MICHELIN HOUSE: STAINED GLASS AMNESTY
Before the outbreak of World War II, the stained glass panels at the front and sides of Michelin House, 81 Fulham Rd, London were removed to a basement in Michelin's Stoke-on-Trent factory for safekeeping. Unfortunately they went missing.
Anybody returning a substantial part of any of the windows will be rewarded with a meal for two at The Bibendum Restaurant (Michelin House).
Anybody returning a substantial part of any of the windows will be rewarded with a meal for two at The Bibendum Restaurant (Michelin House).
We last heard of the panels in the 1960's, we think that somebody may have 'borrowed' the panels to prevent any further damage. We'd like them back now please.
We've launched an amnesty to give people an opportunity to return the panels - or parts of them without any fear or worries. We'd just like to have them back.
What is seen in Michelin House today are exceptionally high quality modern recreations based on the best interpretations of tinted pictures and black and white photographs such as those above.
We've launched an amnesty to give people an opportunity to return the panels - or parts of them without any fear or worries. We'd just like to have them back.
What is seen in Michelin House today are exceptionally high quality modern recreations based on the best interpretations of tinted pictures and black and white photographs such as those above.
The centre panel; 'Nunc est Bibendum', latin for 'now is the time to drink' is based on an original advert for Michelin Tyres - the tyre that drinks all obstacles.
It is a multi panel arched window constructed using traditional leading techniques of coloured glass and lead came. It is unlikely that the window was stored as a single sheet and probably would have been split into individual panes.
Do you have an odd stained glass arm or leg and wonder where it came from?
The image (right) would normally be readable from outside the building. It has been mirrored here to illustrate the text.
It is a multi panel arched window constructed using traditional leading techniques of coloured glass and lead came. It is unlikely that the window was stored as a single sheet and probably would have been split into individual panes.
Do you have an odd stained glass arm or leg and wonder where it came from?
The image (right) would normally be readable from outside the building. It has been mirrored here to illustrate the text.
THE CENTRE PANEL
THE 'SEMELLE' WINDOW
The 'Semelle' window is based on an advertising poster created for Michelin by Marius Rossillon aka O'Galop in 1905.
The Semelle was a studded tyre and was portrayed by Bibendum in a pugilistic stance having a kick at the competition. The original title was 'Le coup de la semelle Michelin' - 'The kick of the Michelin tread'.
It is an 18 pane sheet leaded light showing the Michelin Man dressed as a French style boxer showing the sole of his shoe which is studded like the Semelle tyre.
The Semelle was a studded tyre and was portrayed by Bibendum in a pugilistic stance having a kick at the competition. The original title was 'Le coup de la semelle Michelin' - 'The kick of the Michelin tread'.
It is an 18 pane sheet leaded light showing the Michelin Man dressed as a French style boxer showing the sole of his shoe which is studded like the Semelle tyre.
THE CYCLE WINDOW
The 'cycle' window is based on another advertising poster which although unsigned is in the style of Englishman Stanley Roowles.
The caption for the poster was 'Michelin cycle tyres, the best, the least expensive'. In the period before the first world war, there were very few cars on the roads, but bicycles could be counted in the hundreds of thousands. Cycle tyres would be a very important part of the business at that time.
It is an 18 pane sheet leaded light showing the Michelin Man riding his bicycle with one hand in his pocket and a cigar in the other. This is intended to illustrate how stable cycles will be on Michelin detachable tyres.
The caption for the poster was 'Michelin cycle tyres, the best, the least expensive'. In the period before the first world war, there were very few cars on the roads, but bicycles could be counted in the hundreds of thousands. Cycle tyres would be a very important part of the business at that time.
It is an 18 pane sheet leaded light showing the Michelin Man riding his bicycle with one hand in his pocket and a cigar in the other. This is intended to illustrate how stable cycles will be on Michelin detachable tyres.
AMNESTY HOTLINE
Call us and leave a message in confidence on
01782 402118
Call us and leave a message in confidence on
01782 402118
LEARN MORE
Stained glass and leaded lights have existed since roughly the 7th century and were used to illustrate religious themes for a largely illiterate populace.
There was a revival in the UK in the 19th Century with various artistic movements such as the Gothic revival and the arts and crafts movement expounded by Ruskin, Pugin and William Morris. Since those times, Stained glass and leaded lights have been a regular part of artistic expression.
Find out more about leading and stained glass on wikipedia.
