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Fun Fact: The Chevrolet Bowtie Logo Came From Wallpaper, Or Did It?

Back in 1908, Chevrolet founder William Durant was travelling in France, where he stayed at a particular hotel. In his room, he saw a peculiar bowtie-shaped pattern on the room’s wallpaper. Durant then clipped a piece off and the rest — more or less — is history.

While that’s the official story, other takes — including recollections from Durant’s own daughter — suggest that Durant came up with the idea all by himself, doing nothing but simply doodling and sketching simple designs on napkins. Then there’s the story about Southern Compressed Coal Company’s “Coalettes”, which is said to have originally used the Bowtie logo back in 1911 in a newspaper ad promoting the new product.

So really, it seems that the story was lost somewhere in the last century. But you can still impress your friends with such trivia stories.

Former staff.

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