From the archives of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in Little Rock, Ar, comes this holiday image on a post card.
Artists/Drawings Research Archives
The Wonderful Life of Wilbur the Jeep by Wilbur Schram
You might have seen one or another of these images illustrated by Normal Rockwell, but did you know there’s a story as well? Published in the January 29th, 1944, edition of the Saturday Evening Post, the story was written by Wilbur Schram, who went on to be called the “father of communication studies” in the United States. The story appears to be a fun, fictional tale of a jeep named Wilbur and his exploits. Unfortunately, I could not find any copy of the full text anywhere on the net.
Here is the best snapshot I found on Flickr about the article.
Here are closeups also found on Flickr
I Want a Rocking Jeep!
Alex spotted this illustration of a rocking jeep a long time ago. Thanks for sharing it. I think these would sell . . .
A Happy Father’s Day Drawing
A couple years ago, a son by the username korywayne created this for his father for father’s day. Pretty cool!
Baldo Ponders a Vehicle Purchase
Maggie’s grandmother spotted this funny cartoon. Note that she edited out the original vehicle model and superimposed “jeep” in its place.
According to Baldocomics.com, the strip is written by Hector Cantu and Carlos Castellanos and is about Baldo, “a daydreaming teenager who’s trying to be the coolest kid in school. In the meantime, he’ll settle for a good game of soccer and building the sweetest lowrider car. That’s the short answer. But Baldo is much more than that.”
A Picture of a Jeep on Rails
I can’t tell if this is a painting or drawing or if someone altered a photo in photoshop. Either way, it seemed appropriate to post given the posting above. I found the image at ozebook.com. This website has some great images, such as this coal fired sedan, these motorcycle ambulances, or this coal fired motorcycle.
Willys Tattoo
I’m not quite sure where this image originated, but it was the only ‘Willys Tattoo’ I could find when I did a search on it (for no particular reason other than curiosity). Everything is backwards, so I’m wondering if it was taken using a mirror.
Location of WWII Jeep Monument Kyiv, Ukraine
For quite sometime I have wondered where the below monument was located. I finally found out, from G503.com, where it is located. It is the Monument of Red Army WW2 drivers in Kyiv (Ukraine). Check out a variety of great pics from G503.com.
From G503 we can see the other side.
Cool Photo by Robert Wesley Stone
I found this great black and white shot of an MB taken by Robert Wesley Stone at Flickr.
Jean Luc & Toot Sweet
As a five year old in 1944 Belgium, you can only imagine that Jean Luc’s experience with soliders, jeeps and planes left a indelible landmark upon his imagination. During his life as a successful illustrator, you can see him revisit that landmark many times over in his drawings. You can read a brief biography of Jean Luc here (click on the biography link) and view some of his amazing work.
Below is an image of Jean Luc’s 2010 Christmas Card. It features an image of him as a boy leaning up against ‘Toot Sweet”, his 1942 GPW which he still drives around the L.A. Area. Recently, Jean Luc got a taste of how few old jeeps are seen by kids these days. He was “driving my GPW the other day and some teenagers asked me if I built that “contraption” myself . . .” As he noted, “Not very encouraging but we can not blame them.”
Now ‘retired’, Jean Luc is working on a graphic novel about G.I.s, Jeeps and Piper Cubs in Paris in 1944-45. Below is an example of his drawing talent. Thanks for sharing!
Hubert’s Must-See Jeep Family Site
Craig dropped me a note today about an old friend of his.
Craig writes, “I was doing a little web surfing and found an old lost friend, Hubert Cossard. I had been in contact with Hubert some 9 years ago about some awesome drawings he had made of Forward Control Jeeps. There were definite communication barriers back then as I am a little behind on foreign languages (even known to destroy my own language a bit!) [ed note: you aren’t alone!] but was in total awe of Hubert’s detailed drawings. Like many internet sites, there one day and gone the next, Hubert’s site disappeared.
