Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6

Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Automotive design for Alexis Kellner AG Berlin: Pullman Limousine Adler Standard

1500

About the Item

Pullman Limousine Adler Standard. Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘93’, in upper left corner, German copyright stamp on verso. Finished in two-tone dark and light brown, with matching solid disc wheels, picked out against a silhouetted trees, this handsome 4-door limousine would have represented the pinnacle of Frankfurt motor manufacturer, Adler’s aspirations of entering the luxury car market. Better known for more modest vehicles, this was to be powered by an 8-cylinder engine, a development from their existing 6-cylinder model, itself an evolution of their staple 4-cylinder workhorse. Introduced in 1928, the Standard 8 fell foul of the global stock market crash a year later, and by the early 1930s, Adler had withdrawn from what had been the more affluent end of the market, to concentrate on its more utilitarian base. Although larger in scale than the rest of Adler’s range, the Standard 8 had always fallen short of the true luxury offered by the likes of Mercedes, although this was clearly reflected in its far more modest price. [Berlin, 1930] Founded by Alexis Kellner (1880-1953) in 1910, in Berlin, the eponymous Alexis Kellner AG coachbuilding company’s stylish automobile bodywork designs were immediately successful. This was demonstrated by the number of orders he received at the International Motor Show, in Berlin, in 1911. Kellner was noted for his inventiveness of small details, such as a concealed handle behind the driver’s seat for quickly and easily raising and lowering the car’s roof, concealed bonnet hinges, for aesthetic as well as aerodynamic reasons, and a suitcase mounted on the running board. The company’s success reached its zenith in the 1920s, when it was famed for the luxury bodies it designed for such prestigious manufacturers as Audi, Austro-Daimler, Bugatti, Cadillac, Horch, Maybach, Mercedes, and others. This popularity stemmed from both the highly stylish external lines and the sumptuously appointed interiors. This emphasis on sensuous indulgence was even reflected in the company’s pioneering use of nude women in its advertising. But, as with so many manufacturers dependent on wealth and stability in the market, its fortunes crashed in 1929, and Alexis Kellner was declared bankrupt in 1930. The brand name and patents were sold to arch-rival, Drauz in Heilbronn, against whom Kellner had launched a plagiarism suit in 1920 over a particular body design, who shrewdly maintained the Kellner name for its sales company. The stylishness of Kellner’s coachbuilding was perfectly captured and presented to the public by the artistry of Herbert Schultz. Unlike the flamboyant designs he portrayed so skilfully, Schultz was a modest man, despite being a creative all-rounder. In 1818, as a commercial artist and caricaturist working for the Berliner Tageblatt, he gained the admiration of fellow contributor, the artist George Grosz. Schultz had only recently come to Berlin, having graduated from the Royal Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig, followed by a spell at the Kunstakademie in Hamburg. Schultz’s skills as a graphic artist lent themselves perfectly to illustrating promotional catalogues to appeal to Alexis Kellner AG’s affluent clientele, which had included the royal household. Always signing his work as ‘Herschu’, he presented these imposing designs against subtle open country landscapes, glamourous night cityscapes, or floating in isolation against a solid ground. Following the demise of Alexis Kellner AG, Schultz’s ongoing artistic career was finally blocked by the Nazi state when he refused to part with his half-Jewish wife. So the Herschu name faded, as did that of Kellner, only for both to be rekindled now in these recently rediscovered, breathtaking, design.

More From This Seller

View All
Sportcabriolet coachwork design by Alexis Kellner AG for the Cadillac 341-A.
By Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Located in London, GB
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘78’, in upper left corner, German copyright label on...
Category

1930s Modern Still-life Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

Cabriolet coachwork design by Alexis Kellner AG for the Packard Custom Eight.
By Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Located in London, GB
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘76’, in upper left corner, German copyright label on verso. [Berlin 1930] Finished in green with contrasting light green roof and matching solid disc wheels, presented against a silhouette of a grand palace, this imposing 4-door cabriolet was one of the more luxurious variant designs around the underpinnings of the company’s straight-8 engine and drive train. It evolved from the Single Eight, so-called as it replaced the earlier V-12 known as the Double Six. Founded in 1899 by brothers James and William Packard, the eponymous company was not only one of the pioneers of North American motor...
Category

1930s Modern Still-life Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

Cabriolet coachwork design by Alexis Kellner AG for the Cadillac 341-A.
By Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Located in London, GB
Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbered ‘77’, in upper left corner, German copyright label on...
Category

1930s Modern Still-life Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

REDOUTE, Pierre Joseph. Rosa Parvi-Flora.
By Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Located in London, GB
A Gift from King Charles X to the Duchesse de Berry REDOUTE, Pierre Joseph. Rosa parvi-flora. Watercolour over traces of black chalk on vellum, within gold framing lines; signed in...
Category

1820s Naturalistic Still-life Paintings

Materials

Chalk, Ink, Watercolor, Pen

Automotive design for Alexis Kellner AG Berlin
By Herschu (Herbert Schultz)
Located in London, GB
Half-Limousine coachwork design for an Austro-Daimler. Gouache and watercolour heightened with gum-arabic on very dark green card, annotated in pale ink with body type below, numbere...
Category

1930s Modern Still-life Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

[CHINESE EXPORT WATERCOLOURS ON PITH PAPER]. - Botanical Studies
Located in London, GB
[CHINESE EXPORT WATERCOLOURS ON PITH PAPER]. A Group of 10 Flowers and Butterflies. mid to late nineteeenth century. A fine group of Chines...
Category

Late 19th Century Naturalistic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Rice Paper

You May Also Like

Botanical Studies, Pair of Watercolours on Silk on Handmade Paper, Anemones
Located in Cotignac, FR
A pair of fine hand painted botanical watercolour studies on silk of anemones by La Roche Laffitte. The works are signed bottom right. Both are titled. The silk has been mounted on h...
Category

Late 20th Century Still-life Paintings

Materials

Silk, Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Gouache

Botanical Studies, Watercolours on Silk on Handmade Paper, Set of Three Tulips.
By La Roche Laffitte
Located in Cotignac, FR
A set of three fine hand painted botanical watercolour studies on silk of tulips by La Roche Laffitte. The works are signed bottom right. Some are titled and numbered (see photos) Th...
Category

Late 20th Century Still-life Paintings

Materials

Silk, Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Gouache

Still life with chicken
Located in Oslo, NO
In this painting, I infused the vitality of nature and domestic tranquility through bold strokes and vibrant gouache colors. The rooster stands proudly, symbolizing wakefulness and t...
Category

2010s Fauvist Still-life Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Bamboo Paper

Modern White Chrysanthemums Still Life by Jaroslav Pavlis
Located in Soquel, CA
Gorgeous modern still-life of white Chyrsanthemums in vase by Jaroslav Pavlis (Czech, 1951-2002), c.1970s. This expressive still-life is bursting with vivid colors and dynamic, expre...
Category

1970s Modern Still-life Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Original 70's Hand Painted Textile Design Gouache Navy Blue Color on White Paper
Located in ALCOY/ALCOI, ES
Compass Rose and Flower design. Sealed on the back with the design studio name and number 397 We offer a small number of these original illustration designs by this design studio ba...
Category

1970s Modern Still-life Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Gouache

1950s "Sleeping with Fruit" Mid Century Figurative Painting University of Paris
By Donald Stacy
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy "Sleeping with Fruit" c.1950s Gouache paint on paper 24" x 18'" unframed Unsigned Came from artist's estate *Custom framing available for additional charge. Please expec...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Recently Viewed

View All