MOTOR

[Lord Nuffield [William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield], motor manufacturer and philanthropist.] Typed Letter Signed, thanking the Provost of Oriel College, Oxford [Sir David Ross], for his co-operation with regard to Nuffield's trusts.

Author: 
Lord Nuffield [William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield] (1877-1963), motor manufacturer and philanthropist, proprietor of Morris Motors [Sir David Ross [W. D. Ross], Vice-Chancellor of Oxford]
Publication details: 
16 October 1944. On letterhead of Cowley, Oxford.
£60.00

See his entry, and that of Ross, in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. On blue paper. Folded twice for postage. Ross is not named, the letter being addressed to him as ‘The Provost, / Oriel College, / Oxford.’ Bold signature: ‘Nuffield’.

[Robert E. Groves, marine and landscape artist.] His Autograph Signature to typed announcement giving details of a meeting to promote the foundation of ‘A Bird Sanctuary for Lymington’.

Author: 
Robert E. Groves [Robert Emmanuel Groves] (1866-1944) marine and landscape artist [bird sanctuary at Lymington, Hampshire; British Seagull, outboard motor manufacturer]
Publication details: 
No date, but after Groves moved to Lymington in the early 1930s.
£56.00

A good illustrated article on Groves and his boats is to be found in the magazine ‘The Gull’, March 2013, pp.19-26 (available online), emphasizing his ‘brilliant line drawings in British Seagull’s early post-war advertising’. 1p, 4to. In fair condition, lightly aged. Neatly folded twice. Twenty typed lines beneath the heading ‘A Bird Sanctuary for Lymington.’ Some lines and passages lightly underlined in red pencil. Signed at foot by Groves, as ‘Organiser and (Sec: pro-tem)’. Begins: ‘An Important Meetings is to be held in / The Assembly Room. Angel Hotel. Lymington. / on / Friday.

[Montagu of Beaulieu; the Birth of mass motoring] One Typed Letter Signed Montagu of Beaulieu AND Two Typed Notes Signed Montagu about cars and motoring in their infancy, and future legislation in their regard..

Author: 
Montagu of Beaulieu [John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (1866 ? 1929), Conservative politician and promoter of motoring.
Publication details: 
[Headed] Palace House, Beaulieu, Brockenhurst, Kent, 22 Nov. 1905; [Headed] 17 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W., 10 Oct and 15 Oct. [1906].
£200.00

A. 22 Nov. 1905, Three pages, 12mo, bifolium,black-bordered, good condition. He refers to an account sent to him by a correspondent of Car which I read with great interest but he had yet to receive a detailed account. I quite understand in Surrey motorists must be a great nuisance to many of the inhabitants, and therefore was quite prepared for the Council passing a resolution-which in itself is I think impracticable.

[Flatbush Motor Corps, National League for Woman's Service, New York.] Programme of entertainment in aid of the Corps, including 'Houdini | The World's Greatest Mystifier' and 'The Celebrated Creator of the Jazz Dance Craze' Bert Kelly.

Author: 
Flatbush Motor Corps, National League for Woman's Service, New York [Harry Houdini; Bert Kelly's Famous Band; Red Cross]
Publication details: 
[Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York.] Flatbush Theatre, Church and Flatbush Avenues. 9 December 1918.
£220.00

[40]pp., small 4to. Stapled in brown printed wraps. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Title from cover, where it is printed in blue, enclosed in a border of US flags, with clutch of four flags (UK Red Ensign, Cuban, French, US) in blue and red at head. Filled with advertisements, including an illustrated full-page one inside the front cover for 'Dodge Brothers | Convertible Car'.

[ Fodens Motor Works Band, celebrated brass band of Sandbach, Cheshire. ] Autograph Signatures of the conductor Fred Mortimer and 26 members of the band, annotated in pencil with their instruments.

Author: 
Fodens Motor Works Band [ Foden's Band ], celebrated brass band from Sandbach, Cheshire [ Fred Mortimer (1880-1953), conductor ]
Publication details: 
[ Fodens Motor Works Band, Sandbach, Cheshire. ] Undated, but between 1927 and 1953, the 27 years that Fred Mortimer served as conductor.
£120.00

On one side of a ruled 13.5 x 19 cm. leaf extracted from an album. A very nice piece of Fodens ephemera, in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Mortimer's signature ('F Mortimer') is centred at the head, with the 26 names of band members in two columns beneath. Lightly annotated in pencil, with identification of: first cornets (5); repiano; flugel; second cornet; third cornets (2); soprano; horns (3); baritones (2); euphoniums (2); trombones (3); bass (4); and drums. For information on the band, see the works by F. D. Burgess (1977) and Allan Littlemore (2000).

