The Lesser-Known Illustrations of "Big Daddy" Roth

Mr. Chris Cooper, a Telstar Logistics Strategic Associate who normally operates under the callsign Coop, contacted us over the weekend. Coop directed us toward an amazing set of scans he'd posted which show some of the less well-known illustration work done by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth during the 1960s and 1970s.

In case you've been living in a cave for the last four decades, here's what the Wikipedia sayeth about Big Daddy Roth, and his seminal contributions to the gearhead arts:

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (March 4, 1932 – April 4, 2001) was an artist and cartoonist who created the hot-rod icon Rat Fink and other extreme characters. As a custom car builder, Roth was a key figure in Southern California's "Kustom Kulture"/Hot-rod movement of the 1960s. He grew up in Bell, California, attending Bell High School, where his classes included auto shop and art.

Roth is best known for his grotesque caricatures — typified by Rat Fink — depicting imaginative, outsized monstrosities driving representations of the hot rods he and his contemporaries built. Although Detroit native Stanley Mouse (Miller) is credited with creating the so-called "Monster Hot Rod" art form, Roth is accepted as the individual who popularized it. Roth is less well known for his innovative work in turning hot rodding from crude backyard engineering where performance was the bottom line into a refined artform where aesthetics were equally important, breaking new ground with fiberglass bodywork.

The illustrations in Coop's collection were mostly created to serve as window decals and other ephemera, and as such they provide terrific insight into early hot rod aesthetics and the kinds of illustration gigs Roth took on to keep bread on his table. They also reflect the way his sensibility lent itself to other audiences, such as soldiers serving in Vietnam. All told, these illustrations have a rawness and diversity that's less evident in Big Daddy's more heavily commercialized work. Don't miss Coop's entire collection.

PS: It should be noted that Coop is also an illustrator of no small repute, and also a formidable gearhead, and it's no stretch to say that he is in many ways a latter-day heir to Big Daddy Roth's throne.  If you've never checked out his work, you should. Now!

LINK:
Rat Fink: Ed "Big Daddy" Roth Collectibles & Ephemera (Illustration collection by Coop)

PREVIOUSLY:
The Intimate Industrial Illustrations of Frank Soltesz

Coop Shoots the Speed Trials at El Mirage

Vintage Comic Book Cutaways and Sci-Fi Models from Modern Fred

Comments

[Halip of Roachamatics]

Even down here in the distant colonies (Alabama) "Big Daddy" Roth was a cultural hero to us. Trapped in our small towns, he represented a window into another world far away, and inspired many people to original thinking.

Yep, he epitomized COOL to us.