When Charles Rolls and Henry Royce first went into business, there was no standard mascot on the bonnets of their vehicles. However, as the craze for cars exploded amongst the wealthy, a fashion for putting small statuettes on radiator caps took off.
This bothered the company somewhat (not to put too fine a point on it), with some radiator statuettes that owners chose being less than ‘appropriate’. It was a friend of the company, managing director Claude Johnson, who first suggested that the answer might be to pre-empt the owners and sell their cars with a mascot already installed. This friend was none other than motoring pioneer John, 2nd Lord Montagu of Beaulieu – a founder member of the RAC and owner of Car Illustrated magazine.
However, what to put on the bonnet? And who to design it? Well, Montagu could easily solve the second question. From the start, Car Illustrated had gained appeal among wealthy car owners, with its high design standards and...