PREVIEW: THE SILICH COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL & ART MEDALS: PART III: 14 OCTOBER

A medal from the early days of motoring provides an interesting historic conundrum in this auction.

Awarded by the Automobile-Club de France in 1904, the recipient was Sir William Henry Crundall (1847-1934), timber merchant and politician, as well as 13-times Conservative mayor of Dover between 1886 and 1910.

 

The Automobile-Club de France had been founded in 1895 and the ensuing years had seen the rise of road races across Europe under its aegis, as racers tested new machines and the limits of speed.

Eventually, restrictions placed on the number of entrants frustrated the French, who then launched the first Grand Prix in Le Mans to allow for a wider field of competition.

As the international obsession with motoring and speed grew, however, reciprocal arrangements between countries helped the bonds of friendship grow.

Sir William was the instigator of Dover Corporation Tramways in 1897 following a period in which many of the town’s roads were widened. He was also chairman of Dover Harbour Board. He went on to be Deputy Lieutenant of Kent in 1922, and he was also president of the Dover branch of the Conservative party.

Noting his apparent enthusiasm for modern methods of transport, it is reasonable to assume that he was also was a keen motorist in his own right at the time, which would make this a genuinely early British motoring award.

The question regarding this award to Sr William, then, is: did he win it as a result of his own motoring prowess? More likely it would have been his role in the success of the 1904 Calais-Dover motor-boat race run on August 8.

The medallist was Jean-Baptiste Daniel-Dupuis (1849-1899) and the medal itself was a silver-gilt Société d’Encouragement award showing a semi-naked female atop a winged chariot, her right hand holding a torch and left hand steering.

A plaque set in a wreath on the reverse reads CALAIS-DOUVRE 1904, Sir William Crundall. At 68mm, and weighing 137.44g, this medal is in extremely fine condition save for
test marks on the edge. Presented in its original maroon gilt-blocked fitted case, initialled W.C to the front, it has an estimate of £300-400.