Stained glass and leaded lights have existed since roughly the 7th century and were used to illustrate religious themes for a largely illiterate populace.
There was a revival in the UK in the 19th Century with various artistic movements such as the Gothic revival and the arts and crafts movement expounded by Ruskin, Pugin and William Morris. Since those times, Stained glass and leaded lights have been a regular part of artistic expression.
Find out more about leading and stained glass on wikipedia.
Do you have this window or a part of it?
Get in touch on our confidential hotline 01782 402118, you don't have to worry as you can leave a message. Our business hours are 08:30 - 17:30 Mon - Fri
Get in touch on our confidential hotline 01782 402118, you don't have to worry as you can leave a message. Our business hours are 08:30 - 17:30 Mon - Fri
Do you have this window or a part of it?
Get in touch on our confidential hotline 01782 402118, you don't have to worry as you can leave a message. Our business hours are 08:30 - 17:30 Mon - Fri
Get in touch on our confidential hotline 01782 402118, you don't have to worry as you can leave a message. Our business hours are 08:30 - 17:30 Mon - Fri
Do you have this window or a part of it?
Get in touch on our confidential hotline 01782 402118, you don't have to worry as you can leave a message. Our business hours are 08:30 - 17:30 Mon - Fri
Get in touch on our confidential hotline 01782 402118, you don't have to worry as you can leave a message. Our business hours are 08:30 - 17:30 Mon - Fri
© 2011 Michelin Tyre PLC
UPDATES & MENTIONS
Flash: April 2011
Stained glass hunt goes down under as Oz link to missing windows revealed.More at bottom of page
Mon 15-11-10
08h30: Amnesty Launched
09h00: Interview on BBC Radio Stoke
13h30: BBC London TV, Lunchtime news interview
17h50: BBC Radio 5 Live interview with Peter Allen & Aasmah Mir
18h50: BBC London TV Evening news interview
Wed 17-11-10
Amnesty hotline call: A Mr Jones was aware that company archives were moved between building 10 and 41 at Stoke by the company Archivist.
Thu 18-11-10
Amnesty Hotline call: Sue called to say that in the basement of Building 10 there were a number of 'lock-ups' and the windows were kept in a room on the left hand side of the building.
Amnesty Hotline Call: Steve called to say that he worked for the stained glass company that remade the windows in the 1980's and at that time, the originals couldn't be found.
Update: 18-11-10. The former company archivist has been contacted and confirmed that an exhaustive search for the windows was conducted in the 1980's and around the year 2000 with no luck.
Stained glass hunt goes down under as Oz link to missing windows revealed.More at bottom of page
Mon 15-11-10
08h30: Amnesty Launched
09h00: Interview on BBC Radio Stoke
13h30: BBC London TV, Lunchtime news interview
17h50: BBC Radio 5 Live interview with Peter Allen & Aasmah Mir
18h50: BBC London TV Evening news interview
Wed 17-11-10
Amnesty hotline call: A Mr Jones was aware that company archives were moved between building 10 and 41 at Stoke by the company Archivist.
Thu 18-11-10
Amnesty Hotline call: Sue called to say that in the basement of Building 10 there were a number of 'lock-ups' and the windows were kept in a room on the left hand side of the building.
Amnesty Hotline Call: Steve called to say that he worked for the stained glass company that remade the windows in the 1980's and at that time, the originals couldn't be found.
Update: 18-11-10. The former company archivist has been contacted and confirmed that an exhaustive search for the windows was conducted in the 1980's and around the year 2000 with no luck.
Links:
Home page news item on Bibendum restuarant (Michelin house).
The Independent: Article 12 Nov
Valve Bounce: Article 15 Nov
BBC Radio Stoke website: Article 15 Nov
Tyrepress.com: Article 15 Nov
Wikipedia: Page about Michelin House
Neatorama: Article 16 Nov
London Evening Standard: Article 16 Nov
Sump magazine: News article
Tire Review (USA) Article 16 Nov
Popsop.com: Article 16 Nov
Home page news item on Bibendum restuarant (Michelin house).
The Independent: Article 12 Nov
Valve Bounce: Article 15 Nov
BBC Radio Stoke website: Article 15 Nov
Tyrepress.com: Article 15 Nov
Wikipedia: Page about Michelin House
Neatorama: Article 16 Nov
London Evening Standard: Article 16 Nov
Sump magazine: News article
Tire Review (USA) Article 16 Nov
Popsop.com: Article 16 Nov
Apr 2011: Michelin's stained glass hunt goes down under as Oz link to missing windows revealed
The focus of Michelin's hunt for its missing stained glass windows has moved to Australia following tip-offs that the glassware featuring the Michelin Man could have been shipped down under.
