Wallace Lench's Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild Napoleonic Coach
(click the image to go back)
By the early 1930s, the Fisher Body Company was searching
for a way of developing boys around the country into employable
young men with good basic body making skills. To this
end, they created the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild coach-building
contest wherein as they built their entries, boys developed
their skills in blueprint reading, woodworking, die-making,
upholstering, and more (as their ambitions warranted).
Participants could purchase the plans and scracthbuild
the entire coach, or they could purchase one to three
kits of parts (a wood kit providing basic blocks along
with cement and a die-cut sheet; a castings kit providing
decorative metal parts along with assorted bolts and screws;
and an upholstery, trim, and paint kit) to help them get
a leg up on the daunting project.