The man who spent £400,000,000,-

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Henry Paget, the 5th Marquess of Anglesey spent £8,000,000 in the 6 years between 1898 and 1904, a figure which would have been nowadays at least 50 times as much in current value. A staggering amount, which he spent on clothes, jewelry, and motor cars, and of course a lot of other stuff to accommodate his eccentric and expensive lifestyle. He was named the 'Dancing Marquess' because for several years he performed as an actor and a dancer in shows, for which he traveled all over Britain and Europe. In 1904 he went into bankruptcy and all of his possessions including his dogs were sold by his creditors, leaving him with £3000,- for a year to live on. He spent the rest of his life in Paris, the city where he had grown up, but already within a year, he died at the age of 30. It is impossible to tell his complete life in the few lines I have at my disposal, so please google his name and read about his extraordinary, but short life.

Our main interest today is the car. A Mors which he ordered in 1903 to bring him around Europe in the utmost luxury. You can admire the car on the lead photo when this it was delivered to the Marquess by Mr Montague Grahame White. The latter name we have encountered before in the story on the racing Paris-Vienna Wolseleys. Probably he is the man leaning on the front mudguard. The Marquess must be the man behind the woman on the passenger seat, who is almost certainly his wife (and cousin!) Lilian Florence Maud Paget (née Chetwynd). The story, however, doesn't reveal the identity of the enchanting lady behind the wheel, and neither of the tall man behind the bonnet. So dear reader, if you know, please tell us!

An identical car had been on show at the Grand Garage of the Société Parisienne in Paris earlier that year. The body had been built by Lamplugh and had been given the name of Pullman body, as it competed in luxury with its rails opponent. The interior: four revolving armchairs, upholstered in dark red morocco leather. All inside woodwork was polished mahogany. It contained several cupboards, had a clock, thermometer and barometer, manicure sets, notebooks and an electric telephone to communicate with the driver, electric lights, and heater. The ceiling was decorated in Louis XV style, the windows with royal blue plush curtains and the floor with a dark crimson Wilton pile carpet. To go short, it was all there and more. The price? No idea, but without doubt, the car had brought the Marquess a good stretch further towards his bankruptcy. An interesting fact is that the Anglesey car differed from the car shown in Paris, because it had already the new radiator and bonnet shape, with the characteristically rounded top.

In The Car Illustrated, it was mentioned that the Countess de Carrié was having a similar car built by Lamplugh, which would be shown at the Paris Salon of December. She must have chosen a British chassis though, as the only Lamplugh Pullman body on that show was built on a 25 HP MMC chassis.

Words by Ariejan Bos.     

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