883, which is pretty close to this one.The car was delivered as a surprise Christmas gift from Fairbanks to Pickford and was widely circulated in the press and by Ford Motor Co as the "first"Model A delivered, citing Pickford as "customer one." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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