LONGTIME AUTO JOURNALIST, STEVE PURDY, PUBLISHES A VERY SPECIAL AUTOMOTIVE ART BOOK
 |
 Steve Purdy |
By Steve Purdy
NOTES BY THE AUTHOR:
I’ve been privileged to be a contributor to TheAutoChannel.com for more than 20 years doing regular product reviews, show reports, travel stories, and even occasional industry news (my least favorite topic). I’ve always loved automobiles, particularly sports cars, the places we go in them and the experiences we have along the way. These experiences are always enriched by the people we encounter as well.
Friend and colleague (he hates it when I call him the boss), principal at TheAutoChannel.com, Bob Gordon, invited me to tell you about my new book, an art book (5-pounder for your coffee table) celebrating my other automotive interest: the details of auto design presented in artful photography.
Hanging out and doing projects with a bunch of automotive fine artists has influenced me in the presentation of my images, and the design skills of Coleen Miller at M.J. Jacobs, have resulted in this book. At the risk of sounding immodest, it is spectacular.
 |
MASCOTS in MOTION, Images and Stories of Automotive Aesthetics
By Steve Purdy
I’ve been shooting the details of classic and collector cars for more than 40 years.
I was about 30 years old in 1978 when I inherited a Canon Ftb with a 200mm fixed focal length lens from my late brother Warren (a CanAm racer, by the way) who died in a highway accident. He was just 28.
As I began to take pictures through that long lens I soon came to understand the drama of the images I was intermittently getting; and I found an appreciation of the art they could represent.
 |
It began when I discovered the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance and found myself drawn to the mascots, hood ornaments, side mounts, trim, and other details of those wonderful old cars, particularly those of the classic era.
Over the years I've shot at Concours shows around the county, every-man shows, junk yards, back yards, salvage yards . . . wherever I encountered something that caught my eye . . . always in natural light, nothing staged. "Shot in the wild", I like to say.
 |
For years, I had been thinking about gathering my favorite images and making a book to share with those who appreciate such things. Having self-published three other books on behalf of clients, I had a good sense of what that would take. In the meantime I continued to add to my collection of images and gather the stories around them.
About a year ago I pulled the trigger on the project to create this art book: MASCOTS IN MOTION, Images and stories of Automotive Aesthetics. I knew I wanted it to be a first-class, coffee table-style art book so I engaged Rinck Heule at the award-winning art book producer M. J. Jacobs company to manage the production, concept, design, printing and logistics. I found them through one of their recent projects a book that is shelved in my own library, the Gilmore Museum's ART, ARCHITECTURE AND THE AUTOMOBILE.
Rinck and his teams have been producing high-end art books nearly as long as I've been shooting cars.
 |
While I wasn't entirely sure how best to structure the content, I certainly had plenty of it. Too much, in fact. The most difficult part of the book was culling these 320 images from thousands of others. Then, as I began to fact-check the stories I thought I knew and to find others, I kept getting dragged deeper and deeper into the research.
 |
What fun that turned out to be!
So, here you have it: 316 pages, more than 320 images, and about 50,000 words, with a Foreword graciously provided by friend and colleague, Ed Lucas, for many years the resonate and authoritative voice of the most prestigious classic car shows in the country, and the most knowledgeable expert I know regarding the art and history of automobiles.
 |
You’ll find stories as oft-told as that of Eleanor Thornton, model for the sculptor who fashioned the Rolls-Royce “Spirit of Ecstasy;” and as obscure as the mascot we found atop the radiator of a 1920 Vauxhall, a rotund country fellow astride a barrel hoisting a frothy beer mug titled “Ancient Order of Froth Blowers.” You’ll find stories of the characters who pioneered the auto industry; you’ll find colorful images shot with an eye toward art; and I’ll pass along some notes on how and where the images were captured.
Above all, I’ll promise to surprise and delight even the most knowledgeable aficionado.
 |
So, come buy a book at: www.shunpikerproductions.com, . . . and
ENJOY THE RIDE!
