 Report by Francisco Carríon (on right in photo): The continuity of the pre-war car hobby among young people is under fire. Just a few days ago we wrote about the auction of the Fords from the Den Hartog museum to attract younger people. But as many of us know, true interest usually arises from participation in the hobby: being a co-driver in rallies, helping -where possible- with a restoration... You need to touch these cars! So, how about helping in bringing a barn find to the light - arguably the best part of the hobby. In the case of the Peugeot 201 on these photographs the team of rescuers consisted of young afficionados from 6 to 25 years old. Only the eldest (this modest writer) was really interested in pre-war cars before arriving. The others -especially the youngest- were casual observers who fell in love with the little Peugeot. They never guessed that this old piece of rust located in the bottom end of a garage could roll on its own deflated tyres, even pulled by a crane! Also they didn´t expect such cute lines emerging from this rural place. Definitely a show for these youngsters, which made all of them much more interested in this pre-war car. Since this day they come back regularly asking about the progress of the Peugeot in the workshop...! So, over to you, when did you see real interest of young people about really old cars? The editors of PreWarCar have decided to dedicate our 2015 calendar to the New Generation. So sorry chaps, no 'Proper Cars True Ladies' next year but Youngsters with Oldies. We're looking forwards to seeing your contributions come in! Please send to office @ prewarcar.com |
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A new generation of pre-war car rescuers
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The fate of the South American cars
 The pictures accompanying this article were taken one month ago, but these american cars have not been moved for many years. Still this can´t be considered as a "barn find"the . The owner is a classic car dealer and they are parked in the cellar of a storehouse where also other cars in much better conditions can be found. So, what is the case? Ten years ago the european classic car market was flooded with pre-war cars imported from South American countries such as Argentina and Uruguay. The business appeared easy, as these vehicles were bought cheap there -always below $3000- shipped, and then sold here for 6.000 euros or more. All these cars were easily recognisable: American cars from the mid 1920s to mid 1930s with right hand drive and many non original headlights, tops, colours, wheels... everything due to a past life of hard work which was probably daily till the moment of the sale to the european dealer. Not in every case the cars were in so bad conditions, but when the market seemed to accept almost everything years ago, many heavily modified cars came in reasonable quantities to europe, and then the crisis came... and many remained unsold till present days. How many Ford, Chevrolet, Willys, Durant, Rugby, and other popular american cars are hiding in Europe?? And there will be market for them some day? (photos & text Francisco Carrion) |
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Avions Voisin mystery Drophead & Dealer Sign
Slightly similar to the Voisin Drophead coupe sold at Bonhams recent Beaulieu sale. Yet the one on this photo sent by Vincent Juvenelle seems more elaborate. After counting the bonnet louvres we concluded that the car is probably based on a C14 chassis. Vincent who only recently found the photo wonders who could be the coachbuilder. Now that we're talking Voisin, you may be able to help your editor learning more about the heavy bronze Avions Voisin (Issy-Seine) dealer (?) shield recently found by him. Size is about 25 cm in diameter, weight around 2 kilos. The seller told it once was in the showroom of a (Voisin) car deaeler in Coimbra, Portugal. Anybody who can add some information to that?
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The 24-pot Zandvoort Revival Challenge
Due to an unhappy decision of the Zandvoort Circuit management the Zandvoort Vintage Revival is in the same weekend as the DTM, a championship for souped-up post-2010 saloons. Revival organiser DVSCC however has picked up the challenge and will use the weekend to learn the hamburger kids about real race cars. A fabulous field of 69 articipating sports and racing cars from six countries. Most interesting it will be to see the dinosour battle between the Bugatti Type 54 and Volpi V16 (Cadillac). Will the mighty Molsheim Eight hold up against the brute force of Detroit's V16?
Last minute entries are welcome here.
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A new life to my 1929 Chrysler Imperial Le Mans Roadster
 The 1929 Chrysler Imperial Le Mans roadster series 75. They call her "The Breeze" (click main photo for current condition). She's a former stockcar restored in Australia in 1976 (photos 5,6,7) and once more in The Netherlands in 2007 (photos 1-4 ). Now she 'new' and roaring again and doing 95 miles/hour. editor: Well Mr. Legrand, let's hope you don't try this 95 mph on a daily basis. Er... the Breeze is an old lady, no matter how goodlooking she is. Anyway, we just love to see Before & After photos. So don't be shy and upload 'your work' through this page. |
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It's only a fish
When I have guests staying from overseas I like to take them to Oxford and all its architecture and museums and shops, but on the way there I turn down a small side street and stop. Out with the camera and take the picture that is always the favourite. A shark in a roof!
