Where did the fleur-de-lis come from? At the time, Chevrolet was conducting research on various emblem designs for the 19 passenger cars. The new emblem contained the checkered flag on the right side as well as the white racing flag, red Chevrolet bow-tie symbol and a fleur-de-lis (Figure 2). Right before the show, redesigned emblems were attached to the front hood and steering wheel of the Corvette. The problem with the proposed emblem was that it included the American flag which is illegal to use on a commerical product.

However, four days before the Corvette was to go on display at the show, Chevrolet management decided that it should be redesigned. It had crossing staffs with the checkered flag on the right hand side, and the American flag on the left hand side. This emblem was destined to appear on the 1953 Corvette prototype which was introduced to the public for the first time at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel in January of 1953. The original Corvette logo (Figure 1) was designed by Robert Bartholomew, an interior designer at Chevrolet in 1953.

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