Raymond Dietrich

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Raymond "Ray" Dietrich (* 1894 in New York City ; † March 19, 1980 in Albuquerque , New Mexico ) was an American automobile designer and entrepreneur who founded and ran the body manufacturers LeBaron Carossiers and Dietrich Inc. in the 1920s . Until the Second World War, Dietrich designed numerous exclusive bodies for car brands such as Lincoln and Packard . His creations also include the Gibson Firebird , an unusually designed electric guitar .

life and work

Dietrich was born in 1894 in the Bronx , New York . From 1906 to 1910 he trained as an engraver at the American Bank Note Company . Later he took evening classes in art. From 1913 Dietrich worked as a draftsman for Brewster & Co. , a prestigious, founded in 1810 Stellmacher operation , which since the turn of the century also produced bodies for automobiles and produced at that time also complete cars. Dietrich's relationship with Brewster lasted eight years , with a brief hiatus during which he worked for Chevrolet . He became Brewster's most sought-after designer during this period.

LeBaron

In 1921 Dietrich went into business for himself; together with another former Brewster employee, Thomas L. Hibbard, he founded LeBaron Carrossiers in New York. The name of the company had no relation to the founders; it was freely chosen and should have an international impact on the one hand and be easy to pronounce on the other. Dietrich and his partner found the name LeBaron , which they believed met these requirements, in a New York telephone directory. From 1922 LeBaron produced bodies for Lincoln, Cadillac , Crane-Simplex , Duesenberg , Locomobile , Mercedes-Benz , Packard , Pierce-Arrow and Rolls-Royce .

Dietrich Inc.

1925 Raymond Dietrich left the company in order with the help of Edsel Ford , with whom he was friends, in Detroit , the Dietrich Inc. build. He sold his shares to Ralph Roberts, the last remaining of the original partners. Dietrich Inc. was funded by Murray Corporation at the instigation of Edsel Ford. Ray Dietrich had a 50% share and was managing director until 1930. Dietrich, Inc. worked in different areas: On the one hand, it developed the design of entire series of large manufacturers such as Packard, Franklin and Erskine ; on the other hand, Dietrich designed and manufactured individual bodies for high-quality chassis according to customer requirements and had a contract as a design consultant for Packard.

As a result of the global economic crisis , Dietrich, Inc. also got into financial difficulties. Raymond Dietrich was ousted by his partners and had to leave the company he founded in September 1930; the company then existed until 1936.

Chief Designer at Chrysler

Dietrich first worked as a freelance designer for Franklin Automobile Company and Graham-Paige in New York . From 1931 to 1938 Raymond Dietrich worked as a salaried designer for Chrysler . One of his most successful works there was the Chrysler Airstream , which replaced the avant-garde, but economically unsuccessful Airflow in 1936 . The relationship was not good; since the debacle with the Chrysler Airflow, the technicians had been in charge and Dietrich was more or less openly fought by them.

Ray Dietrich Inc.

In 1938 Dietrich switched to the taxi manufacturer Checker , for whom he designed the body of the front-wheel drive study Model D and the Checker A-2 derived from it . After World War II, Dietrich was initially involved in a few design projects such as the Tucker '48 before founding the coachbuilder Ray Dietrich Inc. in Grand Rapids in 1949 . Up until 1953, individual bodies for Checker, Lincoln, Ford and Packard chassis were produced here in very small numbers at the customer's request . An outstanding product of Raymond Dietrich Inc. was a four-door convertible on an extended chassis of the Lincoln Cosmopolitan , which was produced for the American President Harry S. Truman . With a wheelbase of 3683 mm, the vehicle was over six meters long and weighed around three tons. The equipment included the usual flag holders, a red warning light, a spare wheel mounted on the outside of the rear and extendable steps under the rear fenders for accompanying CIA agents. In 1953 it was subsequently given a plexiglass hood , which was made by Creative Industries . After Ray Dietrich Inc. ceased operations in 1953, Dietrich worked as a freelance designer advising Checker and Ford.

Raymond Dietrich was married twice. In 1960 he retired. In addition, he designed everyday objects for a few years, including the Gibson Firebird , an electric guitar made by the Gibson Guitar Corporation . After his death, his widow Marion gave most of the documents on his professional work from his estate to the Gilmore Classic Car Club of America Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan .

Raymond Dietrich is one of the most important and influential automobile designers in the USA.

Gallery: Objects designed by Raymond Dietrich

  • Erskine (ca.1928)

  • Packard 840 Convertible Sedan with Dietrich body (1931)

  • Packard Super Eight 1501 Dietrich Convertible Victoria (1935)

  • Chrysler Airstream Convertible Sedan (1936)

  • Gibson Firebird (1963)

literature

  • Richard M. Langworth: Automobiles of the 1930s . Beekman House, New York 1980, ISBN 0-517-30994-7 .
  • Hugo Pfau: The Coachbuilt Packard. Dalton-Watson, London 1973, ISBN 0-901564-10-9 .
  • Beverly R. Kimes (Ed.): Packard, a history of the motor car and the company. General edition, Automobile Quarterly, 1978, ISBN 0-915038-11-0 .
  • Ray Hutton, Jürgen Lewandowski: Lincoln - An American Tradition. 1st edition. Delius Klasing Verlag, Bielefeld 2000, ISBN 3-7688-1125-5 . (English)
  • Beverly Rae Kimes, Richard M. Langworth (eds.): The golden anniversary of the lincoln motorcar 1921–1971. Automobile Quaterly, New York 1970, OCLC 907842158 .
  • Paul R. Woudenberg: Lincoln and Continental 1946–1980 - The classic Postwar Years. Motorbooks International, Osceola WI (USA) 1993, ISBN 0-87938-730-0 . (English)
  • George H. Dammann: 70 Years of Chrysler. Crestline Publishing, Glen Ellyn IL (1974), Osceola WI, ISBN 0-912612-06-1 . (English)
  • George Hildebrand (Ed.): The Golden Age of the Luxury Car - An Anthology of Articles and Photographs from Autobody. 1927-1931. Dover Publications, 1980, ISBN 0-486-23984-5 . (English)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Dietrich, Raymond
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dietrich, Ray (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American automotive designer and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH March 19, 1980
Place of death Albuquerque , New Mexico