Another Murphy Doors-Into-the-Roof Design

The Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California was an important West Coast coachbuilding firm from 1920 to 1932.  Murphy specialized in luxury cars such as Duesenberg for a clientele that included many in the Hollywood set.

In its final years, personnel included important stylists such as Frank Spring (who later led Hudson styling), Phil Wright (who designed the futuristic-at-the-time 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow), and Frank Hershey (background here and here) who later designed such cars as the 1955 Ford Thunderbird.

An important Murphy product designed by Hershey was the 1931 prototype Peerless V-16 that I wrote about here.  Its most distinctive feature was doors that extended into the roof.

I thought that was unique until I came across a photo of a Cord L-29 with similar doors.

Gallery

1931 Peerless V-16 by Murphy
The V-16 had clean, somewhat rounded styling that was slightly ahead of its time.

In those days roofs tended to be flat and thin, unlike the rounded top shown here.

The door cutlines are difficult to see in these old photos.

But all is revealed in this image of the car with opened doors.

Cord L-29 Sport Sedan by Murphy
Here is the circa-1931 Cord L-29 with similar doors whose cutlines are barely visible.  Hershey is credited with this design.