Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A rare Victorian silver and enamel ‘horseless carriage’ vesta case by Sampson Mordan & Co., 1896, of rectangular form, the front enamelled with a scene of an early tiller-driven automobile, with driver and two seated passengers, on a country road, with hinged lid, numbered ‘18’, maker’s mark, London hallmark, dimensions 57 x 33 x 10mm. £800-£1,000

The Locomotive Act of 1865, also known as the Red Flag Act, had required self-propelled vehicles or ‘horseless carriages’ to be led by a pedestrian walking 60 yards ahead of the vehicle waving a red flag or carrying a lantern to warn bystanders of the vehicle’s approach. The Red Flag Act was repealed on 14th November 1896.

To celebrate this event, Harry Lawson of Daimler and his friends organised the London to Brighton Emancipation run, and at the start of the run, a red flag was symbolically destroyed by Lord Winchelsea. The run of 33 cars started at the Metropole Hotel in London and finished at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton. The London-Brighton run became a regular annual event from 1927, (except from the onset of the second World War up to 1947, owing to petrol rationing). The event takes place on the first Sunday of November, commemorating the famous run of November 1896.


This vesta case is illustrated in Exceptional Match Safes edited by Shapiro & Koenig (An International Match Safe Association Publication).