Aesthetic Appeal

Most early automobiles were open to the elements, without roof or windshield, like the 1911 Stevens-Duryea model pictured in this ad (top). Note the goggles on the cap of the man driving. Women could veil their faces in such open-air driving, but as the Pears Soap ad (bottom) from the same year indicates, the delicate complexions of refined ladies were thought to need extra protection from the wind.

Images from the Collections of the The Henry Ford 1) Ladies Home Journal May 1, 1911 and 2) Life V. 58 No. 1515 Nov. 2, 1911.

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