Monday morning mystery at the opening of Gwelo school hostel in 1911 (update: 1911 Maudslay)

Andre sent us this photo and writes:
"The picture shows the arrival of Sir William Henry Milton, then Administrator of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), at the Gwelo (now Gweru) Public School (later renamed Chaplin School), in 1911, to perform the opening of the new school hostel. I would very much like to know what make the car is that he arrived in. Unfortunately only the front of the car is visible, but that should be enough to identify it."

editor: thank you Andre for sending this interesting shot. As round radiators were hip around 1910 they don't make identification very easy. In an earlier survey by Fons Alkemade he listed some 50 makes that used a circle shaped radiator. Ranging from the US built Apperson to a British Wilkinson. The high set-up of the car's front axle gives food to the idea that we look at a colonial version of a...?

Publié:

dimanche janvier 24th, 2016

Inconnu

27 Février 2016, 11:58

Could be a 1907 Riley 12-18hp

Inconnu

26 Janvier 2016, 18:26

Thanks Ariejan

I have to say that always really enjoy reading how people come to their conclusions. Hopefully we can see more of them over time.

Inconnu

26 Janvier 2016, 15:49

I'll lift a corner of the veil regarding this id. Most important probably is the fact that I've seen so many different makes in the past (including this one), that in this case it was the first name going through my mind. One of the recognisable features of this radiator is that the rim surrounding the radiator core is broader at the top than at the bottom. And than there is this tiny round emblem at the top. An experienced eye will recognise these features immediately. The threequarter view helps of course. If you would have seen the car from the side, you would never have got the idea of a round radiator because the side of the bonnet is flat! Next thing is then of course to compare with my images on file to confirm the id. Regarding the date I guess I have been too firm, because the car still has a flat dash, which seems to have changed into a rounded one in 1911. So 1910 will probably more close to reality.
About makes with round radiators in general, the estimate of around 50 is far too low. As you must have noticed, Maudslay was missing from this file! In my files I count already 65 makes worldwide having fully round radiators. If I add all the makes with round radiators having a profiled top (like Calthorpe, MAF and Porthos), and also the almost-round (oval and egg-shaped) radiators I could probably double this figure. Not to mention the unidentified round radiators, which I still have somewhere on file. And remember, this is only up till WW1 ...

Inconnu

26 Janvier 2016, 09:47

Hi Ariejan
Any insight as to how you came to this conclusion? It's always good to learn from the hands of a master

Inconnu

25 Janvier 2016, 16:58

Thank you, Ariejan Bos, for the quick identification of this car.

Inconnu

25 Janvier 2016, 16:00

The only car of that era I know with a round radiator was a Spyjker?

Inconnu

25 Janvier 2016, 00:02

The bottom part of the photo is rather deformed and stretched, giving this strangely high impression of the lower half of the car. Anyway, the car is a Maudslay of probably the same year as the photo: 1911.

Monday morning mystery at the opening of Gwelo school hostel in 1911 (update: 1911 Maudslay)

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