Today’s shot, from a contributor who’d rather stay anonymous and an unknown photog, is from #Manhattan circa #1938 - the chunky buildings, shoeshine boys, and “freight entrance” on the door suggest midtown south. What’s really noteworthy here though is the foreground car (in the background is a ’38 Chevy) - a 1937 #LincolnModelK with what looks to be a Judkins two-window #Berline body. Just 47 of these close-coupled, fabric-roofed limousines (there’s a partition) were made - making it one of the more popular K models. The mighty late #1930s K, powered by a 414-cid V12, is probably the most exotic #Lincoln of all and a top-tier #luxury purebred. The K was a plutocrat’s car in an era of deprivation - even before Lincoln released the relatively mid-priced Zephyr in 1936, the K sold in small and ever decreasing numbers - 3,540 in it’s introductory (and best) year of 1931, and just 977 in 1937. But it was a glorious machine for the very few who could afford it - and most of those folks chose to have one of the many custom bodies Lincoln offered from coachbuilders like Brunn, LeBaron, Willoughby, and Massachusetts-based J.B. #Judkins. Founded by John B. Judkins (Sr.) way back in 1857, the firm had built carriages before car bodies - their specialties were closed types, Broughams, Victorias, Park Breaks - they transitioned easily into car bodies and built them for Alco, Locomobile, Winton, and many more with the heyday coming from 1910 to 1930. The decline of #bespoke luxury cars also meant tough times for Judkins, though its creations became ever more beautiful and aerodynamic, often styled by their Dutch immigrant design chief John F. Dobben. By 1934 the volume of car bodies, many supplied for Lincoln, was no longer enough to sustain the company, so it turned first to caskets and later to pre-fab buildings (Diners, specifically), but went under in 1942. Dobben, who managed the place in its last months (“they couldn’t afford coal to heat the plant”), went to work for Lincoln from 1945-58. K production ran into late 1939, with the very last cars delivered in early 1940. #ig_autoshow #LincolnTownCar #vintagecars #asundaycarpic #moderne #oldNewYork #NYC #coachbuilt (at Midtown South, New York)