“Make Pleasure Island a Treasure Island for the Whole Family.” Ford Touring Car. Collections of the Henry Ford Museum
Twentieth Century motoring greatly expanded opportunities for picnicking by allowing anyone to enjoy the freedom of the road.
Fords were ubiquitous cars, and in this advertisement, they reinforced their dominance by claiming, “Wherever you live—in town or country—owning a Ford car helps you ‘to get the most out of life” and “to enjoy leave town for the country.”
The 1924 Touring Car, so Ford claimed, gave you “unlimited chance to get away into new surroundings every day— a picnic supper or a cool spin in the evening to enjoy the countryside or a visit with friends.”
For $295, you got the motorcar, but not a picnic basket.
Featured Image: “Every day without a Ford means lost hours of healthy motoring pleasure.” Ford Touring Car. Collections of the Henry Ford Museum
See Julian Pettifer and Nigel Turner. Automania; Man and the Motor Car. London: Collins, 1984. Also May E. Southworth’s The Motorist’s Luncheon Book (1923)