The antipodean link has emerged out of information submitted to Michelin through its stained glass amnesty, issued over four months ago. Michelin set up a confidential hotline and amnesty web page to allow people to leave their clues anonymously in the search for the original stained glass windows that once adorned the Michelin House building in London.
The hotline and web page have been rife with rumour, with over 300 visits a day to the website since the amnesty was announced and an array of explanations put forward as to the windows whereabouts. Sifting through the clues and tip-offs, Michelin investigators have now narrowed down the possible location of the windows to either Australia or a Stoke-on-Trent refuse site.
Numerous snippets of information generated through the amnesty have suggested a coincidental disappearance of the stained glass windows at the same time as many from the Potteries - including some ex-Michelin employees - moved to Australia. Many of the tip-offs received have put forward the same name and theory for the 'Australian Connection' - with some respondents suggesting the windows may have ended up adorning an Outback bar or business establishment.
Peter Snelling, Michelin's UK Head of Communications, said: "The amount of information we have received by different people suggesting the 'Australian Connection' has moved this scenario into the top two of probable outcomes.
"We will be liaising with our Michelin colleagues in Australia to carry out further investigations to see if there is any more substance to these theories. In the meantime we will also be looking at the possibilities raised in Stoke-on-Trent as to the location of the windows."
The suggestions for Stoke-on-Trent, centre on the stained glass windows being accidentally discarded during their time in storage at a Michelin warehouse unit in Hanford. A number of respondents have suggested the windows may have ended up on a refuse tip in Stoke-on-Trent but no conclusive evidence so far has been unearthed to confirm this.
The original stained glass windows were removed from the Michelin House building for safe keeping following the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and were transported to Stoke-on-Trent to be stored safely until the war finished. A post-war audit at Michelin's Stoke-on-Trent site found the windows to be AWOL and despite rumours of sightings in the 1960s, they remain missing to this day.
Any clues or leads can also be left on the confidential phone line at 01782 402118.
Michelin are seeking the return of the stained glass windows as part of the Michelin House 100 year anniversary celebrations.
The antipodean link has emerged out of information submitted to Michelin through its stained glass amnesty, issued over four months ago. Michelin set up a confidential hotline and amnesty web page to allow people to leave their clues anonymously in the search for the original stained glass windows that once adorned the Michelin House building in London.
The hotline and web page have been rife with rumour, with over 300 visits a day to the website since the amnesty was announced and an array of explanations put forward as to the windows whereabouts. Sifting through the clues and tip-offs, Michelin investigators have now narrowed down the possible location of the windows to either Australia or a Stoke-on-Trent refuse site.
Numerous snippets of information generated through the amnesty have suggested a coincidental disappearance of the stained glass windows at the same time as many from the Potteries - including some ex-Michelin employees - moved to Australia. Many of the tip-offs received have put forward the same name and theory for the 'Australian Connection' - with some respondents suggesting the windows may have ended up adorning an Outback bar or business establishment.
Peter Snelling, Michelin's UK Head of Communications, said: "The amount of information we have received by different people suggesting the 'Australian Connection' has moved this scenario into the top two of probable outcomes.
"We will be liaising with our Michelin colleagues in Australia to carry out further investigations to see if there is any more substance to these theories. In the meantime we will also be looking at the possibilities raised in Stoke-on-Trent as to the location of the windows."
The suggestions for Stoke-on-Trent, centre on the stained glass windows being accidentally discarded during their time in storage at a Michelin warehouse unit in Hanford. A number of respondents have suggested the windows may have ended up on a refuse tip in Stoke-on-Trent but no conclusive evidence so far has been unearthed to confirm this.
The original stained glass windows were removed from the Michelin House building for safe keeping following the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and were transported to Stoke-on-Trent to be stored safely until the war finished. A post-war audit at Michelin's Stoke-on-Trent site found the windows to be AWOL and despite rumours of sightings in the 1960s, they remain missing to this day.
Any clues or leads can also be left on the confidential phone line at 01782 402118.
Michelin are seeking the return of the stained glass windows as part of the Michelin House 100 year anniversary celebrations.
FLASH: Missing stained glass turns up in Oz? Read more