Rolls Royce’s second iconic emblem, the Spirit of Ecstasy hood
ornament, is linked to a similarly tragic (but in this case,
entirely true) tale. Designed by Charles Sykes in 1911, the
model for the emblem was Miss Eleanor Thornton, the personal
secretary of John Scott Montagu, the 2nd Baron Montagu of
Beaulieu and friend of company co-founder Charles Stewart Rolls.
In 1915, Miss Thornton died at sea while traveling to India. Yet
for almost 100 years her likeness has graced every Spirit of
Ecstasy. The origins of some automotive logos begin even before
the dawn of the automobile. The Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star
is commonly known to symbolize the use of the company’s engines
on land, sea and air. But the star first appeared on a personal
note written in 1872 from company founder, Gottlieb Daimler, to
his wife. Mr. Daimler used a three-pointed star to mark the
location of his family’s new home in the town of Deutz, Germany.
His sons adapted the emblem as the Mercedes-Benz logo from 1910
onward. One of the b