The motor car . . . alluring and fascinating in its magic powers of carrying us so quickly in the wake of our wishes . . . the typical recreation of a restless age. A. B. Filson Young, The Complete Motorist, 1905. From its beginnings, automobile art proclaimed the freedom and adventure, which were offered by the motor car. The mythic qualities of the open road allowed city dwellers access to the wilds of Nature. Rustic scenes and relic places awaited “rediscovery” and exploration through the magic of the modern motor car [1]. Inspired by such adventurously romantic imagery, the American road map soon took form. Their cover designs waxed nostalgic. For the growing numbers of urbanites, the illustrations offered a return to bucolic roots by way of a drive through the countryside, made more compelling by verse [2]: Wander-Thirst – And come I may, But go I must, And if men ask you why, You may put the blame On the star and the sun, And the white road and the sky. Gerald Gould On the other hand, many covers, such as this rare Go-Gas example, stressed the sheer excitement of modern day travel. The checkerboard design and simulated lights in the logo, as well as real lights that surrounded the early box-like stations, are suggestive of Coney Island. The design is intended to stimulate as well as attract the traveler [3].
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Gervais, Paul. L'Effron.
From: A. B. Filson Young
The Complete Motorist, 1905.
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Wells, O. M., compiler.
Tydol Trails: Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
New York: Conwell Graphic Companies for Tide Water Oil Sales Corporation, 1926.
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The Roads that Lead to the Checker Marked Go-Gas Service Stations on the Motor Routes of Connecticut and Vicinity.
Chicago: Rand McNally and Company for The Go-Gas Company,1923
