Authentic Fisher Body Craftmans Guild Napoleonic Coach Start Price USD 2,500.00 Current Price USD 2,500.00 Time Left 7 days 26 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, September 17, 2008 End Time Thursday, January 15, 2009 Location 60156 See more about 'Authentic Fisher Body Craftmans Guild Napoleonic Coach' Description SquareTrade © AP6.0 Authentic Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild Napoleonic Coach  Up for Auction:  You are bidding on Authentic Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild Napoleonic CoachBuilt in 1932 for Fisher Body Craftsmans' Guild CompetitionIn 1932  Fisher Body Craftman's Guild sponsored a competition in which some 245,000 American Boys between the ages of 12 and 19 participated, each building a replica of the Fisher Coach based on the model completed by the Fisher Craftsman themselves.   The coach up for auction was completed in 1932 and took one full year to build.  This coach was featured in the Craftman's Guild competition and was built by Fred Harry Berg.    Each coach that was built was elaborately constructed with fine and precise detail as you can see from the pictures included in this auction.    Every detail from the wheels, to the interior, to the gold accent features on the top of the Fisher Coach.     The details and design of the coach which was adopted as Cadillac and used in their advertising campaigns.      The coach design was inspired by a combination of two French coaches, one was used at Napoleon's coronation ceremony, the other was at his wedding to Marie Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine.  The coach is housed in a heavy duty plastic casing in order to protect the coach.    Dimensions of coach:  17" x 12" x 8" (not including plastic case) Due to the fragility of this item shipping insurance is required on this item.   Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild The Guild was a way for the company to identify and recruit young men with exceptional skill in the “crafts” needed to design and build bodies for automobiles. Recruitment was by means of magazine ads, flyers, brochures as well as by teams of recruiters who sometimes visited as many as 1200 high schools in one season. Each participant had to build a replica of the Napoleonic coach, symbol of Fisher Body, based on a scale model completed by the Fisher craftsmen themselves.  Blueprints for the first model were non-existent and had to be drawn up. Frank Riess, former head of the industrial arts department of a Detroit high school, created the master plans (a copy may still be seen in the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild Foundation (FBCGF) collection in Eagle Point, OR - in that collection also are some of the winning coaches as well as other Guild memorabilia). Walter Leuschner of Germany, a skilled coach-builder in the Fisher plant at Fleetwood, PA, built two prototype coaches from these plans; these were around 1/15 to 1/18 scale (in which 1 inch = approx. 1' 3" to 1' 6"); one of the master coach models is featured in a Saturday Evening Post advertisement for April 2, 1932. Some less-elaborate and detailed blueprints and an instruction guide were drawn up for the competitors. Many of the details were left to interpretation. It was more than just an assembly process. A great deal of creativity in design and materials was required for a competitive entry. It was not unusual for a youngster to spend well over a thousand hours on a model. Basic kits were available to all competitors. They came in a box about 10x10x30 inches. In it were stock pieces of pine, mahogany and other types of wood.  There were also rough aluminum parts needing to be finished,  including the ornate roof railings and "eagle" corner posts. Brass strips were provided and served to make suspension spring leaves. Wheel spokes and rims had to be made up from scratch. Included in addition to detailed assembly instructions were swatches of leather and cloth as well  as small bottles of DuPont "Duco" paint, solvents and paint brushes. The finished model measured 18" long (28" including the tongue), 11" tall and 9" wide;  it weighed around 7 pounds. Suspension and steering both were functional as were the door handles and latches as well as the folding steps for ease of entry and egress; the doors incorporated sliding glass windows. The cloth and leather samples supplied were used to upholster the interior, which featured cushioned seats, headliner, door panels and carpeting. Almost 1,500 boys competed in the first edition; the best of them (104 in all, from 48 states and the District of Columbia) were convened in the fall of 1931 to a prize-winning ceremony held in the auditorium of the GM building in Detroit [source: Time magazine, Aug. 31, 1931].  There were two categories:  "Junior" (ages 12 to 15) and "Senior" (ages 16 to 19); each entrant hoped to win one of four GM scholarships, each worth $5,000, in addition to the $50 pocket-money they had got to spend on the trip to Detroit. The judges who examined the entries and selected the winners were President Thomas Stockham Baker of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Board Chairman Robert Andrews Millikan of California Institute of Technology; Board Chairman Samuel Wesley Stratton of Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dean Dexter Simpson Kimball of Cornell's College of Engineering and eight other engineering deans and professors. The "Senior" winners were Raymond S. Doerr of Battle Creek, and Albert Fischer from Waukegan Ill. One "Junior" winner was Howard Jennings of Denver, CO. Over the years the competition lasted, some 245,000 American boys between the ages of 12 and 19 participated.  Many of the winners later were offered and managed successful careers at Fisher Body and GM. Thanks for looking and please check back for more great deals. Prev Stop Play Next Payment Options: We at KKCTradingAssistants want to make your online experience as safe as possible, therefore our payment options are: * Preferred method is PAYPAL * We also accept Money Orders and Cashiers Checks * 7.0% Sales tax applies to IL residentsShipping Details: All shipping originates from 60156 zip code. Shipment will be either UPS, FedX or USPS. Some larger items will ship via UPS Ground service. Orders are generally shipped on the day after full payment. * Paypal users: We ship only to the CONFIRMED address. * Continental US Bidders pay shipping & handling cost as per "Shipping Instructions" listed below. * Insurance is optional. * International bidders: Verify shipping costs before placing your bid. * Every attempt will be made to ship out within 2 days of payment being cleared. * We WILL combine shipping on multiple orders. Auction Sales Policy: Your bid is a contract - Place a bid only if you're serious about buying the item. If you are the winning bidder, you will enter into a legally biding contract to purchase the item. If the seller is unable to establish contact with the winning bidder within 3 days of the end of the auction or if payment is not received within 5 days, item may be offered to the next highest bidder or relisted at the sellers sole discretion.We started with Ebay in 1999, just as a curiousity. Now almost 10 years later we are still here and are now a Registered Ebay Trading Assistant and PowerSeller and growing everyday!. When you view our current and past auctions, you will notice that we are sell alot of Computer / Electronic Components and Accessories. While we do have a vast knowledge in this field we have also sold in the Apparel, Toys, Health and Beauty categories as well. Regardless of what category your items fit into we would love the opportunity to assist you in selling these items and getting back a return on your investment. You may have family heirlooms, vintage jewelry, used toys, lawn / garden items, computers / electronics, or clutter in the basement that you need cleared out. Everything is worth something on Ebay! * Free consultations * Award-winning service * Satisfaction guarantee Contact: * The winner will receive an "eBay End of Auction" email. * Click on the payment link and follow instructions. * Once payment is received, Product will ship within 2 business days. * Contact us with any questions at: kkctradingassistants@kkcmerch.com. * Please visit our website at www.kkcmerch.com for Fee details.  kkcmerch store Place a Bid!