Bolide Automotive Ads

[Guest CharlesB1980]

Does anyone know anything about Bolide Automotive before I get this for the garage?  I've never heard of it but it would look good on the wall next to my other Euro advertisements. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152755344882

[dictator27]

French car produced 1899-1907.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Before you pay the seller's asking price of $150,

make sure this illustration isn't just a print.

I can't say for sure;  but the "Bolide 1900" script

at the bottom, as shown in the Ebay photos, makes me

wonder.

 

Consider the logic:  The seller guesses that this was

artwork done for one or two prototypes;  but he has

no proof whatsoever.  And if it really was made by a

company for their own internal use, for prototypes,

they wouldn't have to label their picture "Bolide 1900"

to remind themselves of what car they had!  And that script

doesn't look like a typeface common in 1900.

 

If a person saw the picture in person, he could get a better idea.

I think it may be just a print made around the 1960's, for hobbyists

of the time.  If that's the case, it has almost no value.

Edited October 25, 2017 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[trimacar]

Almost no value, as mentioned.  Look at the perspective of the print, not what a factory issued item would look like.

 

Ebay can be a seductive bit....uh, seductive website...

[Steve Moskowitz]

Here is my take, if you like it buy it!  It would cost you $150 to frame it at a frame shop anyway. One man's trash is another man's riches. What I have hanging in my garage and basement run from originals to run of the mill ads.  I put up things that speak to me. 

[60FlatTop]

Steve wrote the same thoughts I was having. I have a couple of pictures with frames that cost more than the art, if it is art.

 

I agree that it is probably a 1960's production, but it is French. That gives you opportunity to spout the famous quote: "In auto design, the French copy no one. And no one copies the French!"

 

I have always liked that quote. It is about the same age as that print. Maybe older, I wish I knew the source.

Bernie

[Spinneyhill]

The picture is a poster or print. You can see the double sided sticky tape showing through near the corners.

 

So what is the frame worth? $20?

[John_S_in_Penna]

Used picture frames aren't worth much.

It's amazing that even ornate, gilt frames from the 1800's

bring small prices.  So once a new custom $100 frame goes out of

the framing shop, it's garage-sale material worth just a few dollars.

 

The Ebay listing claims, "This framed artwork depicting a 1900 Bolide

automobile or carriage is one of a kind.  It is believed that this was

artwork done for one of two prototypes that never went into production

in Ohio, that shared the same name as an automobile manufacturer in France."

In the next sentence he says it's an advertisement.

 

Let's scrutinze this illustration better than the seller did:

---The expert reference book, "Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942,"

second edition, lists no Bolide car in America--in Ohio or anywhere.  If the

authors of that tome didn't know of it, would we believe an unknown seller?

---It's clearly an automobile, not a carriage:  There are no attachments for horses,

and carriages don't need vented hoods to release heat.  If the seller can't even

tell the difference between a car and a carriage, how can we rely on him to

tell us accurately the history of the Bolide company?

 

Charles, don't buy from such a seller.  Maybe he's not even being honest.

I think you're looking at a garage-sale piece worth pocket change at best.

Edited October 26, 2017 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

If you like it, buy it, I would.

 

The only things that would stop me would be having the $150 deny my Wife and kids groceries or if the stash of bail money in my dresser drawer was running low.

 

I would like to see a picture of the wall you want to put it on.

Bernie

[Spinneyhill]

Another thought. The sticky tape makes me think someone has framed a calendar picture at home!

[Craig Gillingham]

Personally, I think you'd be better off buying this one for 1 Euro, pay for the shipping and then have it framed.

 

https://www.todocoleccion.net/calendarios-antiguos/calendario-bolsillo-1970-blanc-i-negre-fotografia-tarrasa-motivo-bolide-1900~x45635316

[Spinneyhill]

Looks like the same calendar picture has been turned into a placemat!