Friends' Gallery Picture of the Month - July 2021

[Mike Costigan]

  1934 Pearl cabriolet.JPG (Size: 119.81 KB / Downloads: 236)

The first public sighting of the new Pearl cabriolet was on stand 108 at the 1934 Olympia Motor Show in October 1934. The Seven was represented by the £120 Ruby and the £128 Pearl.

[JonE]

interesting that they held up the gently moving screen at the back, but didn't have enough hands to move the bike!
What is the black shadow/item in the rear, looking like collapsed headlining - would that be a tonneau?

[Nick Lettington]

... What is the black shadow/item in the rear, looking like collapsed headlining - would that be a tonneau?

Interesting. I didn't know "ugly glass" was available on Austins back then. (That's tinted glass in the rear to hide your ugly children if you were wondering)

[Mike Costigan]

The sheet is held up to provide a uniform white background so that the image can be 'cut out' for publications - the bicycle would present no problem in that process.

I'm not sure about the black 'shadow', but if you look at the reflections in the front window, I suspect it's a continuation of that, although it seems strange there are no further reflections in the back window.

[Tony Griffiths]

interesting that they held up the gently moving screen at the back, but didn't have enough hands to move the bike!
What is the black shadow/item in the rear, looking like collapsed headlining - would that be a tonneau?

The sheet being waved was to enable the art department to "cut out", the image and then past it - in various forms - into adverts, etc. It was common to project the original image onto a very large sheet of photographic paper (often pinned to a wall) print that out and work on it adding highlights and the usual dwarf occupants, etc. That modified large image was then photographed and used as required. It was also possible, to the great confusion of later researchers, to add any minor modifications and updates made in production - all without having to repeat the photographic work. Like this, only better (the artists in the publicity department would spend hours on the job).