[Alpines] Alpine/Tiger photo

rande rande at thecia.net
Tue May 29 19:31:11 MDT 2012


I've known of this photo since college around 1972, but am just asking for help
about it now.

In some editions of the Bill Owens coffee table book SUBURBIA, the cover photo
is a couple in lawn chairs on their driveway, their son on roller skates next
to them, the garage door is open, and inside is a boat on the left and either
a Tiger or an Alpine on the right. I'm trying to find out if any of our Northern
California folks know either the car or the people and what model Sunbeam it
is. I'll give you all of the information I have so far.

The California black plate number is UGT 517.

The license plate dealer frame is from Jay's Auto Imports, in San Leandro, CA


The photo also appeared in the Week in Review section of the New York Times,
dated May 18, 1997, and their caption read, "Livermore, Calif. 1970: Savoring
life in the middle class, when it's easier to define."

The photo credit: Bill Owens (photographer) from the Robert Koch Gallery, San
Francisco

I found an easy to view image online by Googling  images and searching for 
'Bill Owens Suburbia'.

The car has reverse lights, but I can't make out the area left of the license
plate on the boot/trunk where a 'Sunbeam Tiger' emblem pair might be, and the
area underneath the bumper is too dark to check if the car has 'twice pipes'.


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