Hood Ornaments in '55 & '56

Posted by 55PackardGuy On 2009/1/24 2:10:25

I'm curious about opinions, comments or favorites of the '55-'56 Packard and Clipper hood ornaments. All I have read about their origins are some comments about how far removed from the "Cormorant" the '55 and '56 senior ornaments were, and the tussle about whether the cormorant was "really" a Pelican and should be referred to as such.

For the longest time I thought the ornament on our '55 400 was a jet plane! But up close, you could still see the bird and it did have a little "pouch" under the head.

I can't remember what the '56 senior ornament is like up close, but I think the '55 is a little cleaner design and more in keeping with the bird motif. Wonder why they changed in '56?

As for the Clipper, I believe the design was the same in '55 and '56, but not sure if they made some changes. I think that the V8 Clipper winged planet or whatever you want to call it is one of the best of the big hood ornaments ever. It is just a fine, uncluttered design--but what's it supposed to represent? Some of the kids in my neighborhood ( my contemporaries at the time) thought it would be a great design for a spaceship. I would think it is supposed to be something a bit more "nautical" than that.

You could (and somebody probably already did) write a book about the earlier Packard ornaments, but how about some comparisons of the unique '55 and '56 Packard and Clipper ones?