It’s known as the Headington Shark and when ‘Kat’ came to stay from Germany, a ride in my Bullnose Morris would have been enough, but the look on her face as we rounded the corner was priceless. The car was made in 1921 only a few miles away, in Cowley. The shark has become very popular with tourists and the original house owner has now rented the house out to new people to let them answer the constant questions.
(Text and photographs Robin Batchelor)
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What is it? Quiz #379
It is a lovely cyclecar with outspoken radiator, nice cocky wings, interesting frontaxle and 'desirable' beltdrive. The radiator is topped with a figurine which looks like a flamenco dancer, yet that's not very clear and we're also not sure if it's a factory item. The photo is a bit unclear due to the fact that it was printed for use as a postcard. We understand this is the two seater sports version, but we are not sure if we're looking at the 2 or 4 cylinder (Ballot?) version and in fact are hoping to learn more from you. The marque lived only for two years.
You know the drill. We want the name and model designation of the car with any extra information being awarded. Bonus points for any trivial knowledge not readily available from 'the web' or 'the shelf'. In order to have a chance of winning the infamous PreWarCar T-shirt, please check The Rules under 'Read More'. Results will be published next Saturday September 27.
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Eastbourne revisited
Rick Ford responds to our earlier feature about Eastbourne: "Your story of early motor engineers in Eastbourne was splendid. But let us travel to the west and back in time to perhaps the turn of the Century? The New Forest occupies much of southern Hampshire and on its eastern boundary flow the lower reaches of major chalk streams, the Avon, Test and Itchen. The fly-fishing offered, attracted wealthy residents aplenty. Market towns prospered and in one, Romsey, the brewery supported many, many pubs, the landlords of which often worked in the day for the Brewery! This affluence around Romsey and the appearance of the Motor Car persuaded a young engineer, Mr. Mitchell, to set up a business to service this growing need. He started in the matriarchal home on a tributary stream of the Test, which boasted a mill house adjacent. This became the first workshop of Mitchell Brothers, Romsey. Later a highly successful Vauxhall agent, relocated in yet another ex-mill but much more extensive, in the town.
So here, in the first image, the embryonic workforce labour, in the open, are straightening a very early chassis. A stout baulk of timber and young muscles, their tools, the jig, the empty crates from the delivery of the "Pratts Motor Spirit", no doubt from the railway station, on the handcart. The tricycle fore-car will tease your readers, whilst behind sulks a quality rear entrance motor car, from very early in the century, perhaps it is the owner of the radiator propped against the mill house door. Note they were already agents for 'Napier Motors' but I do not recognise the striking poster on the door of a striding figure. Why is the riverside home of Mrs Mitchell flag bedecked at this period?
The business grows rapidly, the open mill yard is now a well built shed. This is on the main London to Bournemouth, unsurfaced road and directly opposite the town entrance to Lord Mountbatten's Broadlands estate. A hire/taxi vehicle is now required and poses on the entrance ramp, AA3942 (foto 2) is (maybe a Buick of 1909/10 ? ) is soon on an errand seen here on 'The Causeway' on the bank of the mighty River Test. No doubt heading for 'Saddler's Mill' where the salmon leap on the way to their upstream spawning grounds. Many years later I also drive to Saddler's Mill to collect a passenger, the resident, Mrs Wellesley-Parkin (her car: RR 20/25 GLZ63 Coupe by Barker)."
(Photo Mrs. Wellesley with her Rolls-Royce 20/25 by Rick Ford)
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Charleston commuter
Chris Leigh-Jones reports from wonderful historic Charleston. Would you know of any better place in the US to use a french vintage car? Chris wrote: "In the past I did the 2 hour daily commute from Littlehampton into London. Luckily my wife convinced me to emigrate and now the commute takes only 22 minutes in the rush hour of Charleston, South Carolina. I drive the Bug perhaps 20 times a year. It has to be a time when it's not going to rain, rain here is torrential but failing that the weather is beautiful most of the year, the commute is 12 miles. If you have a truck behind you then bet to go faster, they can’t see you very well most times or just don’t look. My son gets taken to school in it at the same time." Chris is very modest and honest about the car, "...it's made from Ebay in the main and has very many none standard parts on it. Like the steering box came from a Fiat, the chassis is a copy."
