Chromeography

Chromeography

In praise of the chrome logos and lettering affixed to vintage automobiles and electric appliances — those unsung metal emblems and badges that are overlooked, forgotten, damaged, lost to time or the dump.

Is this kind of thing up your alley? Check out this short presentation and the exhibition in Berlin.

Under construction. Potholes common. Services minimal. Blame the management.

Best: photography, lettering, badges (overall design)

Color: white, black, gray, silver, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, beige

Era: 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s

Car Make: AMC, Alfa Romeo, Austin-Healey, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, Ford, Holden, Hudson, International, Jaguar, Karmann Ghia, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Mercedes, Mercury, MG, Morris, Oldsmobile, Packard, Plymouth, Pontiac, Porsche, Studebaker, Volvo, VW

Car Model: 88, 500, 3000, Apache, Bel Air, Camaro, Capri, Charger, Continental, Cougar, Corvette, Custom, Dart, Fairlane, Falcon, Fury, Galaxie, GT, Hornet, Impala, Mustang, Special, SS, V8

Not Car: bicycle, camera, espresso machine, fan, refrigerator, scooter, typewriter

Letter: A, B, H, M, S, V, Z

Lettering Style: romanscript, sans, serif, script, slab, swash | condensed, extended | baseline connection, underline | italic, left leaning

Motif: circle, crown, globe, lightning bolt, rocket, shield, wings

Shift: RSS | All | Random

Exit: Group | Twitter | Badges on eBay | Fonts (1880–1930) | Fonts (1930–70) | This site set in FF DIN Round.

Logo by Laura Serra.

Your ad here. Contact Chromeography for metrics and info.

Dodge Van (with hand-painted sign) by Grant Hutchinson

1970 Lancia Stratos Zero HF Prototype, designed by Bertone. Image via Modern Design. A daring car with a daring badge. Don’t have space for the kind of ‘S’ you want? Just rotate it 90°! Why the apostrophe, though?

1970 Lancia Stratos Zero HF Prototype, designed by Bertone. Image via Modern Design. A daring car with a daring badge. Don’t have space for the kind of ‘S’ you want? Just rotate it 90°! Why the apostrophe, though?

1956 Dodge Texan (Royal Lancer series) by Robert Strovers

1956 Dodge Texan (Royal Lancer series) by Robert Strovers

1959 Dodge Mayfair by John Hudson.

1959 Dodge Mayfair by John Hudson.

1956 Buick Century (Classic Cars)

1965 Chevrolet Corvair Monza by Stephen Coles

Biølseth camping trailer, Burfjord, Norway by Pieter van Rosmalen

Biølseth camping trailer, Burfjord, Norway by Pieter van Rosmalen

1909 White by R. Gust Smith

1909 White by R. Gust Smith

Dodge Colt (by Nicholas Felton)

Dodge Colt (by Nicholas Felton)

1965–73 International Harvester Farmall 656 by Bill Dunford

Streamliner 500, Model 151 slide projector (by Stephen Coles)

Streamliner 500, Model 151 slide projector (by Stephen Coles)

1960–78 Toyota Stout dashboard emblem by Garret Voight

1960–78 Toyota Stout dashboard emblem by Garret Voight

Hermes bicycle chain guard by Mark Fox, Stockholm (Norrmalm), 2016

Hermes bicycle chain guard by Mark Fox, Stockholm (Norrmalm), 2016

Photo by Richard Spiegelman

Photo by Richard Spiegelman

Photo by zbindch

1977 AMC Matador Barcelona (by Richard Spiegelman and zbindch.

Until the 1970s, most car badges used lettering, not type. The 1976–78 AMC Matador Barcelona may be an example of the latter, as the shapes appear to match Endowed Jones, a phototype bastardization of Times from around 1970.

Champion

1941 Studebaker Champion (by R. Gust Smith)