Cadillac’s nomenclature for prestige models can be somewhat confusing, particularly for their sedans. Throughout the 1930s there were touring sedans, town sedans, formal sedans, and imperial sedans, which were all a bit different from the limousines and town cars. Variations of the many sedans were built by both Fisher Body, General Motors’ production body division, and Fleetwood, the wholly owned coachbuilder. An intermediate model between the town sedans and imperial sedans was the formal sedan, which was first seen in the catalogue in 1936.

Styles 7519-F and 8519-F (F in this case for “formal”) were offered as either an eight-cylinder 75 or twelve-cylinder 85 and had blind rear quarters for greater passenger privacy. These were Fleetwood-built five-passenger cars on a 138-inch wheelbase and could be had with a leather-covered roof.

By 1938, the catalogue included both five- and seven-passenger versions, style 7559 and 7533-F, respectively, and in addition to the leather roof, a division partition with a roll-down window was available. Drop-down jump seats on the partition increased the seating capacity, and the wheelbase was now 141.3 inches. Similar bodies were offered on the new Sixteen, the Series 90, as the 12-cylinder cars had been dropped.

This upstanding Cadillac Formal Sedan was ordered through Don Lee Inc., the Los Angeles Cadillac distributor, and delivered by Hillcrest Motor Company in Hollywood. The identity of its first owner has been lost, but it doesn’t take much imagination to see a starlet or a movie mogul among its passengers.

The car is presented in black with a padded vinyl top and features metal-covered side-mount spares, a fog lamp, and wide whitewall bias-ply tires. The opulent passenger compartment is finished in fine, soft tan cloth upholstery and features aft-facing folding jump seats (unusual given the car’s specification as a five-passenger model!), drop-down serving tables, and an electric clock. The chauffeur’s compartment has been recently reupholstered in black leather and features a banjo steering wheel and Cadillac’s new-for-1938 column-mounted shifting control. The engine compartment is clean and nicely detailed.

This well-presented and nicely detailed Cadillac is ready for prestige passengers or livery service, or it would be the ideal car to fill out a comprehensive collection.