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Mystery from the ‘Rare Marques’ map

A while ago we reported about the sale of what can only be described as an incredible collection of photographs and postcards. The collection, which was the lifetime achievement of motor historian Tim Harding, boasted more PreWarCar pictures than you or I will ever see (article here).

What also struck us was that it seemed to have been meticulously catalogued, with all the cars in these photos identified and methodically arranged under their marque names, from AC to Wolseley. Surely there must have been some unidentified vehicles even for the late Harding? Not in the sale though. The map offered by the auctioneer that came nearest to this was titled ‘Rare Marques’.

We did recognise two or three of the cars in the pictures shown as examples. But not the one reproduced here. That’s a mighty motor, with its chauffeur ready to hoot those horns and take his superior out for a spin. German? French? We have no idea but trust you will. Let it be the first of many mystery motor nuts to crack in the new year!

 

Words by Jeroen Booij. Picture courtesy of Toovey’s Auctioneers.

 

Publiziert:
Montag Januar 3rd, 2022
Clive Boothman
03 Januar 2022, 12:27
Although there is not a lot to go on, there seems to be a script adorning the radiator, of which only the first couple of letters are visible, and then at a somewhat oblique angle making them harder to read. But might those letters be ‘Tu..’? In which case, could this perhaps be a French Turcat-Mery, I would guess from around 1913: possibly a 4 cylinder from the bonnet length (although they were also producing a 6 at that time)? Turcat-Mery produced a series of racing and sporting cars during this period. No idea about location but could that be an RAC badge as radiator mascot, in which case possibly pointing to a U.K. owner.
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Mike Clark
03 Januar 2022, 12:16
Leon Bollee? Radiator and bonnet look right.
Mike
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Ariejan Bos
03 Januar 2022, 12:07
Tim Harding was indeed an avid collector of old car photos. He was a close friend of Bryan Goodman, whose very large photo collection has been auctioned not very long ago too. Which one of them had the largest collection, we'll never know, but my guess is that Bryan Goodman's collection was larger. It struck me, that Tim Harding focussed on photos with British origin: on his photos I hardly come across cars with other than British license plates. Bryan Goodman was a more allround collector, where both French as well as British photos were present in about equal amounts, in addition to photos from most other car producing countries.
Both also had large mystery photo collections. During my many visits to Bryan Goodman several years ago his 'red' albums were always lying on the table challenging new identifications. Although we regularly succeeded, the empty spots were soon filled again with new mysteries. During my stays at Bryan Goodman's Tim Harding used to come to show his recently acquired treasures as well as mysteries to discuss with us: I know he must have had as many of these as Bryan Goodman did. Many of these still reside in my archive unsolved. It's a fact that photo collectors like us (I'm a modest collector myself) have to accept as a part of our passion. It's impossible to know everything! At the same time it's the mysteries that drive us towards more knowledge: every time we succeed in cracking one of these the world of unknown car history becomes a tiny bit smaller.
The photo today however doesn't belong to the real mysteries, although there may be some uncertainty about the fact: is it the real thing or the licensee?
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Nick Simpson
03 Januar 2022, 12:05
Enlarging the image shows part of a big script on the radiator - Turcat-Mery?
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henri lalanne
03 Januar 2022, 11:16
T-M peut-etre 1913/15
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henri lalanne
03 Januar 2022, 11:14
Turcat-Mery -1918/20
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Julien
03 Januar 2022, 09:30
According to the part of logo visible on the radiator and the RAF wheels, I would suggest a Turcat Mery type LH
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Michael Schlenger
03 Januar 2022, 08:29
Looks like a Turcat-Méry to me - probably from immediately before WW1 or shortly after it.
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