Editor: Well Chris, the number of Bugattis with a non-Molsheim frame probably would give a traffic jam longer than the French Quarter where you live is wide. So don't worry too much about that. The great thing with a car like yours is that you won't hesitate to take it out in US rush hour traffic!
(Photos by Chris Leigh-Jones)
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Liberation Task Force
 Karel Vermeer is travelling on a frequent basis from Holland to France. Last week he stumbled over the Liberation Task Force only miles accross the border between Belgium and Holland. "On our way back from France we thought, lets have dinner in Valkenswaard. When we arrived at the village there was a parade of the Liberation Task Force - just like 70 years ago on 16 & 17 September. There were about 80 cars, lorries and tanks, amongst those a Hillman, Austin, Austin Bel car, plus of course the inevitable Willy Jeep in period 'decoration'. Yet what again is the name of the US built half track? |
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The Cohender Mystery (update:1913 Cohendet)
Recently we were lucky enough to be allowed to examine a very old family album. Obviously we were looking for photos with cars, and after a short 'yes!'. In many photos the car pictured was a little "voiturette" which at a first glance seemed like an early Delage. The general size and lines, the shape of the radiator, and especially the two distinctive filler caps located behind the bonnet made us think in the french marque. Even the mono cylinder engine is in favour of this theory. We looked further and several pages later appeared the above picture. On the radiator you can clearly read "Cohender". By comparing from this angle with a Delage we can see some differences: the upper part of the radiator is straighter in the Cohender and both filler caps have the same "level" as the radiator filler cap, while in the Delages these two were always positioned somewhat higher.
We´ve tried to find something about this rare marque - if it is a marque..., but have not found anything. The photos were taken near Barcelona (registration: B-1052), but there is no info about any car factory with the name "Cohender". Here you can see the mystery Cohender located behind another bigger mystery car...
(Text Francisco Carrión)
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Magnets, Hen Houses and an Emperor.
RM Auctions are holding their next car auction at Hershey, that mecca for old car enthusiasts to mingle amongst thousands of stalls to buy and sell their autojumble stuff. There are 180 lots in their catalogue and many come from the collections of John Moir (1st session) and Jeffrey Day (2nd session). Lot 257 is a 1905 FIAT 60 HP Five-Passenger Tourer by Quinby & Co. and is a truly fabulous motor car. With its 4 cylinder T-head engine of 10.6 litres, 4-speed gearbox and twin chain drive it’s easy to understand why this car is considered to be the first true Italian supercar. When delivered to first owner Mr. Anheuser Busch Sr. it was the most expensive car in the world with aluminium bodywork, racing sprockets and recommendation from his close friend and fellow potentate, Kaiser Wilhelm II, the emperor of Germany, who had recently shelved his Mercedes for one of the Italian cars (in what proved to be somewhat of a public relations blunder!). The description even teaches us a new adjective ‘uber-premium’.
John Moir was a successful coffee importer in 1912 and on a trip to New York he bought his first car from Flandreau & Company, an importer of early French automobiles. It was a 1911 Brasier 11/15 HP Runabout, appealing to his ‘Yankee thrift’, but sold it after 10 years when his wife grew worried about driving her young children in a car with no doors. After WW2 he tracked the car down languishing unloved in a hen house, bought it back and had it restored. By 1978 he could no longer crank the engine and it went to a museum. Then in 1983, his daughter saw it for sale and it returned to the family for the third and final time. This collector’s raison d'être was to have a car with a name of every letter of the alphabet, so when it comes to ‘G’ what do you buy? A GN of course! Lot 113 is a 1914 GN Cyclecar – “wild, woolly, and wonderfully unconventional.” ‘S’ is a 1913 Spacke Cyclecar Prototype – “For sheer popularity and charm, this little gem is unbeatable”. If magnetism is your thing, then you’re in luck. The 1896 Armstrong Phaeton was discovered gathering dust in an old horse shoe nail plant in 1963. It bristles with features that would not be seen on other production vehicles for many years to come. These included a tubular chassis frame, electric lights, and electromagnetically controlled inlet valves. The electromagnetic starter within the flywheels is called “the commencer” and transmission is a 3-speed unit with additional variable magnetic drive.
