To The Beginning In 1945

So this is where it all began for the civilian jeep, the CJ2-A and where it may have begun for our mystery jeep owner/ lover in Texas. Picked up from a Myers Feed and Seed this very early brochure probably dates from early 1945 while the war was still raging and speaks to the farmers and agricultural producers of the day of the need and responsibility set to them to produce the post-war world’s food. With this responsibility came Willys-Overland’s perfectly placed “Peace” Jeep that was hailed as part tractor, part mobile power unit, part runabout and recreational vehicle. I can only assume that the one time owner who picked up this brochure was impressed enough to fall in love with the scrappy GI jeep come home to a new and prosperous world. The brochure is filled with numerous press photos of the prototype CJ-2 (airbrushed front grill and all) carrying out farming and work responsibilities, many on the CESOR farm owned by Willy’s president, Charles E. Sorensen, the soon to be famous magazine illustrations by James Sessions, Benton Clark and John Howard and much more. Click here to see the entire brochure! So this brochure ends the story of what I can surmise to be the ongoing love affair of one mystery man or woman who lived in Texas in the Corpus Christi area from roughly 1945 to 1975 with a business once known as Myer’s Feed And Seed nearby. If anyone can provide any further clues to this please let me know at thisoldjeepdotcom@gmail.com. I hope that you too have enjoyed this piece of history and that it broadens your appreciation of the rich history and legacy of the mighty jeep!

From The Newest In 1976...

Continuing with the series of dealer brochures that were acquired from an estate in Texas, today we have the newest brochure. From 1976, this brochure was apparently some sort of handout at an auto show. I can only speculate but I’d guess that either the person who owned this lot of brochures and other dealer promotional items was a big fan of the jeep through the years and/or was continually looking around, kicking tires and dreaming big. I do hope that one day he or she made the jump and bought a jeep and experienced first-hand the dream that jeep ownership is. This brochure is full of many neat photos of the full classic jeep lineup ranging from the venerable CJs to the tough Honcho pickups and the versatile Cherokee and the regal Wagoneer. Its also a valuable source of options, colors and equipment listings. It also details the premier of the all new CJ-7 that replaced the poorly selling CJ-6. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have! Click here to view the rest of the brochure full sized. Come back next week for the final installment when we’ll go back to the very beginning of the civilian lineup and a very early 1945 Willys introduction to the civilian CJ!

Ready For Family Or Business Willys Wagon Brochure

Today we have another brochure in the ongoing series of brochures and literature that I salvaged from a Texas estate. The man who owned this seems to have collected and saved Jeep brochures from the Corpus Christi area from 1945 to 1976. If he was window shopping for thirty years I really hope that he made the plunge and bought one over the years. On a side note the address for Roy Box Motors yields nothing more than an empty grown over lot in Google Maps nowadays, unfortunately. It would exciting to see it still a dealership of some sort. In the 1950’s, Willys really made all their efforts on appealing to as wide an audience of potential auto buyers as possible and this brochure is a perfect example of that sales ethic. “Ready for family or business” the wagon was sold in this brochure to both the small and large business owner and as an alternative for family transportation. Though much of it is outdated, the ad execs did as well try to make their sales pitch to the female audience as well, advertising the relatively new keyed ignition switch as, “a feature appreciated by ladies particularly.” The selling points are pointed out for everyone, families, moms, weekenders, retired couples, traveling salesmen, farmers and carpenters and sportsmen, all while driving over “trails, cross country where other vehicles dare not go!” Click here to view the entire full-sized brochure! Come back next week when I’ll have the oldest brochure and the newest the following week!

The This-Old-Jeep.com 2012 Calendar- February

The This-Old-Jeep.com 2012 Calendar page for February stars the unsung hero of the post-war, the civilian 2A. Able to perform thousands of tasks like its older brother, the MB, the little 2A as shown here equipped with many an implement such as the wrecker attachment that may have been supplied by the Canfield Tow Bar Company of Detroit, Michigan. In last years February page we had a different shot from the same series of photos that I picked up showing the plucky 2A towing a car with the Canfield logo clearly printed on the side.

This years page features the 2A unloading a crated package stenciled: THIS CASE CONTAINS OXG(?) COMPLETE CANFIELD FOLDING WRECKER and the hand lettered “Dodge Manual WD 20.” I’m not up to date on my Power Wagon History, but I believe that the WD-20 was a Dodge pickup model built from about 1939 through the post-war years based on the Power Wagon with the WC the 1/2 ton and the WD, the 1 ton model. I was curious if Canfield were still around and what I found next in my search was quite curious. It seems that Canfield entered a governmental contract some twenty years later in the summer of 1964 for a wrecker attachment for the Dodge W300 Power Wagon. I found this article through a random Google search on the U.S. Government Accountability Office in which Canfield had filed a complaint over the bids. What was most interesting is the mention of an amendment of the invitation for light wrecker equipment for Jeeps. I love it when history sorta starts fitting together. Originally incorporated in 1946 I cannot find any other further info for the Canfield Company. Anyone out there have further info? Contact me @ thisoldjeepdotcom@gmail.com if you do! Come back next week and we’ll continue the series of brochures found from Texas and remember that you can still order the 2012 calendar here. It’s not too late to enjoy 17 all new photos of the classic jeep through the year and browse through many more of our jeep related tees, caps, mugs and much more!