Though I lost contact with Hubert years ago, by accident I just found his new, greatly expanded site. On the Jeep Family link there are drawings of just about every Jeep ever built or thought of. It’s a gotta-check-out-site!”
One quick trip to the site and I can only second Craigs description of the drawings. I couldn’t say for sure if they are scale-exact drawings, but they sure have the detail of someone who knows their jeeps. The site is in French, so if you need to translate anything, you might try Google Translate.
Here is an example of Hubert’s work below. Check out all of them here.
WWII Jeep Art from Cranston Fine Arts
SAS artwork from Cranston Fine Arts in the UK. I’m unsure if any prints of the below works are still available.
Signed SAS Print
I thought this was kind of cool, too. The photo comes from a collectibles site. The people featured in the 8″x6″ print are Paddy Mayne and Ian Fenwick.
Roberto’s Story of the Jeep
Roberto Flores recently completed a story of the lineage of the jeep that was published at French magazine “4×4 Story Spécial Jeep“, issue 35. Great drawing and thanks for sharing it with us.
From Jan-Willem de Boer and Roberto Flores
Here’s a great Holiday drawing! You can see the full version at Jan’s website, http://www.jwdeboer.nl, or via this link.
More pics from Gerald
Roberto’s Holiday Cards and more
Roberto has created some special cards for the holiday season (post cards and christmas cards). Click on the card below to order them.
The Jeep and its ‘Fourth Dimensional Brain’
More from Roberto Flores
Roberto always has a variety of flat fender items attached to shirts, pillows and more. He forwarded some more pics for us. You can always check Roberto’s store for more . You can also check his English language version of his website: http://www.robertoflores.com/ And this blog too: http://theoutliner.blogspot.com/.
Drawings by Fred Welborn
Here are several drawings by Fred Welborn that you can purchase. Click on the pics to learn more.
Here is a MB
Here is a M-38
“These are a pencil drawings on acid-free heavy paper. They are 9×12″, and are available as a print and the original drawings are for sale. Write me at art4veterans@aol.com We can discuss your interest in these drawings, as well as others in the history of the jeep series.”
Bill Mauldin Stamp
Randy forwarded me an announcement that Bill Mauldin has been honored with a stamp, shown below.
According to the email Randy sent me, “Mauldin, and his work, meant much to the millions of Americans who fought in World War II, and to those who had waited for them to come home. He was a kid cartoonist for Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper; Mauldin’s drawings of his muddy, exhausted, whisker-stubbled infantrymen Willie and Joe were the voice of truth about what it was like on the front lines.”
Here is a pic of the stamp, followed by Mauldin in a jeep.
Surfin’ Roberto’s Way
Just in time for some summer surfin, Roberto shares this older illustration of a CJ-3A sporting a surfboard with us. Thanks Roberto!
A Roberto Flores Illustration
Roberto Flores has an older illustration he’d like to share with us (thanks!). I managed to find a self-taken snapshot of myself, a handsome lad (well, that’s what mom always said) of 21 years, in a similar situation. I knew approximately where I was (in southeastern washington), but didn’t know exactly where I was, even with the help of the map and signs (pomerey, shown on the sign at the bottom, isn’t exactly a big town). So, I just tried driving with the early morning sun to my left so that I’d be heading south. Truth be told, I love being lost 🙂
Here’s Roberto’s drawing.
Here’s me, circa early November, 1985:
‘Willys Last Ride’ Photographed by Charles Jolliffe
Often mistaken for a ‘Willys’ (there goes the trademark …), this poor Ford M151 captured by Charles Jolliffe looks pretty beat up. Though image description notes, “This old Jeep is buried deep in the woods of Florida. I guess someone forgot where they parked. Limited Edition Series One- signed and numbered by artist“; I believe this M151 is actually hiding from it’s owner. Seriously, can you blame it?
Kris Kros’ Jeep Photos from Flickr
Here’s are some jeep photographs, and they are labeled as photographs, I ran across on Flickr created/photographed by Kris Kros. They are certainly heavily ‘enhanced’ and unusual!