https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203661954346085&set=gm.1183055551841059&type=3&permPage=1
There doesn't seem to be jack squat on the internet about these ol Bear tire alignment machines, http://www.teambearusa.com/ has a gallery of photos, http://www.teambearusa.com/history and not a single one appears on my screen, so, I don't know if that is due to a firewall, software issues, or their website
They have a good history of the Bear Manufacturing Company http://www.teambearusa.com/upload/15084/documents/BearHistory2.pdf and http://www.teambearusa.com/upload/15084/documents/BearHistoryMoeAllen.pdf
Bear Manufacturing came into existence in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1917, making the luggage racks that held suitcases in place. Bear soon expanded into wheel alignments, since a trip of any length on early unpaved highways was almost certainly going to make one necessary.
http://www.teambearusa.com/upload/15084/documents/BearWA76_catalog.pdf
and their trademark, was a happy bear
"the source of the design of the bear motif on Bear's Choice. It is a 36 point lead type-slug of a generic bear, a standardised figure from a printer's font of type, which particular font, I don't know. Bob Thomas gave this one to me and said it was the inspiration for the circle of little multi-coloured marching bears on the back cover of Bear's Choice.
This generic design has been used in several commercial logos over the years. One of the best known is the ubiquitous American company, Bear Wheel Alignment, whose logo is almost an exact duplicate of this little type-character. Bob made significant changes in the basic design when he derived it for the album." http://www.thebear.org/bearstory.html
Created for the back cover of History of the Grateful Dead, Volume 1, artist Bob Thomas took his inspiration from a 36-point lead slug of a happy-looking bear he found in an old-fashioned printer's font box.
http://gratefuldead-music.com/article/grateful-dead-symbols-de-coded-part-2-dancing-dead-bear
"the grateful dead stole the image" not really. the shitty scribble that existed as a font block was used as inspiration. there is a big difference. Also, bob thomas was not a member of the band, and Owsley was a sound guy and LSD chemist, also not part of the band. If anything the wheel lignment company stole the font imge whereas the bob only used it as inspiration for the owsley referencing marching bears.
ReplyDeletethere's a big difference. Big? Really? You need glasses. The 36 point lead printers bear is close enough you have to look closely to find the tiny variances. I never said Bob Thomas was in the band, it doesn't matter if he was or wasn't, the band used the bear. That's irrefutable, and where the wheel alignment get their bear logo from isn't being said, debated, or remarked on. The Dead stole the bear, used it, and that's a fact. Not that it matters, and no one cares, but you're either being obtuse, argumentative, or ridiculous.
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