A more conventional electric car is also offered – a 1908 Baker Electric Model V Victoria – much like the one driven by Mary McConnell Borah who you may remember from Independence Day? The unique 1899 Crouch Steam Runabout will certainly find a buyer amongst steam buffs and the previous owner has offered to travel to the new owner’s home (at their expense) and instruct them in the car’s operation. Money well spent I’d say! Why anyone would want to paint their car brown is beyond me, but in the case of this 1930 Cadillac V-16 Roadster there are plenty of other features to allow the well-heeled young man to get the most from his fleet two-passenger roadster known as the “gentleman’s open performance machine”. The rumble of the V-16 exhaust helped, I’m sure.
The 1928 Jowett 7/17 Sports Racer was described by John Moir as “one of the crown jewels in his collection”. The air-cooled horizontally opposed flat twin engine of just 907cc fascinated him. I approve of the pleasing eau-de-nil colour scheme and the inclusion of detailed starting instructions for the new owner. And for those who like wicker bodies, there’s THIS.
(Text by Robin Batchelor, pictures courtesy RM Auctions)
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A Swallow on the kitchen table
As Summer ends and Autumn colours slowly enrich our countryside, Swallows start to gather for their annual migration to warmer countries, but not this one. A 1931 Wolseley Hornet Sports Swallow 2- seater. The egg-shell blue car stood out in the car park at Kop Hill Climb last weekend so I had to find the owner. I found Lorna busy investigating the operation of the butterfly in her carburetter after sensing slight loss of power on her run up the hill. She told me she had re-built the car herself - in her kitchen - after her father had threatened to sell it. "My dad had it in 1960 after previously owning a similar car to this. He sold it and wished he hadn’t, so he bought the bits, stripped it all down but then moved house and had three daughters. Thirty years later he phoned me up and said he was letting them go as spares. So I swore at him and said ‘I’ll do it dad’. He said I didn’t know anything about cars but I thought ‘how difficult can it be?’."
Two years later Lorna had her pride and joy on the road with a new MOT. During the rebuild she carefully scraped off layers of paint beneath the red, green and black and finally uncovered a beautiful pale blue and it was like 'Yes! I don’t have to have a maroon car anymore'! "To me it’s the right colour for a girl’s car and I just love driving it. I love dressing up and waving, I feel like a film star."
(Text and pictures Robin Batchelor)
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About Quiz #379: No winner: 1919/20 Dobi
Yes we knew that this car is very difficult to guess, but we never know what will happen. This time only two courageous readers dared to send in an answer, and one of them came quite close. Roger told: "This is à Cyclecar (Autociclo) David manufactured by Jose Maria Armangue in Barcelona"; almost but not completely correct. The car pictured is a very rare Dobi, a cyclecar marque based in Madrid which produced cars in little quantities only between 1919 and 1922. In this page of Autopassion you can find the only information known till recent days, when the above postcard was discovered... in the archives of the David company of Barcelona!
Without doubt the Dobi was a "copy" of the David cyclecar, with the same semi-automatic gearbox and chassis design but with an strange front axle formed by many thin tubes(can anyone explain the priciple here?) and a single leaf spring. Written on the postcard is "Tipo Sport"; based on that we suppose that the car pictured should has one of the "big" four cylinder engines, possibly the french made Ballot, which was used in the last Dobi produced. Also is unknown the concrete number of cars assembled by this little factory, and of course there are no survivors known. That is to say until somebody comes forward...
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A love story Mystery
Wendy Warren is seeking help with her family history research: "If you could identify this car....." and adds: "I wish I knew more. The photo was taken in Leire, Leicestershire. The man was a wealthy Leeds businessman who met a Leire shop-girl in Leeds – and please don’t ask me or the family how she got to Leeds because they have no idea. He was widowed, fell in love with her, married her and gave her anything she wanted for the rest of his life. He adored her – and she him. She wanted to come back to live in her home village of Leire, so they came and were the bountiful Aunt and Uncle to a large group of nieces and nephews, her brothers and sisters, mother and father. None of that will help you in the slightest, but I think it’s a lovely story. (Editor: and we can only agree to that)
I know a little about early cars – my father was Jim Batten of the Beckenham Motor Company and the Batten Specials. In the original I wondered if I could discern an ‘R’ and a pair of wings on the chrome over the radiator, but where was the winged lady? Or could it be an early Delage? It is probably pre-WW1 or just post- or thereabouts. Many thanks!"
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Add your name to the make
It is a sad story. One of the most illustrious names on the road and on the track is fading and will vanish altogether. The FIAT group has lost faith in the brand of Lancia. Since 1906 the name gathered fame with great innovations and inventions. Later this fame was followed by fabulous rallying and racing results.