Mascots in Motion is featured on the M.J. Jacobs website as well with closeup images of the elegant production details like: French jacket, embossed cover, silk ribbon book mark, archival paper, etc. https://mjjacobs.net/mascots-in-motion
 |
 A Welcomed Holiday Gift |
Through the Lens of Steve Purdy: How One Photographer Compiled his 40 Years of Work in Mascots in Motion
For Steve Purdy, it was never about the car. It was about the curve of a fender under morning mist, the glint of light on a hood ornament, the forgotten artistry that once adorned machines of motion. After more than four decades immersed in automotive storytelling, Purdy, journalist, photographer, historian, and lifelong car enthusiast, has distilled his aesthetic obsession into Mascots in Motion, a visually stunning, deeply personal art book that celebrates the overlooked elegance of classic automobiles.
It's a project that's been years, if not a lifetime, in the making.
Purdy didn't grow up with dreams of being a photographer. In fact, his journey began almost by accident. A German Voigtländer camera taught him the basics, but it wasn't until age 30, after inheriting a camera equipped with a powerful lens, that everything clicked.
"It was at a Concours d'Elegance show in Detroit," he says. "The depth of field blurred the background, and suddenly these ornaments looked like sculptures. Like fine art."
From that day forward, he began shooting, on film, mind you, where every click cost a dollar and only 1 in 30 images were worth keeping. Self-taught and driven by instinct, Purdy gradually refined his craft through years of shooting at car shows, junkyards, and backroads across America. As digital photography emerged, he was late to adopt, but ready. "By then, 90% of my images were keepers," he laughs.
By the time Purdy became a journalist in his 40s, he had already built an extensive archive of automotive images. His storytelling took on many forms, including road rally adventures, travel features, and even a long-running radio show. But photography remained the quiet pulse behind it all.
The idea for Mascots in Motion first sparked 10 to 15 years ago. But between journalism projects, awards programs, and constant travel, it remained a dream deferred. That is, until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world and Steve Purdy into stillness. "I realized how much I loved being home, working from my desk," he says. "It was the perfect time. I was in the right place financially and emotionally. I knew this would be part of my legacy."
And so Mascots in Motion was born.
314 pages long and featuring over 300 images, all shot in the wild, as Purdy proudly notes, the book is less of a portfolio and more of an immersive gallery. It's part coffee table book, part personal memoir, and wholly homage to the aesthetics of automotive history.
"None of these images were staged. No studio or artificial lighting. Just found the moments," Purdy says. "That's the philosophy of the book."
The pages cover a curated journey from early motometers, mechanical precursors to hood ornaments, to legendary crystal mascots, American classics, British elegance, European flair, and finally, homemade charm. The book ends with a photo of a welded crowbar on an old pickup truck.
Each photo is paired with brief reflections, some historical, some technical, and others simply philosophical. One passage might delve into the heritage of a car brand, another into the interplay of rain and chrome. Some pages carry meditations on beauty, craft, and what it means to truly see.
Today, Purdy spends most of his time marketing the book, giving lectures, and doing book signings at car shows, art galleries, and museums. His talks, often accompanied by a presentation of 60 curated images, trace the evolution of automotive mascots and the fine art surrounding them. "This is a sub-genre of automotive design. It deserves a spotlight," he says.
And yes, every book ordered through his website is signed and not just with a name. Each copy includes a personal inscription, often with a message from the gift-giver. "I have a large library of art books. They're twice as valuable when they're signed," he says. "So I made that part of the experience."
Purdy isn't done yet. Next on the horizon is Cargasms, a crowd-sourced book featuring reflections from industry insiders, enthusiasts, and celebrities alike. He's also dabbling in historical fiction and has just wrapped up a haunting photo series that will be showcased at the Grand Rapids' international ArtPrize competition.
Even in semi-retirement, Steve Purdy's lens remains firmly focused on beauty, legacy, and the little details that most overlook. He is now available for lectures, keynote speeches, and gallery talks at museums, car clubs, art events, and educational institutions.