Unic Automobiles - French Car Manufacturer, Belle Époque Advertising Poster

In 1905, the engineer Georges Richard founded a new automobile company in Puteaux, just outside Paris, with the backing of a remarkable investor: Baron Henri de Rothschild. They called it Unic — and from the very beginning, it was a car built to stand apart. Elegant, reliable, and technically refined, Unic automobiles quickly earned a reputation among the most discerning buyers in France and beyond.

But it was the Unic taxicab that made the company truly famous. Robust and dependable, Unic taxis became a fixture on the streets of Paris, and were exported to London and New York as well. Then came the moment that would write Unic into history forever. In September 1914, as German forces threatened to overwhelm Paris in the opening weeks of the First World War, the French military commandeered hundreds of Parisian taxis — Unics among them — to rush 6,000 troops to the front at the Battle of the Marne. The famous Taxis de la Marne helped stop the German advance and save Paris. It was the first time in history that motor vehicles had been used for a mass military troop movement — and the humble Parisian taxi had played a starring role.

Unic continued producing automobiles until 1938, then commercial vehicles until 1952, when the company was acquired by Simca. But its place in the golden age of French motoring — and in the history of the First World War — was already assured.

A magnificent piece of early French automotive advertising history — bold, proud, and full of the optimism of a new mechanical age.

Giclee reproductions on luster premium photo paper.