Over the past 108 years the development of the motorcar owes much to the technical genius at Lancia. Innovations have been its trademark ever since Vincenzo Lancia founded the company in 1906. Engineers were always ahead of the market and made up for the lack of marketing talent in Torino. Recently however it is the bookkeepers under the leadership of Sergio Marchionne who take over. Lancia is left to die slowly, retreating to its home market in order to disappear without a cry. In 1955 the Automobile Club of Italy proposed to Lancia to help Ferrari by selling them their Lancia F1 cars. Would it not be time for the ACI to propose Fiat to help Lancia by selling off Chrysler? We need your support to save history from disappearing. Take one minute to fill out the petition.
(Photo Lancia )
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Preserving the Automobile on your way to Hershey
On 6th October - just perfect when you're heading for Hershey - Bonhams are holding an auction in Philadelphia at the Simeone Automotive Museum entitled ‘Preserving the Automobile’. The first 253 lots offer hundreds of books and brochures, then lamps galore, some carbs, magnetos, instruments, horns and mascots – the rare 1928 Lalique ’Victoire’ being indicative of the quality of so many lots and estimated to be worth more than some cars! There’s always ‘Mr. Toad’ for those of more modest means. Artwork will satisfy a wide range of tastes. I like lots 115 & 116 which are ceramic tile murals and there are photographs from 1938 Indianapolis 500 amongst photos of other events and cars. From an earlier time, Pater Helck was an American illustrator, born in 1893 and was strongly influenced by his visit to the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup race on Long Island. His subsequent success allowed him to buy the Locomobile ‘OLD 16’ which won the race in 1908 and to his great credit preserved the original drab grey paint on this fabulous car. Lot 39 includes a lovely picture of Peter Helck cranking ‘OLD 16’. The auction offers 60 lots of cars including some fine examples of how well cars can survive in original condition if stored properly and not spoiled by unnecessary restoration. This "time warp" 1929 La Salle Series 328 Convertible Coupe recently emerged from storage since WWll and took very little work to return it to running/driving order, its big V8 giving it ‘exceptional performance.’ The 1916 Simplex Crane Model 5 Berline was originally owned by Commodore Jonathan Moore who dominated Lake George speedboat racing in the 1920s. His detailed list of requirements from coachbuilders Brewster’s archives survives…” to be painted in 'gray oil finish', 'with silver lines', but none on the wheels. A simple 'Monogram JM in plain block letters' was to be present…. interior was to be upholstered in grey leather in the front and 'number 24 cloth' in the rear.” This remarkable automobile gives us a glimpse of luxury in its day and the solid engineering talent of Henry Middlebrook Crane. The description of the 1921 Mercer Series 5 Sporting is worth reading – certainly for its opening sentence . This car proudly maintains the breed from the Mercer Raceabout’s early beginnings and will reward the person who finishes the necessary work to get her roadworthy. The 1926 Ford Rajo Special however is raring to go and we are assured gives potent performance and huge amount of ‘bang for your buck’. The adjective ‘ potent’ is used twice to describe the 1925 Cunningham Series V-6 Phaeton and I would dearly love to taste the ‘crisp and potent’ feel of the 7 litre V8 -“ its torque was prodigious” Ponder over the pictures of the 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Dinsdale 'Special' Limousine and we understand why Mrs Anheuser Busch chose this car as an understated way of owning the finest in engineering quality and reliability without the ostentatious appearance of one of Brewster's more sporting designs. ( They offered 28 body styles for the Phantom l chassis.) The 1925 Stanley Steam Model SV 252A Touring Car on offer is thought to be a prototype and has benefitted from 60 years careful storage, and after some recent work by steam experts is now ready to grace the garage of its next custodian and give sterling service for generations to come. (Text Robin Batchelor pictures courtesy Bonhams.) |
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Nick Georgano's holiday pictures (Alfa or Lancia Pininfarina?)
Exclusively made available to PreWarCar from the new issue of Autodromo (nr. 8) - the superior classic car magazine of Spain - photos made by Nick Georgano several decades ago in Spain. We invite you to identify the three cars depicted here. Picture 2 Picture 3
In the same issue an article about the racing cyclecar Autocicla Garriga. And there is much more yet for that you'll have to check PostWarClassic today.
(photos courtesy Autodromo)
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Digging for bargains at Duxford.
