Matthew Farfan

The crowds came – despite the frigid temperatures and the brisk winds. Over a four-day period, hundreds of people converged on the old Kell-Davis homestead in the little hamlet of Griffin. Dubbed “Art and the Automobile,” the event was part antique and élite car rally, part car show, and part photography exhibition. It brought together in one field some of the most splendid cars of yesterday and today – ranging from Ferraris to Citroens, and everything in between.

A highlight of the event was a 2009 Callaway Corvette, a superb futuristic car that looks something like a silver Batmobile. In promotional pamphlets, one of the features listed as “optional” includes an “exquisite custom leather interior crafted with meticulous German workmanship.” The price for this option alone: $24,300.

Another draw was the famous Henry Seth Taylor steam buggy, built in Stanstead, Quebec, in 1867, and considered Canada’s very first car. The buggy, which is now restored and is part of the collection of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, had not been seen in the Eastern Townships since the 1960s, when it was discovered by a collector mouldering away in a local barn.

Another attraction was a book launch on Sunday by Eastern Townships writer/photographer, Louise Abbott, and her husband, photographer Niels Jensen. The couple have just published The Heart of the Farm: A History of Barns and Fences in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, and were on hand to sign copies of the book, which is published by Price-Patterson and now available in most bookstores.