A series of victories in the Glidden Tours of the early years of the industry placed Pierce-Arrow in the front rank of the world's finest automobile, a position which it had maintained in the early days. The Pierce-Arrow Motor car company was a universally first rank company in the field of fine motor cars.
The backbone of the Pierce-Arrow manufacturing staff was comprised of men who had devoted ten, fifteen, and twenty years to precision workmanship. In some cases, some men devoted up to twenty-five years to Pierce-Arrow.
The Pierce-Arrow motor car company used Calkins & Holden of New York City for its catalog illustrations and magazine advertising. The magazine was a powerful advertising medium for most companies since this was before the television era. There were several talented artists during that time who were directly involved with Pierce-Arrow illustrations such as Mr. Simon Werner and Mr. Adolph Treildler.
The fine advertising of Pierce-Arrow was often displayed on the back or the inside cover of magazines since these were often the only pages printed in color. The subject of the automotive illustrations typically showed the social elite going about their daily business and activity.
A special thanks to Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher, for donating his story to the MotorCities Story of the Week program. Please do not use any images without the permission of MotorCities National Heritage or Robert Tate. For further information contact Robert Tate at btate@motorcities.org
If you have a story that you would like to donate to be featured as a MotorCities Story of the Week, email Lisa Ambriez at: lambriez@motorcities.org