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November 2, 2018

For Your Last Ride: 26 Beautiful Vintage Hearse Brochures From Between the 1940s and 1960s

The first motorized hearses were produced in 1909. Prior to that hearses were horse-drawn. It wasn’t until 1920 that motorized hearses become more mainstream. Early on, some hearses also doubled as ambulances because of the large capacity in the back of the vehicle.

The majority of hearses in the U.S are Cadillac’s and Lincoln’s. The word “hearse” comes from the Middle English “herse,” which referred to a type of candelabra often placed on top of a coffin. Sometime in the 17th century, people starting using the word to refer to the horse-drawn carriages that conveyed the casket to the place of burial during a funeral procession.

Cadillac manufactured a “commercial chassis” which is a strengthened version of the typical passenger car to handle the extra bodywork weight, rear deck and cargo. Ford Motor sells a Lincoln Town Car that is built with expectations of becoming a hearse. Coachbuilders, manufacturer of bodies for automobiles, take the base of the car and put the finishing touches on that turns the vehicle into a working hearse.

Below are 26 vintage hearse brochures from between the 1940s and 1960s.

1940 Meteor-La Salle Funeral Car Model 530

1942 Cadillac Seventy Five Limousine

1948 Chevrolet

1950 Cadillac Seventy Five Limousine

1951 Chevrolet Hearses

1952 Superior-Cadillac

1954 Pontiac-Superior

1954 Superior-Cadillac

1956 Cadillac Limousine

1957 Eureka Limousine

1957 Eureka Landau

1958 Eureka Cadillac

1958 S & S Superline Park Hill

1958 S & S Knickerbocker

1958 S & S Victoria

1959 Cadillac Eureka Hearse

1959 Eureka Cadillac

1959 Superior Cadillac

1959 Superior Cadillac Crown Royal Landaulet

1960 Cadillac Professional Cars

1961 Eureka Cadillac Landau

1962 Oldsmobile Cotner-Bevington

1962 Oldsmobile Cotner-Bevington

1966 Cadillac Paramount Landau

1967 Cadillac Royale Tiara

1970 Cadillac Professional Cars



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