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First row, first image: Courtesy: Craig Semple / March 27, 2003
First row, second and third images: Courtesy: Jeff Miller / June, 2001
First row, fourth image: Courtesy: Daren Beal / April 28, 2004
Second row: Courtesy: Bruce Bristow / December 23, 2002. Bruce owns several Type 220a sedans, so these period advertisements naturally focus on that model.
Third and forth rows: Various Mercedes-Benz Ponton advertisements of unknown, anonymous or forgotten sources. Several are from the German magazine Der Spiegel, (various dates in 1955) while others are from France and Belgium. In the early 1960s, when the advertising world began utilizing more photography, an entire industry of commercial artists (people who made their daily bread as illustrators) became displaced. Note that each of these images has a distinct style, depending on the individual artist. The advertisement at the far right end of the row above is an early example of how photography was used to depict the product.
The advertisement at the left end of the bottom row is from a June 8, 1955 Der Spiegel magazine illustrating the Mercedes-Benz Type 180D Ponton sedan with a full compliment of passengers making their way to a social gathering of some sort. The emphasis is on the economies of the diesel passenger car.1 The male figure in the back seat appears to be in the process of lighting a cigarette, thus revealing something interesting about the contemporary culture of the Ponton era. Take some time to examine the other Mercedes-Benz Ponton advertisements and discover what you can learn about 1950s style and culture and try to determine if anything has changed in the last 50 years!
Fifth row, first image: Courtesy: Joe Alexander / December 2, 2006
Fifth row, second image: 300SL (W194) victory poster / painting by Hans Liska
Fifth row, third image: 300SL (W194) victory poster / painting by Hans Liska
Fifth row, fourth image: 1960 East African Safari Rallye / November 23, 2008
Fifth row, fifth image: 1958 Type 219 220S / November 23, 2008
Fifth row, sixth image: Courtesy: Jeff Miller / September 4, 2010 / This advertisement appears on the back cover of Motoring Through Europe - a collection of maps and tourist destinations designed for the 1950s motorist.
The following advertisements were from Ray Ilich's collection, and were originally featured in National Geographic magazine.
Type 220S Sedan |
Type 220S Cabriolet |
Type 300SL Cabriolet |
Type 190SL Cabriolet |
Type 300d Limousine |
Type 300d Limousine |
Footnotes:
1 Daimler-Benz was the first automobile manufacturer to offer a diesel passenger car in 1936 with the Mercedes-Benz Type 260D sedan. Learn more about diesel engines.
