De Soto . . .

Hernando de Soto was such a kind and considerate conquistador while conquering vast swaths of Central and South America back in the 1500's that he had a car named after him in the 1900's. Just as de Soto's life came to an untimely end, so did that particular line of automobiles in 1960 or thereabouts. . . about when I was born. This particular De Soto pictured here also came to a sad end, on its roof in a stretch of woods in central Pennsylvania, with the engine fallen on the ground and missing a headlight. . . soon to be overgrown no doubt and disappear forever in a pile of rust. (photographed in 1988)

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It still had one lovely chrome hubcap remaining, which I was not about to let decompose with the rest of this Chrysler car cadaver, so I took it home, cleaned it up, and today it is a cherished piece in the Phillips Collection France. . .

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PS see earlier post way below here on a Syrian DeSoto in Damascus

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Damascus DeSoto

In the heart of Damascus, near the Mosque of the Umayyads, in a back street, this deep blue DeSoto was drinking up the Syrian sunlight. A work of art, a little the worse for wear, but evidently still going strong over 50 years from its birth in some dank and long closed factory in America. I can see it rolling grand and free along winding country roads, sailing across smooth seas, taking to the air, navigating among the clouds, and why not onward and upward to the stars...

DeSoto Detail

Hernando de Soto travelled widely, but ended badly, dying of a fever along the Mississippi River in the 1500's. The car named for him fared similarly. I had never seen a DeSoto automobile that was still in running condition at close range until stumbling on one in a back street of Damascus, Syria in April,2007. For years I've had a chrome DeSoto hubcap on my wall, which I found on an abandoned car lying on its roof in the woods near Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania. That hubcap will no doubt make its way into this blog sooner or later. A noble hood ornament if there ever was one... but another example of man's endeavors coming to naught.

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