A 1928 Cadillac 341 Coupé de Ville with a Polish musical history

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PreWarCar of the Week

1928 Cadillac 341 Coupé de Ville by Gangloff Genève

A unique Cadillac with a body by Gangloff, Genève Zürich. This 1928 car is unrestored – but in beautiful condition, as you can also see in this video.

The first owner of the car is believed to be Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who lived from 1860 to 1941. Paderewski was quite a remarkable man. Not only was he a pianist but he was also a spokesman for Polish independence. He travelled the world and also toured the United States (he even lived in California before WWI). This might be the reason that he chose the American Cadillac instead of an European car make. Paderewski was in power when the Treaty of Versailles was signed, which ended WWI, and he became the Polish Prime Minister.

Around 1922, Paderewski picked up his original passion and profession - music. His new tour became a huge success with concerts around the world. In between the musical performances he resided in his house close to Morges in Switzerland - where the Cadillac was registered at that time. Although there are no documents to proof this, it certainly looks like he was the owner. One of the indications is for instance that the Coupé de Ville is fitted with two foldable running boards, specially made for Paderewski after he had a serious back operation in 1929. Documentation dating back to 1940 shows the car was registered in Morges - the place where Paderewski lived until 1941.

This stunning car (with chassis # 34810 and engine # 307367) had only two owners whereby it never moved far from where it was first delivered, as it always remained in the Lake Geneva area in Switzerland. It must have been quite a sight when it drove between the beautiful Alps and along the astonishing lake. See here a picture of the car in 1959.

There are still some blanks in its history and we do hope someone knows more about this interesting Cadillac Coupé de Ville. Any additional information would be much appreciated.

See this 1928 Cadillac 341 Coupé de Ville by Gangloff Genève for sale in our online Marketplace.

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