"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
New to me too, but if you're interested in suggestions (ie, I'm making a guess), it looks like a publicity photo outside a factory. My suggestion is that it may have been starting to build kit components for MkVIIIs (really just the powertrain, as far as I recall - although maybe the Americans were also supposed to produce the track 'chain' to which British track shoes would be added) to be shipped across to France to the factory that was never built, and here we could be seeing a press release publicizing the new fashionable and patriotic venture (as tanks were in the public consciousness).
The mock up could be canvas over a wooden frame, or wood-panelled, but certainly seems to have painted-on sponsons and looks double-ended.
I agree the sponsons are painted on, but I think that the thing itself is steel. Maybe it's a shipyard or some such. What looks as if it might be lettering is visible through the ankles of the people sitting on top of the thing - at least, I think so. And are there spikes that are meant to represent the track shoes? A very strange thing.
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"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
My guess is a dressed up tram car. It would explain why the sponsons are painted on... so they could pass other traffic. I've seen photos of trams and trolley busses dressed up for special occasions lots of times in local history books here in Portsmouth. Could be a pantograph arm top left behind the people on the roof.
Of course it is! Brilliant, Hel. It all makes sense now.
So the "steel plates" must be on canvas or something.
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"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
Well-spotted, Helen. Can't see much of the writing behind the ankles at the top, but the second word does look like "tram".
As for the 'spikes', I think that's just the way the light is hitting ankles/boots, etc. It does look to me as though there are some dummy treads, but of a realistic depth.
