Yesterday's quote from Henry Royce reminded me of this cute little guy.
Although far from being the most valuable Rolls-Royce*, in the development of the motor car it is an important machine.
From Bonhams:
Registration no. U 44
Chassis no. 20154Footnotes
It was a significant meeting in the Midland Hotel, Manchester, on 4th May 1904. The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls had travelled to Manchester by train with his business associate and fellow pioneer motorist, Henry Edmunds, for a meeting with Mr Frederick Henry Royce who arrived from his Cooke Street offices, off Stretford Road, Manchester. The significance of that meeting cannot possibly have been perceived by either party, however the outcome was that the names of Rolls and Royce would forever be linked and fall into common parlance, not only in the motoring world but in the field of aviation. Here was the start of a legend where those two names became synonymous with superlative quality in so many spheres.
Both major parties to that meeting knew each other well by repute and no doubt fully anticipated the potential benefits for each of them should agreement be reached for Royce to manufacture motor cars to be sold exclusively by Rolls. The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls and Mr Frederick Henry Royce sat at the same table with a strong mutual respect, both giants within their peer group and yet from totally different backgrounds.
Charles Stewart Rolls was born into a privileged background on 27 August 1877, the youngest son of Lord and Lady Llangattock whose family seat was The Hendre at Llangattock in Monmouthshire, on the English/Welsh border. The family had substantial property interests in London and Monmouthshire, participating actively in civic duties within Monmouthshire. Lord Llangattock represented that county as Member of Parliament between 1880 and 1885 and was raised to the peerage in 1892. Displaying an early engineering bent and a fascination with electricity in particular, young Charles Stewart Rolls went up to Trinity College Cambridge in 1895, studying electrical and mechanical engineering. Among his many interests while at Cambridge he was to captain the University Cycle Racing Team and, as a young student at Trinity, must have been the envy of his fellow students when he returned from a Paris trip in October 1896, the owner of a 3 3/4hp Peugeot Phaeton. Thus began a compelling fascination with the motor car, young Rolls becoming a Committee Member of the newly formed Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, actively participating in motor tours and races and later, in 1904, briefly holding the World Land Speed Record mounted on a 100hp Mors. Rolls recognised fully the potential of the new-fangled motor car, passionately proclaiming its virtues at every available opportunity and in high places. He was a driving force in instigating and organising the One Thousand Miles Trial held in 1900 which brought the motor car to greater prominence. Rolls himself participated in that event, being a Gold Medal winner and winning the Speed Trials part of that event, held at Welbeck Abbey, on his 12hp Panhard-Levassor at a speed of 37.63mph.Although his generous allowance enabled him to indulge his passions, Rolls had greater ambitions and in 1902 established his own motor business, utilising to the full his MA degree in mechanical engineering and applied sciences obtained that year, along with considerable business acumen....
....MUCH MORE
3 Dec 2007, 14:30 GMT
London, Olympia
Among Bonhams' upcoming auctions: "Collections: Including: The Contents of Stanley House, The Estate of the Late John Schaeffer, The Estate of the Late Dame Diana Rigg / December 14, 2021 10:00 AM GMT"
From the Rolls-Royce Owners Club....
