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We all know that in 1956 orders came from the top at Packard to throw out all paper work and documents right??????


Not quite true............ Here's the proof.

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Prototype Grille Renderings

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So how did we get these? Where have they been? How did they survive all these years?
Its starts with a childhood camp friend of Fred's. Part of this friendship was due in part that this individual's parents had good taste in automobiles, that being a 1953 Caribbean. Which coincidentally Fred and Dan ended up buying years later from his parents and still have the wire wheels and hood today.

Through the years Fred and his "camp friend" stayed friends sharing similar taste in classic automobiles and memorabilia. Recently Fred was contacted by him concerning some photos that he was ready to sell and he felt might be of interest to Fred.

So how did these photos survive the order to be destroyed?
In 1956 Packard donated them to an institution in Michigan. They had resided in the archives until about 30 years ago. When the institution decided to get rid of duplicates an others they didn't want these documents ended up in the dumpster. This is where a Midwest literature collector comes into play. He was given permission to go through the dumpsters and save what he wanted. So coincidentally these photos survived yet another order from the top to be thrown out. At that point the Midwest collector kept them under wraps in his collection for the next 10 years, this where Fred's camp friend came into the picture. He bought them and recently gave about 50 to Fred to enjoy.
So making friends at camp has paid off twice for Fred once in the form of a 53 Caribbean and now some unseen Packard photos.


Has anyone seen these before?

How many photos were saved in 1956? And, how many were throw away (and later saved)?

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The Packard Proving Grounds is in the process of scanning 40,000 (est) photos, slides and negatives. This is a time consuming process for our volunteers, but they find something new every day.

Interesting prototype photos, thanks for posting them. Of the grille configuration, one wonders whether the horizontal louvers were inspired by the Marmon Sixteen.

Steve

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