Description
1926 Rolls-Royce 40/ 50hp Phantom I Brougham de Ville 'The Phantom of Love'
Coachwork by Charles Clark & Son Ltd, Wolverhampton
Registration no. YE 939
Chassis no. 76TC
* One of the most famous Rolls-Royces of all time
* Unique specification
* Known ownership history
* Extensively documentedFootnotes
This unique Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 motor car represents the absolute zenith of the coachbuilder's craft in the 1920s, boasting an audacious rococo interior that is nothing less than magnificently palatial. It dates from a period when almost all manufacturers of quality cars supplied only the rolling chassis, leaving the client to commission coachwork of his or her choice from one of the many specialist coachbuilding companies. In this case, Rolls-Royce's customer was Clarence Warren Gasque, an American businessman of French ancestry living in London, who chose the esteemed British motor manufacturer's latest top-of-the-range model, the New Phantom, which had been introduced in 1925 as replacement for the 40/ 50hp Silver Ghost.
Clarence Gasque was Financial Director of the UK division of the American F W Woolworth retail company, which had been one of the original pioneers of the 'five and dime' store. The firm's UK offshoot had contracted the construction and supply of several motor bodies from the long-established Wolverhampton-based coachbuilder, Charles Clark & Son Ltd, and it was to Clark's proprietor, Mr J H Barnett, formerly with Austin, that Clarence Gasque turned to when he required a body for his new Rolls-Royce. In actual fact, Gasque did not want the car for himself but for his wife Maude, a Woolworth heiress; he also wanted it to surpass the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts bodied by Clark for his fellow American and Woolworth's colleague, Surefire Snow, a dynamic New Yorker who had been instrumental in setting up Woolworth's UK operation. A connoisseur of antique French furniture, Gasque commissioned the coachbuilder to construct a miniature salon in appropriate style inside the brougham body.
As J H Barnett later recalled: 'As I believe is often the case with Americans, this gentleman wanted a car for his wife which must be different to anything else, and also better. He would not stipulate what he wanted except that the design must be French, and left everything to me including price.'
Seeking inspiration for this loosely specified commission, Barnett visited London's Victoria and Albert Museum, the world's largest museum devoted to art and design. There he saw 'a very delightful little Sedan Chair which had once belonged to Marie Antoinette, and which had a painted ceiling'. Barnett recalled: 'I only had a very small staff, but a good working foreman, and I made what sketches and plans he required... All the interior woodwork was made here (in Wolverhampton), but some of the carving was done in London. The panels and cabinets we made entirely, but the painting was done by a Frenchman in London, of whom I have lost trace.
'The interior metal fittings were made by Elkingtons to our design... The tapestry was made in Aubusson, and I well remember that it was a very hazardous job to make patterns for this before the job was really started, but as it took over nine months to make, we had to get it in hand at an early date. This tapestry cost me over £500.' In 1926, £500 would have bought you the average UK house...
Looking more like the throne room at Versailles than the interior of an automobile, Barnett's design featured highly polished, satinwood veneer panelling, with painted decoration and oval medallions. Designed as a sofa, the rear seat only served to enhance this effect, being upholstered in fine tapestries sourced from Aubusson in central France, which depicted scenes executed in the flamboyant and romantic style of the late Rococo period.
Befitting a car that would come to be known as 'The Phantom of Love', naked cherubs featured prominently in the exotic interior, appearing in painted scenes on the ceiling and as lighting supports at the rear corners. Additional lighting was concealed behind the ceiling's carved and gilded cornice. A bow-fronted drinks cabinet, reminiscent of an antique commode or chiffonier, was mounted on the internal division, concealing fold-down, inward-facing occasional seats - also tapestry upholstered - in cupboards at either side. Surmounting this elaborate division was a small French ormulu clock and two French porcelain vases containing gilded metal and enamel flowers. In honour of the Gasque family's French origins, Barnett devised a faux coat of arms at his client's request, which was applied to the rear doors.
Clark's body on chassis number '76TC' was completed in April 1927, the commission's ten-month turnaround time being around three times that for quality bodies of similar size. Gasque was presented with a bill for some £4, 500, making 'The Phantom of Love' by far the most expensive Rolls-Royce of its day. Sadly, the Gasques' enjoyment of their costly love token would be cut short after only 18 months when Clarence died in October 1928 at the relatively young age of 54. His widow then spent the rest of her life promoting the causes of vegetarianism and animal welfare, eventually becoming President of the International Vegetarian Union and Vice-president of the Vegetarian Society. She died on 23rd December 1959.
In 1952, 'The Phantom of Love' was bought by well-known Rolls-Royce collector, Stanley Sears who was quoted as saying he 'paid through the nose' for it. Sears subsequently moved to Spain and in 1983 sold the bulk of his collection, though the Phantom was retained. In 1986, a Japanese collector named Takihana bought the Rolls-Royce from Stanley Sears, reputedly parting with £1, 000, 000 to secure it. The car passed through the hands of various Japanese collectors before Akira Takei sold it to dealer Edward Fallon of Cave Creek Classics in Phoenix, Arizona in December 2001. Swiftly sold on to prominent collector Jack Rich of Pennsylvania, 'The Phantom of Love' became a regular on the United States concours circuit and won many awards, including the Lucius Beebe Trophy at Pebble Beach in 2002.
P & A Wood carried out a service and other works in January 2016 (see bills on file totalling circa £5, 000), and the Rolls-Royce runs and drives superbly being a very low mile example. We sold this car previously to the current owner some years ago & showed it with him at Villa D' Este where it won its class. It has also had recent service work & fettling by marque specialist Jonathan Wood.
Extensively illustrated and described in numerous books and magazine articles about the Rolls-Royce marque, 'The Phantom of Love' is, arguably, the most famous surviving Rolls-Royce after 'AX 201'. Unique and well documented, it is without question one of the very finest examples of art and craftsmanship applied to an automobile. Accompanying documentation includes a photograph taken of the Gasques and their Phantom when new; a latter from J H Barnett to Stanley Sears, written in 1958; a current UK V5C Registration Certificate; and the usual Rolls-Royce factory records. Of the highest quality and in largely untouched original condition, 'The Phantom of Love' would grace any important private collection or make a wonderful exhibit for museum display or the concours lawn.
Recent works include extensive conservation of the wonderful interior & a new fuel tank. Areas of cracking on the roof paintwork have also been addressed. The car is now back in stock with us now & ready for immediate viewings & purchase.
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Sales & Valuations
Vintage & Prestige of Northampton Ltd.
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