Bert Blair, America’s Famous Motor Girl, IIRC

[KenAACA]

She billed herself as Bert Blair, America’s Famous Motor Girl, IIRC. She was planning an Around the World tour by automobile in 1925. Whether or not she completed that trip is unknown. She received a .38 Military and Police pistol from Smith & Wesson for protection (and promotion of Smith and Wesson) on her trip. Bert Blair was also her screen name; the movie she mentions in her correspondence is the original “Sign of the Zodiac.”  She worked for Minerva Film Company which suffered a major fire and disappeared in 1929. She is not currently listed in the IMDB (International Movie Data Base) or found with online searches. Do you recall Bert Blair from the 1920s? Thank you!

 

Edited November 18, 2016 by KenAACA
Better photo (see edit history)

[JACK M]

To bad there is no pic of her posing with the gun.

Edited November 18, 2016 by JACK M (see edit history)

[capngrog]

I've never heard of Bert Blair, " America’s Famous Motor Girl, IIRC.", and I certainly don't know what an IIRC is.  What is an IIRC?  That appears to be a Luxor Cab/Automobile in the background, but I have no idea what the trophy is for.

 

Here is a photo of a Luxor Automobile:

 

Luxor
Luxor Cab Company
1924-1927

1925 Luxor Sedan Taxi

 

According to Google, Luxor was a cab company that also produced cars.  I otherwise know nothing about them.

 

Cheers,

Grog

[kgreen]

IIRC = if i recall correctly.  

[JACK M]

C,mon Grog, a guy has to keep up with the modern lingo.....

I had to think on that one myself.

[KenAACA]

Bert Blair, America’s Famous Motor Girl, is written in the lower left portion of the photo. I have a lot of correspondence between Bert Blair and Smith & Wesson, nothing on the actual road trip though, and nothing attributed to her title as America's Famous Motor Girl!. 

[KenAACA]

IIRC appears to be a certification or credential, just Internet slang in this case, unless that was something a hundred years ago!

[KenAACA]

There's no information on the movie in the IMDB (International Movie Data Base). I sent a request to the IMDB forum for any information; not found with online searches either, not even Wikipedia. Bert Blair seemed to be on the verge of being famous; whether she did the road trip or the movie is unknown.

[KenAACA]

She states in her April 19, 1924 correspondence that she was working on the movie “Sign of the Zodiac” for the Minerva Film Company and that she would take her wardrobe from the production for her trip around the world.

[KenAACA]

Whether any of her plans from 1924-1929 ever happened is unknown; by then the trip around the world by automobile was nothing new; the film may or may not have been completed and may have burned in the 1929 fire at the Minerva Film Company.

[KenAACA]

The Minerva Film Company was burned in 1929; the Minerva Film Corporation in Rome was burned in 1947. http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675024252_Fire_Minerva-Film-Corporation-studio_lift-raises-a-fireman_flames-in-a-window.

[KenAACA]

Her screen name was Bert Blair, and the movie she mentions is the original “Sign of the Zodiac.” She worked for the Minerva Film Company which suffered a major fire and disappeared in 1929. She also billed herself as Bert Blair, America’s Famous Motor Girl. She planned an Around the World tour by automobile in 1925. Whether or not she completed that trip is unknown. She received a Smith & Wesson .38 Military and Police revolver for protection (and promotion of Smith & Wesson) on her trip. She is not currently listed in the IMDb or found with online searches.

 

Then again, what is the likelihood of a young lady falling on hard times during the Silent Film era? With a film that was never released Bert Blair may have lacked the wardrobe (and finances) she had planned for her Around the World trip. We don't know who selected her as America’s Famous Motor Girl, maybe the Luxor Taxicab Company as seen in the photo, or the Tin Can Tourists of America, or Bert Blair herself, i.e., a publicity stunt. Right, she went to a trophy shop and ordered an enormous trophy for herself, almost as big as the Stanley Cup! Well, anything's possible.

 

All that for a Smith & Wesson .38 Military and Police pistol from Mr. W. F. Roper at Smith & Wesson. Other than the few bits of correspondence and the photo of Bert Blair she's virtually an unknown. For a person with ambition for celebrity and promotion Bert Blair has disappeared from the record. She may have a given name or something on record at Smith & Wesson, i.e., her publicity photo; that would reopen the search. "The Case of the Missing Starlet" is now on hold.

[KenAACA]

Bert Blair Bortell

Been almost 100 year and so little history on America’s Famous Motor Girl.

 

A friend has some of her memorabilia, except for her huge trophy!

 

Please see attached photo, and the active link below.

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90589640/bert-blair-bortell?fbclid=IwAR2AinFf2Z-wdeJcSzHphKPjGqcIuNXBMqypUbBGe78BBJIFjrHBNyuZHLM

[Guest]

Hey Ken,

your link to the Find a Grave site lists her children, both deceased, and a grand son who just passed away a few years ago. His next of kin are listed by name and location. I would think you might be able to contact any of them quite easily to find more onfo on Miss Blair.

Cheers, Greg

[58L-Y8]

On 11/18/2016 at 1:00 PM, capngrog said:

I've never heard of Bert Blair, " America’s Famous Motor Girl, IIRC.", and I certainly don't know what an IIRC is.  What is an IIRC?  That appears to be a Luxor Cab/Automobile in the background, but I have no idea what the trophy is for.

 

Here is a photo of a Luxor Automobile:

 

Luxor
Luxor Cab Company
1924-1927

1925 Luxor Sedan Taxi

 

According to Google, Luxor was a cab company that also produced cars.  I otherwise know nothing about them.

 

Cheers,

Grog

Here's everything you'd want to know about Luxor and its company background:

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/m/moller_mp/moller_mp.htm

[jeff_a]

Interesting story about this gal. There was a similar woman called Aloha Wanderwell at about the same time.

Just like military jargon(DoD, CO, PX, JANFU, FUBAR, etc.), IIRC is "If I Recall Correctly", similar to TTBOMK "To The Best Of My Knowledge".

https://time.com/4597965/aloha-wanderwell/

Edited November 15, 2020 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[padgett]

Also AFAIR as far as I recall. But I still prefer YWTK.

[Guest Mark McAlpine]

4 hours ago, jeff_a said:

Interesting story about this gal. There was a similar woman called Aloha Wanderwell at about the same time.

Just like military jargon(DoD, CO, PX, JANFU, FUBAR, etc.), IIRC is "If I Recall Correctly", similar to TTBOMK "To The Best Of My Knowledge".

https://time.com/4597965/aloha-wanderwell/

 

Then AACA President Chuck Crane gave a presentation on Aloha Wanderwell at the 2018 AACA Annual Convention in Philadelphia.  (First Lady June Crane organized several displays and presentations on women in automotive history, and Constance Smith was there to receive the Thomas McKean Memorial Cup award for her book "Damsels in Design.)  "Aloha" (Idris Galcia Hall, later Baker after her marriage to Walter Baker in 1933) was a very interesting woman who led an adventurous life.  Her grandson Richard Diamond graciously gave us permission to use photos from his website about his grandmother for the presentation in AACA.  Unfortunately, he was not able to come to Philadelphia himself to give his presentation--with luck he'll be able to come to a future AACA Annual Convention. 

 

Check out the website--https://www.alohawanderwell.com/.  (After exploring the website, you'll probably be enticed to buy & read the book like I was).