[ H. F. S. Morgan and Morgan & Co., 'Automobile Engineers and Agents'. ] Six letters (one by Morgan, one on his behalf and four by the company), responding to the complaints of Sir Richard Harington. With draft letter by Harington to the company.

Author: 
H. F. S. Morgan [ Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan (1881-1959), founder of the Morgan Motor Company
Publication details: 
All 6 letters on letterheads of Morgan & Co., {with photo) Automobile Engineers and Agents, Worcester Road, Mavern Link, and at 57, Foregate Street, Worcester; 3 to 29 January 1907. Harington's draft from Whitbourne Court, Worcester; 27 January 1907.
£180.00

The seven items in fair condition, on lightly aged paper. An interesting correspondence, casting light on the company's practices. Both the recipient, Sir Richard Harington of Ridlington (1835-1911), 11th Baronet, and his son 'The Judge' - Richard Harington (1861-1931), the future 12th Baronet - came from a legal background, adding an edge to the correspondence. The six letters total 9pp., 4to. The firm appears to have had a policy of retaining the original and sending out a carbon copy, as each of the letters consists of a carbon copy of manuscript.

[ Lord Perry, first Chairman of the Ford Motor Company in Britain. ] Typed Letter Signed ('Perry.') to K. W. Luckhurst of the Royal Society of Arts, regarding an invitation to become a member.

Author: 
Percival Perry [ Percival Lea Dewhurst Perry ], 1st Baron Perry [ Lord Perry ] (1878-1956), English motor vehicle manufacturer, first Chairman of the Ford Motor Company in Britain
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 88 Regent Street, London, W.1. 23 October 1947.
£30.00

1p., 4to. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. Name in block capitals in red pencil and stamped date at head, with holes to one corner from stapling. The 'matter' of the invitation to Perry to join the Society has 'been delayed because I have been the victim of very distressing domestic illness'. He is sending the completed application, but explains that he has been 'ordered to winter abroad', and is 'leaving for the Bahamas within the month, and will not 'be back in England until the Spring of next year'.

[ Volkswagen GmbH. ] Large collection of material assembled by English employee B. D. Ryder, including 12 volumes relating to his nine-month survey of VW's German operations, with reports by Ryder and a mass of company ephemera, photographs, etc.

Author: 
Volkswagen GmbH, Wolfsburg, Germany [ Bruce Dudley Ryder (born 1942); German Economic Miracle ]
Publication details: 
18 volumes, 1961 to 1964. Volkswagen GmbH (Volkswagenwerk Aktengesellschaft), Wolfsburg, Hanover, Kassel, Stuttgart and Hamburg. Germany; and VW Motors Limited, London, England.
£2,000.00

The author Bruce Dudley Ryder was a second-cousin of the present Queen of England – his father Peter Hugh Dudley Ryder (1913-1993; see Who Was Who) having married the Queen's cousin Sarah Susannah Bowes-Lyon – and a great-grandson of the Earl of Harrowby. Ryder had family experience in the fields of business and transport, his father having been for many years head of the transport conglomerate Thomas Tilling Ltd.

[ Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc. ] Typewritten account of a visit to the firm by English marketing manager B. D. Ryder, in album with photographs and ephemera.

Author: 
Bruce Dudley Ryder [ Bruce D. Ryder ] (born 1942), General Manager, Marketing, Mercedes-Benz (United Kingdom) Ltd [ Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc. ]
Publication details: 
[ Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc., One Mercedes Drive, Montvale, New Jersey. ] 10 to 23 May 1981.
£800.00

The author Bruce Dudley Ryder was a second-cousin of the present Queen – his father Peter Hugh Dudley Ryder (1913-1993; see Who Was Who) having married the Queen's cousin Sarah Susannah Bowes-Lyon – and a great-grandson of the Earl of Harrowby. Ryder had family experience in the fields of business and transport, his father having been for many years head of the transport conglomerate Thomas Tilling Ltd.

[The Morgan Motor Company Limited, Malvern.] Double-column account book of 'The Morgan Motor Company, Limited, in account with Lloyds Bank Limited, Malvern', detailing disbursements to companies and individuals, mainly within the motor industry.

Author: 
The Morgan Motor Company Limited, Malvern, Worcestershire, established in 1910 [Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan (1881-1959), English sports car manufacturer]
Publication details: 
The Morgan Motor Company, Limited, Malvern, Worcestershire. From May 14 1927 to May 31 1929. [Printed by Lloyds Bank Limited, Malvern]
£850.00

[4] + 288pp., 8vo. In vellum-style cream cloth binding with flap and front pocket. Internally in good condition, lightly-aged, in somewhat grubby binding. In manuscript across front cover: 'May 1927 May 31 1929 | Morgan Motor Company Limited'. The volume gives a valuable sidelight into the finances of an iconic British firm, during a boom period in its history, and place the company squarely at the centre of a network of other firms within the motoring industry.

