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Cadillac and La Salle Insignia

 

La Salle insignia


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FRFLAG.JPG (773 bytes)
(le résumé en français se trouve en bas de page)

 

La Salle Miscellaneous Insignia

I guess that growing automobile traffic and related safety issues had something to do with the demise of the hood ornament.  Indeed, who would have enjoyed being impaled on the sharply-pointed beak of a Heron hood mascot or on the speeding bullet of the one mounted atop the 1940 La Salle ?!?!

 

Hood mascots

1. A cast figurine representing Sieur Rene Robert Cavelier De La Salle, the French explorer, who gave his name to Cadillac's lesser marque, was used on the early La Salle models, up to 1932. That mascot, like the Cadillac trumpet tooter, was available from accessory houses in the late twenties and early thirties. La Salle was an adventurer and explorer of the Mississippi; the mascot shows him standing beside a campfire with the tools of his adventuresome trade, including an axe and a broken canoe paddle, from the days when he regularly got lost in Canada's frozen north while looking for a direct route south, to the great Missouri and Mississippi rivers.  The statuette is marked Cadillac Motor Car Co. Des Pat. 1927;   it is made of nickel-plated pewter. This is a patented design by E.E. Burr (#74168 of January 3, 1928).

 

Msct_las.jpg (4800 bytes)

lasman.jpg (5056 bytes)    lasman2.jpg (3178 bytes)    LASMSCT.JPG (4061 bytes)
Left and right you can make out the camp fire;  center (from rear), the broken canoe paddle

 

 

2. From 1930 to 1932 the Cadillac "Heron" ornament was commonly use. That long, slender neck was extremely delicate. Finding one today in fine condition is rare; often you will see necks that are bent or repaired.

 

msct3233.jpg (3386 bytes)    msct32he.jpg (2740 bytes)     HeronL.jpg (2964 bytes)   
Th
is delicate Heron mascot used on both Cadillac and La Salle
cars  from 1930 to 1932 (the one in the center, has been repaired)

 

 

3. From 1933 to 1940 the La Salle models featured a  torpedo hood mascot (also known as the bird in flight or the bullet).  It was perfectly suited to the modern, flowing styling of the car.

 

33ornls.jpg (3580 bytes)
The 1933 La Salle torpedo was part #877650 and cost $10

 


4. From 1934 to 1936, the torpedo remained basically unchanged in its general shape, although minor modifications were made to the base. The Master Parts List (MPL) gives the following part number for the years 1934 to 1936

 

LSMSC36.JPG (4662 bytes)
Part  #1405356  cost $13.75

 

 

5. 1937 La Salle models had their own torpedo although it remained very similar in design to the torpedo of the previous three years. The Part number is : 1420945.

 

LS37MSCT.JPG (2079 bytes)
Part  #1420945  cost $13.75
[ better image needed ]

 

 

6.  In 1938 again, some minor changes were wrought to the general design and the torpedo ornament again got a different number: #1425131

 

msct38ls.jpg (4813 bytes)
Part  #1425131 cost $13.75
[
photo,  © 1999, Yann Saunders ]

 


7. The final La Salles for 1939 and 1940 bore a similar mascot to previous years but its aerodynamic properties were even more pronounced. The part number is: 1433097

 

msct39ls.jpg (7826 bytes)
Part  #1405356  cost $10.25
[ P
hoto, La Salle  product catalog ]

 


Hood, radiator grille and trunk emblems

 

Laslogo.jpg (6709 bytes)

las_embl.jpg (9323 bytes)
These two artist's views show the early, winged La Salle emblem;
the crest is that of René Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, a French explorer

 

 

 

 

Crslas31.jpg (6284 bytes)    em28las.JPG (6483 bytes)
1927-28 grille badge

LASEMB.JPG (6875 bytes)
Radiator grille badge, 1932

 40lasemb.jpg (6739 bytes)
Radiator grille badge, 1933

em33lstk.jpg (5922 bytes)
Trunk emblem off a 1933 La Salle

emls30s.jpg (3058 bytes)
I believe this unidentified radiator badge
(in poor condition) is from the thirties (1934-35???)

em34lsgr.jpg (4682 bytes)
Grille emblem from a 1934 model

emb37ls.jpg (6438 bytes)
Radiator grille badge, 1935-36 ???

Emb37ls.jpg (5246 bytes)
1937 LaSalle grille badge (in need of restoration)

em40ls2.jpg (6879 bytes)
Radiator grille badge, 1940

Emlstrk.jpg (5128 bytes)
1940 La Salle trunk emblem
[the 1939 Cadillac trunk emblem was similar, but featured a Cadillac crest]

 

 

Wheel cover emblems

 

1 lsmissng.JPG (50421 bytes)    2 lsmissng.JPG (50421 bytes)   3 lsmissng.JPG (50421 bytes)
[ missing some images:  1927, 1928, 1929]

4 WCAP29LS.JPG (3305 bytes)   5 WC30LAS.JPG (3990 bytes)   6 WCAP32LS.JPG (4933 bytes)   7 WC32LS.JPG (4973 bytes)
4.  1929 La Salle hub cap;  5.  1930 La Salle hub cap in less than perfect condition;
6.  Beautiful, original 1931 hub cap;  7.   1932 La Salle hub cap in equally beautiful condition

crs_las.jpg (3581 bytes)
Wheel cover medallion for 1930 La Salle

8 WCAP33LS.JPG (4324 bytes)  9 WC34LS.JPG (3278 bytes) 10 WC34SPAR.JPG (3727 bytes)
8.  1933;  9.  1934, with name in block letters;  10. Spare wheel hub cap for 1934 La Salle
[ Photo #9: © 2002,  J. Scott Harris ]

11 WC36LS.JPG (2577 bytes) 12 wcap38ls.jpg (5022 bytes) 13 WCLS40.JPG (3705 bytes)
11.  1936, with name in script (this one badly in need of chrome!);
  12.  1937-39 [???] (this is the full cover version, seen on a 1938 model
13.  1940 (looks the same)

 

 

Horn Buttons

 

Hb36lssv.jpg (3147 bytes)    hb37ls.JPG (3664 bytes)    HBLS.JPG (2703 bytes)
1936, 1937, 1938 (?)  and 1940 La Salle horn buttons
[ Photo of the 1940  button, courtesy Frank De Cou ]

40ls_hb.JPG (3395 bytes)
Close up of crest on
1940 LaSalle horn button

 

 

 

FRFLAG.JPG (773 bytes)
(résumé en français)

Cette page est consacrée aux emblèmes et figurines de proue que l'on peut admirer sur les automobiles de la marque La Salle, fabriquées par la firme Cadillac de 1927 à 1940.

 

 

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© 1996, Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image:  superimposed Cadillac and La Salle emblems, 1929 ]