Bugatti, Peugeot, Michelin: all names associated with speed and all companies whose reputations were enhanced by their association with the Frenchman Rene Vincent (1879-1936). Vincent began by studying architecture at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris but soon turned ti illustration. His success can be measured, in part, by his many imitators. In 1909 he illustrated Aeorpolis, a predecessor of today's graphic novels, the story of Henry Kistemaeckers, an early stunt pilot. Was all this a coincidence or evidence of a fascination with acceleration? It may be a stretch, but it is possible that the golf ball, shot by the woman in Golfe de Sarlabot, traveled at a speed fast enough to pass a Bugatti.
Image: Rene Vincent - Golf de Sarlabot, 1930, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Paris.