[Captain G. Skeffington Smyth, Adjutant, The Motor Volunteer Corps.] Typed Letter Signed, a circular requesting that the recipient 'assist the Admiralty [...] by helping to drive the Officers of the French Fleet from London to Maidenhead'.

Author: 
Captain G. Skeffington Smyth [Lt-Col. Geoffrey Henry Julian Skeffington Smyth [FitzPatrick] (1873-1939], DSO, Adjutant, The Motor Volunteer Corps [The Admiralty, London; the Entente Cordiale, 1904]
Publication details: 
29 Sackville Street, London, W. 25 July 1905.
£56.00

1p., 8vo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. An interesting document, from the period immediately following the signing of the Entente Cordiale.

Typed and signed 'Contract for the supply of a Motor Ambulance and accessories' between 'The Vulcan Motors (London) Ltd & The Urban District Council of Chiswick'. With three blueprints and two sets of specifications.

Author: 
Vulcan Motor and Engineering Co. Ltd., Southport [The Urban District Council of Chiswick]
Publication details: 
London. 12 Setpember 1923.
£120.00

Six items stitched together with green ribbon. Heavily aged and with extensive damp damage. ONE: Typed agreement between The Vulcan Motors (London) Limited and The Urban Distric Council of Chiswick, dated 12 September 1923, signed by the directors of Vulcan Motors and their secretary. 2pp., folio. TWO: Typed 'Specification of Ambulance Body to be securely attached in an approved manner to Vulcan One Ton Chasis. As shown on the blue print attached.' By 'Engineer's Dept., Town Hall, Chiswick.' Dated 1 May 1923. 2pp., 8vo.

[Printed document.] Motor Cars. Memorandum of the Cheltenham Rural District Council to the President of the Local Government Board, With reference to the recent Report of the Royal Commission on Motor Cars.

Author: 
Gilbert McIlquham, clerk to the Cheltenham Rural District Board [The Local Government Board; The Royal Commission on Motor Cars, 1905-1907]
Publication details: 
Stamped '13th September 1906'.
£75.00

2pp., folio. Bifolium. In small type. Containing two copies of a printed circular by McIlquham, on Cheltenham Rural District Council letterhead, dated 14 September 1906. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. The memorandum is divided into five sections, and begins by putting the Council's position that 'Motor Cars travelling at high speed in dry weather along the unwatered roads of country districts occasion an intolerable dust nuisance to other users of the highway, and seriously prejudice the comfort and even the health of the inhabitants of road-side dwellings'.

Two press photograph of racing driver Mike Hawthorn, one showing him cutting a ribbon, and the other posing indoors astride a motorcycle, as delighted spectators including five schoolboys, look on.

Author: 
Mike Hawthorn [John Michael Hawthorn] (1929-1959), English racing driver with the Ferrari Team, friend of Peter Collins and rival of Luigi Musso [Le Mans 24 Hour Race]
Publication details: 
Both stamped on the reverse: '"CHESTER CHRONICLE" | COPYRIGHT | PHOTOGRAPH'. [1950s.]
£80.00

Both photographs in black and white, and both 25.5 x 20.5 cm. One landscape and the other portrait. The two in good condition, showing light signs of age and wear. Both clearly taken at the same event, as in both Hawthorn wears the same suit. Both taken indoors. In the first (portrait) he is seen cutting a ribbon, while a group of smartly-dressed men and women look on approvingly behind him. Signs for 'Silver Exide' and 'Mobilgas Special' are mounted on a wall.

Attractive and colourful 1930s scrapbook, compiled by G. H. Manchester of Ashton-under-Lyne, mainly devoted to motoring, but with pages of footballers, boxers, cricketers, tennis players, aircraft, film and radio stars, pretty girls, dandies.

Author: 
[Geoffrey H. Manchester of Ashton-under-Lyne; 1930s scrapbook; motoring; transport; motor sports; football; Hollywood stars]
Publication details: 
Mostly compiled between 1934 and 1937, with a few pages at the end from the 1950s and 1980s.
£160.00

Several hundred images (most illustrations rather than photographs and most in colour), many carefully cut out, all laid down on 68pp. in an album made up from a ruled exercise book roughly 20 x 16 cm, including three fold-outs (the first, beneath a decorative flap that reads 'Birds Unfeathered | Worth A Bit Of Study', carrying eight 1930s illustrations women in underwear). The album has been attractively customised with printed illustrations of motor racing over board covers.

Printed circular, in the form of a facsimile letter from A. Fleming Nisbett, Secretary, The London Steam Omnibus Company LImited, designed to accompany 'an advanced copy' of the Company's prospectus, and offering 'a Founder's Share'.

