How to Identify a 1950s Hood Ornament

Look for characteristic traits to identify vintage hood ornaments

Hood ornaments are considered to be a "cross-over collectible," meaning it falls in two categories. It is both a classic car collectible and Americana, because it pertains to a period when symbolism in advertising was paramount. A snazzy hood ornament was part of the appeal of a car, often designed to reflect the popular styles of an era, such as figural shapes from the Art Deco period during the 1950s.

Things You'll Need

• Vintage car manuals
• Vintage hood ornament guidebooks

Instructions

1. Consider the technology behind the ornament to try and date the piece, when examining. The 1930s was a time when locomotives were the mainstay in transportation and technology. Check to see if the hood ornament is shaped like a train.

2. Don't mix up eras when trying to evaluate the time period when an ornament was made. The 1940s were close after the train ornaments. Look for airplanes, torpedo shapes or anything gun-related to date a hood ornament from this era. Examine both rocket and jet aircraft hood ornaments, for similar design and make. These types of hood ornaments both came out in the 1950s.

3. Look up different car manufacturers in old catalog books, or car manuals. Go to local libraries and look in vintage hood ornament collectible guides for car ornaments by make. Go to estate sales, garage sales, or antique stores to search for vintage hood ornaments. Familiarize yourself with research on what to look for.

4. Search for lady hood ornaments with back outstretched wings or flowing hair. These ornaments were found on Chrysler, Buick's and Cadillac's in the 1920's and early 1930's. Don't discount the other forms of ornaments, such as technological ones like trains and rockets, for Buick also made these too at the later dates.

5. Look for highly stylized hood ornaments, such as winged women leaping forward holding a horse tail. These were old Chevrolet hood ornaments. Chevy also used other animals as ornaments, including stylized eagles or combines themes, like eagles with locomotives.

6. Search for highly unusual hood ornaments, such as the Desoto 1920's car hood ornaments with head in armor or a 1950s image of Hernando de Soto. The Spanish explorer was a popular theme found in art works during this time period, but somewhat unusual for a car ornament considering that technology, animals, and the female form were the norm.

References

• DoItYourselfHotRodKustom: Identifying Hood Ornaments