VERY RARE Louis Chevrolet SIGNED / AUTOGRAPH Letter, Glenn L. Martin LETTERHEAD

1931 LOUIS CHEVROLET Typed-Letter SIGNED. Chevrolet FOUNDED Chevrolet Motor Company 1911. Chevrolet RACED at the Indianapolis 500 FOUR times.

VERY RARE, typed-letter authentically SIGNED / AUTOGRAPHED by automotive ICON Louis Chevrolet - with SUPERB airplane manifold / carburetor design CONTENT. Louis Chevrolet was the co-founder, along with William C. Durant, of the CHEVROLET MOTOR COMPANY in 1911. Chevrolet's signature / autograph is extremely difficult to find in any form. Letter is completely original (NOT a copy) and dated January 19th 1931, on the attractive and embossed Glenn L. Martin Company of Baltimore LETTERHEAD. The letter is addressed to Mr.

Clayton, the Assistant Chief Engineer of the Pitcairn Aircraft Company. In fact, Martin would CHANGE the company's NAME in January of 1931, the SAME MONTH as this letter, to The Glenn L.

Consequently, this may be the EARLIEST surviving letter which reflects this change in company name. Louis Chevrolet does make specific reference to this name change in THIS LETTER. Outstanding examples such as this do not turn up for sale. Letter reads in FULL - Dear Mr.

Clayton: Since our pleasant visit at your factory we have designed a manifold to take care of the special condition on your plane. I believe they will be able to deliver on that date, so we are sending you inclosed a blue print to have this manifold machined in your shop. You will notice that the flange where the carburetor is bolted on shows a six degree angle on the facing. This should be kept right so as to keep the carburetor in a level position while in normal flight.

As you may know, this company has been merged with the Glenn L. Martin Company and will be known from now on as the Engine Division of the Glenn L. Yours truly, THE GLENN L. MARTIN COMPANY by Louis Chevrolet (signed) Vice Pres. LOUIS CHEVROLET (1878 - 1941) was a Swiss born, American race car driver, auto mechanic, and the FOUNDER of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911.

Chevrolet left Switzerland in 1887 with his father and settled in France. It was here that he first developed his mechanical skills and interest in bicycle racing. He emigrated to Montreal, Canada in 1900 to work as a mechanic. Chevrolet won his first auto race in 1905 driving a Fiat.

He was hired by the Autocar Company of Philadelphia in 1907 on a project designed to produce a front wheel drive racing car. Chevrolet raced at the Giants Despair Hillclimb in 1909. While working for Buick, he learned how to design cars and built an overhead valve six-cylinder engine in his own machine shop in Detroit, Michigan. Chevrolet also helped design the 1910 Buick 60 Special, also known as the "Buick Bug".

In 1911, Chevrolet FOUNDED the CHEVROLET MOTOR COMPANY in Detroit, Michigan, with the help of his brother Arthur and William Crapo Durant. The following year, in 1916, Chevrolet and his brothers founded the FRONTENAC MOTOR COMPANY which made racing parts for Ford Model T's. That same year Chevrolet also became the Vice President and chief engineer of the "American Motors Corporation".

As a race car driver, Chevrolet finished in 20th place at the 1915 Indianapolis 500. He would race at the Indianapolis 500 speedway a total of four times, with his best finish being 7th place in 1919.

In the spring of 1928, Louis Chevrolet left the Chevrolet Brothers Manufacturing Company and started a new company called the CHEVROLET AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, which produced aircraft engines. Chevrolet would sell a 90 percent share of the Chevrolet Aircraft Corporation to Glenn L. Martin at the end of 1928, with Chevrolet retained as company president. In January of 1931, the name of the company was changed to the Glenn L. Martin Motors Corporation, with Chevrolet's titles changed to VP and General Manager.

The depression had a severe negative impact on the company's fortunes and Louis Chevrolet resigned in December of 1931, but still held onto his stock in the company. CONDITION: letter measures about 8 3/8 x 10 7/8 inches in size and is in EXCELLENT original condition. There are NO folds, rips or tears.

It would be extremely difficult to improve on the condition of this letter. The first TWO images where taken with a digital camera, the last FOUR images with a flat-bed scanner (see SCANS). The signature / autograph of LOUIS CHEVROLET is guaranteed authentic.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Everything we sell is packaged with the utmost care. The comments are often - the best packaging I have ever seen or "bullet proof" packaging.

You will receive the exact item pictured and in the same condition as described in my listing. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Autographs\Historical". The seller is "doctorhoward" and is located in this country: US.

This item can be shipped to United States.

Industry: Historical
Signed by: LOUIS CHEVROLET
Original/Reproduction: Original
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Modified Item: No