Distributed for Dalton Watson Fine Books
Celebrating a Century of Concours d’Élégance & d’Etat
A thorough exploration of the history of concours d’élégance, covering its origins and significance.
Beginning in France in the 1920s, elegant exhibitions of the latest designs from carmakers, chassis builders, and coachbuilders evolved over more than a century into a celebration of historic vehicles. Today, these events reflect global admiration for classic cars, viewed as treasured artifacts worthy of preservation, conservation, or restoration, and showcased as part of humanity's industrial heritage.
This book celebrates this evolution, exploring the origins of the earliest concours d'élégance and how the tradition expanded to feature women, fashion, and lifestyle. It also examines how the concept was reimagined in the New World, transforming into a festival that honors both the exceptional and the unconventional, creating a fresh style and new purpose.
Beginning in France in the 1920s, elegant exhibitions of the latest designs from carmakers, chassis builders, and coachbuilders evolved over more than a century into a celebration of historic vehicles. Today, these events reflect global admiration for classic cars, viewed as treasured artifacts worthy of preservation, conservation, or restoration, and showcased as part of humanity's industrial heritage.
This book celebrates this evolution, exploring the origins of the earliest concours d'élégance and how the tradition expanded to feature women, fashion, and lifestyle. It also examines how the concept was reimagined in the New World, transforming into a festival that honors both the exceptional and the unconventional, creating a fresh style and new purpose.
464 pages | 650 color plates | 8.62 x 11.97 | © 2025
History: History of Technology
Transportation: Automotive
Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword by McKeel Hagerty
Preamble – Before 1900
1900 – 1914 Before the First World War
The First Concours d’Elegance a la française at Dinard in 1921 and how it evolved over the years
The manufacturers
The coachbuilders
The haute couture houses
Concours d’élégance à la française during the 1920s
Concours d’Elegence at its peak during the 1930s
Concours d’Elegence in Europe – Turin, Sinaia, Villa d’Este
Reviving Concours post-WWII, and its disappearance
History of Pebble Beach
Hillsborough, Bagatelle, and the revival of Villa d’Este
Concours in America (Amelia Island, Radnor Hunt, etc)
Concours in Rest of World
Differentiating between Concours d’Etat & d’Elegance
The future – what can we anticipate?
Annexure
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index
Foreword by McKeel Hagerty
Preamble – Before 1900
1900 – 1914 Before the First World War
The First Concours d’Elegance a la française at Dinard in 1921 and how it evolved over the years
The manufacturers
The coachbuilders
The haute couture houses
Concours d’élégance à la française during the 1920s
Concours d’Elegence at its peak during the 1930s
Concours d’Elegence in Europe – Turin, Sinaia, Villa d’Este
Reviving Concours post-WWII, and its disappearance
History of Pebble Beach
Hillsborough, Bagatelle, and the revival of Villa d’Este
Concours in America (Amelia Island, Radnor Hunt, etc)
Concours in Rest of World
Differentiating between Concours d’Etat & d’Elegance
The future – what can we anticipate?
Annexure
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index