A graduate of Stanford University with diverse interests and talents, Wally Byam worked in the fields of advertising, journalism, and publishing before rising to prominence as the founder of the iconic camper trailer company Airstream. Beyond his many professional pursuits he was passionate about camping, but his wife Marion didn’t particularly like spending the night in a tent.

When Wally Byam’s magazine enterprise fell prey to the historic stock market crash of 1929, he decided to make an enclosed trailer that would transform the camping experience for his wife and, ultimately, countless others around the world. He began by using the chassis of a Model T Ford as a frame, topping it with a canvas tent shell that proved unwieldy and vulnerable to the elements.

Scrapping this design, Mr. Byam added a hard-shelled structure to the Model T chassis that included a sleeping area as well as a small travel stove and ice chest. The teardrop shape of the trailer made it quite aerodynamic when towed behind a vehicle. In recognition of the trailer’s ability to move “like a stream of air,” Wally Byam dubbed his new creation “Airstream.”