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Details
AUTOMOBILE DESIGN (c.1954-c.1955)
A quantity of documentation relating to automobile design, to include (a) a brown-paper Folio #6, containing approx 6 photographs of the Osca 1100 racing car (c.1954), three of the photographs being modified with ink and white paint, two of the photographs with sketches to the reverse, together with a further approx 4 photographs of chassis diagrams for another vehicle; (b) a blueprint for a small Agip van, depicting aerial and side elevations, with hand-coloured ¾ perspective, dated 8/12/55, later glazed and framed; (c) a crayon and ink sketch of the interior of the Nube d'Argento autobus designed for AGIP, inscribed to top left corner 2. USI Domestici, now within later glazed frame; (d) a brown-paper Folio #17 Autopullman Publicitario Agip e 5 altri Automezzi Pubblicitari (c.1954), the cover with three pasted contact prints of the Nube d'Argent autobus, and containing a photostat diagram of the same autobus; (e) a modern reprinted photograph of the Nube d'Argento autobus within glazed frame; and (f) a brown-paper Folio #24 Autodromo di Torino (c.1955) containing photostat plans of an automobile racetrack (latter two items not illustrated)
24in.(61cm.) x 18in.(47.5cm.) AGIP van, framed
11½in.(30cm.) x 7in.(18cm.) cartoon Nube d'Argento autobus, 17¼in.(44cm.) x 12¾in.(32.5cm.) incl. frame (6)
A quantity of documentation relating to automobile design, to include (a) a brown-paper Folio #6, containing approx 6 photographs of the Osca 1100 racing car (c.1954), three of the photographs being modified with ink and white paint, two of the photographs with sketches to the reverse, together with a further approx 4 photographs of chassis diagrams for another vehicle; (b) a blueprint for a small Agip van, depicting aerial and side elevations, with hand-coloured ¾ perspective, dated 8/12/55, later glazed and framed; (c) a crayon and ink sketch of the interior of the Nube d'Argento autobus designed for AGIP, inscribed to top left corner 2. USI Domestici, now within later glazed frame; (d) a brown-paper Folio #17 Autopullman Publicitario Agip e 5 altri Automezzi Pubblicitari (c.1954), the cover with three pasted contact prints of the Nube d'Argent autobus, and containing a photostat diagram of the same autobus; (e) a modern reprinted photograph of the Nube d'Argento autobus within glazed frame; and (f) a brown-paper Folio #24 Autodromo di Torino (c.1955) containing photostat plans of an automobile racetrack (latter two items not illustrated)
24in.(61cm.) x 18in.(47.5cm.) AGIP van, framed
11½in.(30cm.) x 7in.(18cm.) cartoon Nube d'Argento autobus, 17¼in.(44cm.) x 12¾in.(32.5cm.) incl. frame (6)
Literature
Carlo Mollino: Architecture as Autobiography, Brino, T&H, London, 1987, p.22
Carlo Mollino: Cronaca, Ferrari, SAN, Turin, 1985, pl.49-51
Carlo Mollino: Cronaca, Ferrari, SAN, Turin, 1985, pl.49-51
Special notice
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Further details
In the tradition of the Futurists, and notably the poet Marinetti whose famous advocation that the roar of machinery was more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace, Carlo Mollino too found passion in the perilous sensations of speed. Mollino's technical background and enthusiasm for speed, beit on ski-slopes, in aircraft or otherwise, ensured that automobile design would provide a natural and easy distraction. Car-racing, furthermore, was a typically Turinese sport, and throughout the 1950s Mollino participated in a number of international competitions, including the Le Mans 24-hour race, his car equipped with prototypes of body and mechanical modifications that he had designed. The Osca 1100 was one of two important designs for racing cars undertaken in the 1950s. The aerodynamic bodywork, lacking radiator grille and with flush-fitting hubcaps, was in direct contrast to other competition vehicles, and proceeded to claim first position in its class at the Le Mans 24-hour race. Mollino's interest in car racing had direct ties with his architectural projects, which included display stands and the Nube d'Argento promotional autobus for Agipgas, public-transport stations, the Turin racetrack, and several 'drive-in' architectural projects.