Kim A. Chiasson
February 2, 2010Wednesday, Feb. 4
February 4, 2010
South Louisiana timber magnate and aviation pioneer Harry P. Williams traveled in style, whether in the air or on the ground.
His restored 1928 Isotta-Fraschini luxury sports car, on exhibit at the Wedell-Williams Memorial Aviation Foundation collection at Patterson’s Louisiana State Museum, is proof.
The Italian manufacturer Isotta-Fraschini was the epitome of speed and glamour in the 1920s and ’30s, an irresistible match for air racing enthusiast Williams and his actress wife, Marguerite Clark.
Between 1925 and 1931, the company made only 950 cars, which were highly favored by Hollywood silent film stars like Clara Bow and Rudolph Valentino. An Isotta-Fraschini played a small but pivotal role as Norma Desmond’s “loaner” in the movie “Sunset Boulevard.”
The Williams’ bought their Isotta-Fraschini in 1928, one of only two such custom boattails ever produced. The other one, in unrestored condition, sold at auction with over $1.5 million.
After Williams’ death in 1936, the car remained garaged in Patterson until it was sold to a collector in the 1960s. The current owner, classic car collector Peter Boyle of Oil City, Penn., loaned the vehicle to the museum for an extended exhibit.
The museum, located off U.S. Highway 90 in Kemper Williams Park, is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call (985) 399-1268.
