See If You Can Figure Out What The Hell The Symbols On The Dash Knobs Of A 1934 Voisin Mean

When it comes to genuinely striking cars – ones that have a real, visceral presence and command your attention in much the same way that, as the old aphorism goes, two green balls in your hand means you command the attention of Kermit the Frog – you really can’t beat a Voisin. These Avions Voisin cars were designed and built with an aircraft maker’s sensibilities, a sculptor’s sense of form, and an engineer’s appreciation of mechanics. Simply put, they’re stunning.

This 1934 Avions Voisin C23/24 Roadster by Saliot is such a car, and just sold earlier tonight at auction for a staggering $2,810,000. While that’s absolutely a lot of money, I also think this car is worth it. It’s that special.

Part of what makes this car special – and there are plenty of details that contribute to this, like the ostrich leather upholstery, for example, or the incredible lighting fixtures, for another – is the incredible dashboard, and on that dashboard are a series of knobs, which are what I want to focus on now.

The knobs on this beautiful engine-turned dashboard are the ones in the lower center of the dash, arranged in a gentle arc. These knobs have symbols on them to convey what happens when you activate them, something that’s kind of forward thinking. Plenty of cars from the early 1900s to the 1960s had controls that were either un-labeled or perhaps had a small text label. Standard symbols for dash controls really didn’t fully emerge until the 1970s.

This Voisin, though, while a couple of the knobs had text explaining their functions, most had pictographic symbols, and what would delight me right now is if you helped me figure out just what the hell these symbols may mean. Let’s walk though these knobs, left to right:

Oh, easy. That’s a cockroach of some kind, right? Maybe a termite or a weevil or something? Definitely some sort of insect. This must be the knob you pull to make insects come swarming out of specially-installed dashboard vents. Right? That sounds right. It’s an important feature to have in a car.

This one actually does seem to be pretty clear. Its a holy keyhole! Pulling the knob allows the Almighty to emerge through a keyhole, also useful when driving.

No, no, I’m kidding, This has to be something to do with lights. Either turning on the lights themselves or possibly adjusting the instrument lighting.

That looks like a lightning bolt of some kind. So, this must be something electrical. Adjust the electron flow in the generator? Like a choke? Adjusting the electrons/air mixture in the generator, maybe? That’s not really a thing, is it. Maybe it’s just ignition?

That’s either a hose spraying a liquid or a squid in a top hat. Either is as likely, to be honest. It sort of looks like a fuel injector, but I’m pretty sure this thing used twin carbs. Could it be for a choke? But even then this iconography feels confusing. Does pulling or pushing the knob spray something actively or adjust the way something that constantly sprays does its thing? I’m really not sure.

And finally, we have this knob:

This one either hypnotizes you, causes the car to generate some kind of vortex or cyclone, or makes you crazy. Maybe it flushes something?

I’m open to your suggestions on all of these. Also, if there are any other Avions Voisin C23/24 owners reading this, please hop in the comments and help us out!

The post See If You Can Figure Out What The Hell The Symbols On The Dash Knobs Of A 1934 Voisin Mean appeared first on The Autopian.