Christopher J. Helin '1887–1964

From 1915 to 1935, Christopher J. Helin served as a renowned automotive writer, travel editor, and photographer for the San Francisco Examiner. Originally from Minnesota, Helin was working for the Minneapolis Tribune when William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) personally recruited him as editor of the Examiner’s Automotive Section. With the city of San Francisco being well-served by its expansive cable car system, to help sell more cars - and more advertising for the newspaper - Helin’s California Motorlogues featured brief automobile trips to areas of scenic beauty, prominent points of historical interest, and other landmark locations in and about San Francisco and Northern California. Helin’s test-drive reports of new cars - always prominently featuring his iconic photography - further promoted travel by automobile.

While working for the Examiner, Helin also composed photography for Charles S. Howard’s (1877-1950) Howard Automobile Co., at the time San Francisco’s largest Buick dealer and the world’s largest automobile distributor. In his impressive photographs for Howard, Helin often utilized San Francisco landmarks. After sales of automobiles went into significant decline during the Great Depression, Christopher Helin left the Examiner. Today, his photography is highly regarded and is some of the most historically significant automotive photography of its time.

The biography was taken from The Buick Heritage Alliance