Willys Knight - Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The American Treasure Tour bloggers welcome the opportunity to respond to the requests of our fans.  As you know, we like to highlight different pieces in our collection each day.  Recently, our focus has been on celebrity head shots and the records in the Music Room.  Today, we are going to meander across the hall to the Toy Box and discuss the automobile advertisements hanging in our Toy Box.

We wish we could have every single car advertised on the walls of the Toy Box alongside the cars we actually do have.  Unfortunately, it would more than double our occupancy.  Although we are already 100,000 square feet, we just wouldn't have the space. So, we will take what we can, and show off our advertisement for the Willys-Knight Six, located right next to our 1929 Whippet, produced right around the same time this beautiful luxury vehicle would have been available - new for the (very practical!) price of $1,145!  Advertisements like this would have been found in popular magazines of the day, and now prove to be collectible in and of themselves.

QUESTION:  Willys helped develop and produce Jeeps for the United States government, starting in the 1930s. What other car production company worked closely with Willys to this end?
A)  Porter
B)  Bantam
C)  Pierce-Arrow
D)  Franklin

COUNTRY TORN ASUNDER.  With the sesquicentennial (150 years) of the Civil War coming to an end this Spring, we here at the American Treasure Tour thought we would celebrate an odd anniversary not too many people know about:  it was today in 1861, when the United States Congress promised they would in no way interfere with the practice of slavery ever in any state.  Of course, that promise didn't prove enough to keep the southern states from seceding from the nation, and fortunately, Congress did not keep that promise after violence began in Fort Sumter, South Carolina.  

DON'T CALL ME SHIRLEY.  Most everyone enjoys movies, and they have their favorites.  Here at the ATT blog, one of our favorites is Airplane!  It is a near-perfect blend of satire, slapstick and any other humor you can think of.  Part of its great success (we feel) is the casting, including that of Leslie Nielsen, whose career as a dramatic actor seemingly led him directly to comedy.  We happily acknowledge his birthday today.  Born in 1926, Nielsen started acting on television in the late-40s, in the dawn of the new technology, and continued until close to his passing in 2010.  Thank you for making us laugh, Mr. Nielsen!

QUOTE:  I really have to keep an eye on myself, because sometimes I think I might say something important. - Leslie Nielsen

ANSWER:  B)  Bantam.