Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

The venetian blind was supposed to fit in with the slats horizontal. The driver should be able to see out the rear view mirror and passengers look out the window.

Evidently the purpose of the blind was to protect the back of the rear seat passenger's necks from sunburn and keep the sun off the rear seat so the cloth did not fade.

I thought they were a short lived thing that came out when rear windows got big in the early 50s but went out of fashion with tinted glass and air conditioning a few years later.

If the angle is not horizontal perhaps the blind was made for a different car with the rear window at a different angle.

Here in Oz rear window venetian blinds were a reasonably common accessory in the 50's.

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Yep - and venetian blinds 'lingered on' into the 60's here in Oz. I can remember them being an optional extra on Holden cars like the 1964 EH, and you could find them (occasionally) right up until the HK / HT / HG model Holdens (early 70's) as I recollect.

Then those externally mounted racy-looking plastic louvres emerged and many cars had those, including a couple of mine. Importantly, they were great to keep the sun off and they cooled the car considerably as well. And as a sideline they gave a little more privacy to the young blokes 'smooching' at the Drive-In theatres!

In the 1949 Dealer Accessories Price Book there is a listing for ventshade. Not sure if it is the same thing.

The venetian blinds were also seen in the Southwest although not to any great extent as I recall. Western Auto was an outlet for them and suppose the gas stations could have carried them as well.

One popular option in our area was a sun screen either on a frame that you could get to slide into the lower window opening or roll up like a pull shade. It did the job well yet was removable. Was a small PIA because the frame type did have to be removed when you went to the drive in after school and the car hop tray couldn't be accessed with it in place. Was a screen mesh material with small slits you could see thru but the angle and size prevented the sun from directly shining in. Many commercial buildings use almost the exact same stuff today.

Think the vent shade mentioned in Packard lit was a piece that fit in the top of the window channel and shaded the window sort of like the windshield visor. Believe they also had a tinted celluloid type thing that attached to the regular inside fold down visors to extend them.

I believe that is the rain deflector over the vent window.