1932 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Barker Sedanca de Ville GMU17

A very pretty. well-proportioned ‘Saloon de Ville'. exhibited at the 1932 Olympia Show. Very handsome tail design. with rear-mounted spare wheel and twin bar quarter bumpers. bulls-eye headlamps. and all manner of interesting features make this car something special. Running well. but in need of a degree of renovation. some of which has been started. including very professional looking replacement of parts of the ash frame. More still to do. but such a handsome car. it is well worth the restoration effort. Comes with an old buff logbook. original handbook. file of letters. etc. A fabulous. worthwhile project.

SALE AGREED

Chassis No. GMU17. Reg No. JJ 3224. £27. 00.

Snippets: Furious Driving & Library Gifts

After the Olympia Show GMU17 was delivered to Adolfo Ernesto Gentilli. a bank employee. at his London home. Adolfo was born in Alessandria. Italy in 1890. but in 1931 he was settled in London & that year was issued with his Naturalisation papers. During WWII his brother Carlo served with the Italian infantry with the rank of Lieutenant. In the Motor Car Journal dated 1904 there is mention of an Alban Gentilli. a “mechanician” of only 18 years of age having been arrested & convicted for “furious driving & wilful misconduct”. he had knocked down a bicyclist – with such an unusual surname is there a family connection?! An amusing & little know fact is that the Gentilli family town of San Daniele de Friuli is famous for its Duck Sausages! A. E. Gentilli's cousin Joseph Gentilli emigrated to Australia in 1939 as a war refugee where he joined the University of Western Australia. in due course he became a lecturer & later an author on the subject of climate change & geography. Between 1932 & 1953 GMU17 was registered by A E Gentilli at three London locations: Palace Gardens Terrace - built in the 1840s by Jeremiah Little; Phillimore Gardens constructed in 1862 by J D Davis. previous occupants include Sir Lancelot Sanderson MP & Col Hector MacKenzie rtd Bengal Staff Corps - in 1898 Col MacKenzie had gifted his late father's library of some 243vols to the Inverness Free Library; & lastly Harrowby Court. Seymour Place W1 – earlier the home of Colonel D. Lyell CMG. CBE. DSO. Legion d'Honour (France). Order of Aviz (Portugal) & the Croix de Guerre (Belgium). A E Gentilli's son. Jeremy. has been in touch with us who has the following delightful story: “My brother Humphrey learnt to perfect his driving techniques at the Corner House on our father's 1933 Rolls. it was near the end of the 1945 War. He went through a herd of cattle at 30mph & Daddy became apoplectic. telling him to ‘slow down'. but even when you lift your foot off the accelerator. a Rolls just glides on. I was in the back of the car. doubled up with laughter. It was superb & marvellously funny. but that was the end of driving lessons in the Rolls. ”

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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