Author: 
[A. Fleming Nisbett, Secretary, The London Steam Omnibus Company Limited [later the Motor Traction Company], 133 Finsbury Pavement, London, EC.]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of The London Steam Omnibus Company Limited, 133 Finsbury Pavement, London, EC. July 1898.
£80.00

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. Heavily-aged and worn. Addressed 'Dear Sir', and with facsimile of signature 'For the London Steam Omnibus Co. Ltd. | A. Flemg Nisbett | Secretary.' The circular begins with the reason for sending an advance copy of the prospectus. 'My object in giving you this early intimation is that you may, if you desire, secure beforehand a Founder's Share in the profits of the coming Steam Traffic upon the Roads - which Traffic appears likely to become one day as popular as Steam on Railways'.

Typewritten draft ('Provisional Specification') by George William Dennistoun Scott of his patent application for 'Improvements in or relative to variable speed reducing gears', with manuscript descriptions of the invention, initialed by him.

Author: 
George William Dennistoun Scott, engineer and inventor [Patents Office; inventions;motor car bicycles; bicycling]
George William Dennistoun Scott, engineer and inventor
Publication details: 
Draft dated 26 May 1905. [London.]
£165.00
George William Dennistoun Scott, engineer and inventor

A native of Derby, Scott is a notable figure in the history of the development of the bicycle. In 1878, together with George Henry Phillott, he seems to have received the first practicable patent (No. 860 of 1878) for an epicyclic change-speed gear for cycles. All items clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The typewritten draft, in blue ink, with a few manuscript corrections, covers two folio pages.

Printed 'List of Members' of 'The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, with which is incorporated The Self-Propelled Traffic Association', October 1901.

Author: 
[The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, list of members, 1901; Royal Automobile Club]
Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, list of members, 1901
Publication details: 
October 1901. The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, 4 Whitehall Court, London, S.W. [Printers: F. KING & Co., Ltd., 62, St. Martin's Lane, London, W.C.']
£150.00
Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, list of members, 1901

4to, 15 pp. In small type. Text clear and complete. On brittle green high-acidity paper, with chipping and loss to extremities and three of the leaves detached. Begins by listing 'General Council of the Automobile Club | (appointed to confer with the Club Committee on questions affecting Automobilism generally).' Headed by 'His Grace the Duke of Sutherland'; followed, on second page by Club Committee and officers, and then (pp. 3-10) the list of members in three columns, giving name, optional address, and date of election; ends (pp.11-15) with lists of 'Members of Affiliated Clubs'.

Autograph Letter Signed to Don Wauchope.

Author: 
General Sir George Keith Buller Elphinstone
Publication details: 
10 January 1891; on letterhead '86, CANONBURY ROAD'.
£36.00

Engineer (1865-1941) whose inventions include the speedometer for motor-cars. Two pages, 12mo. Good, though slightly grubby. Docketed on reverse. Small ink smudge beneath letterhead. Reads 'Dear Don Wanchope | Thanks for your letter. My full name is/ | George Keith Buller Elphinstone and by profession I am an Electrical Engineer & Maker of Electrical Instruments | So I hope that will be full enough information for you'. Signed 'G K B Elphinstone'.

Seven Typed Letters Signed and one Autograph Letter Signed to G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.

Author: 
Sir James Fortescue Flannery, 1st Baronet
Publication details: 
1924-5; typed letters on letterhead of Flannery, Baggallay & Johnson, Ltd., consulting engineers; autograph letter on letterhead of the Grand Hotel, Harrowgate.
£150.00

Ulster unionist politician and civil engineer (1851-1943). The collection is in very good condition. The seven typed letters are quarto and the autograph letter 12mo. All signed 'J. Fortescue Flannery', mostly docketed and carrying the Society's stamp. Mainly concerns the delivery and publication of a 'Paper on Diesel Engines'. 2 February 1925: 'I note with great interest that you expect a large and influential attendance on the 11th inst.' 5 February 1925: 'it occurs to me that the name of the Rt. Hon. Lord Montagu of Beaulieu K.C.I.E.

Four Typed Notes Signed to the Secretary, Royal Society of Arts and the editor of the R.S.A. Journal.

Author: 
Sir Francis Philip Armstrong, 3rd Bt [ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB]
Publication details: 
21 October, 21 November and 9 December 1927; 1 May 1929; all on Royal Automobile Club letterhead.
£76.00

General manager of the Royal Automobile Club (1871-1944). All four items one page, quarto. All four in good condition and signed 'F. P. Armstrong'. All four docketed and two bearing R.S.A. stamp. Note one asks for '100 stamped envelopes' for sending to 'Members of the Committee and others who would be interested in the papers that are to be read before the Royal Society'. Note two thanks the editor of the R.S.A. Journal for the 'copies of Mr. O'Gorman's paper'.

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