Nearly any auction post-sale press release will shout New Sales Record. The interesting thing however is that when you actually visit auctions things often are much more quiet. Yes, certain cars will go through the roof and big suprises do happen, but the majority of cars behave quite predictable and for the connoisseur there are always steals and bargains to be picked up. We checked the long list of entries that will be auctioned by H&H next Wednesday at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, UK.
Between serious high end auction cars like the 1902 Locke Puritan steamer, 1938 Lagonda V12 Sports Saloon down to the post-war yet superior '58 Aston Martin DB Mk III there are various most charming bargains.
Like an appealing 1923 AC Royal Roadster, with an estimate of less than one third(!) of a similar - be it more shiny - 1926 Royal being offered in Hershey a few days later. Then a lovely 1924 Donnet Zedel tourer project, very french and very vintage , offered at no reserve which will probably go for not too much more than a few bottles of good burgundy due to paintwork issues and an unattractive upholstery; skai(?). In need of very-very little is the in Europe relatively unknown 1913 Regal Underslung, a sporty Edwardian (we love this chassis concept! ) with an estimate being half the price a similar car could fetch in the US. A post vintage 1937 Daimler tourer ( 6 cylinder, 2,2 litre with 4 speed preselector) has an estimate around 10,000. Probably due to the amateurish rebody. But my! you wouldn't have to feel guilty using it to create a scaringly fast special based on this freshly treated chassis and engine!
Finally, when you like to stay closer to the original, how about this friendly estimated 1923 Bentley 3 litre. If you stay to the very end of the show it may be the same as with the tail of this piece of writing. Everybody gone, except you....
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What every woman should know
‘The Woman and The Car’ was first published in 1909. To complete the title, it is ‘A chatty little handbook for all women who motor or who want to motor’. Its author is Dorothy Levitt and what a woman she was! Dorothy first came into contact with motorsport through her work as a secretary at the Napier motor company. There she met S.F. Edge who took her under his wing so-to-speak and he arranged a six month apprenticeship with French automobile maker Clément-Bayard in Paris, where she learned all aspects of building and driving cars. On her return to London she started teaching women to drive – including Queen Alexander amongst other members of the Royal Family.
Yes – we are talking about the privileged classes but in her book she states that "there might be pleasure in being whisked around the country by your friends and relatives, or chauffeur, but the real intense pleasure only comes when you drive your own car." Her book can now reach a far wider audience since it has been republished in facsimile by Osprey Publishing ( sold through Shire Books) with 146 pages and 27 black & white plates. Five pages of contemporary adverts in the back remind us of the Edwardian era in which she lived and the advert for the Webley automatic pocket pistol takes us to straight to chapter 2 where she writes, “If you are going to drive alone in the highways and byways it might be advisable to carry a small revolver.” More realistically she also advises taking a dog along if driving alone.
The author calculates she drives about 400 miles a week and so it’s easy to believe she writes from experience. Women drivers are advised to carry a hairpin to clear blocked jets, a fine file to attend to trembler points, along with an extra handkerchief, a clean veil, a hand mirror – “not for strictly personal use, but to occasionally hold up to see what is behind you.” – and finally, “ .. some chocolates are very soothing, sometimes.” The reader is offered practical advice about when to tip and how much, and is encouraged to join The Ladies’ Automobile Club whose headquarters are situated at Claridge’s Hotel where they have a suite of rooms and Miss K. d’Esterre Hughes is secretary. Membership has many advantages – the use of club rooms, the club garage when in town and a discount off your hotel bill.
I was taken back to my childhood when I read members are advised to join the Automobile Association who place scouts on different main roads to warn motorists of police traps, and when they see the AA badge on the front of your car they will stop and warn you of any danger. My grandfather was always saluted by AA men at the side of the road when they saw his AA badge on the radiator of his car. Towards the end of her book Levitt lists some fellow women motoristes and one name jumped off the page – The Hon. Mrs Assheton Harbord ”...who drives a Rolls Royce Car, owns her own balloon “The Valkyrie” and has competed with it in seven races.” I know the name from my own balloon book collection and she is regularly pictured with Charles Rolls in balloons. She is known to have flown across the English Channel twice in four days.
The book gives a glimpse of extraordinary women in very different times but I am glad Dorothy Levitt agrees that some things are unladylike and in the Motor Woman’s Dictionary at the back we see the following definition; “BACKFIRE - A premature explosion of the gaseous mixture in the cylinder. When it occurs while the starting-handle is being turned its effects are distinctly unpleasant to the operator.”
(Text and picture Robin Batchelor) book available through Shire books at only GBP 7,99
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