Notes on Motor Carriages with Hints for Purchasers and Users

KNIGHT, John Henry

Published by Hazell, Watson and Viney, London, 1896

About this Item

INSCRIBED PRESENTATION COPY DIBNER 184. First edition, inscribed presentation copy, of this scarce early study on automobiles by the inventor and engineer John Henry Knight. "The development of the automobile is of great historic importance in the history of technology. Of all the early works written on the subject, this book by Knight had a great impact on both the makers and the users of automobiles" (Dibner online). "There were many who attempted to apply the power of small gasoline, gas-generator or electric battery propulsion to a carriage and to make an automobile. The release of the Otto 4-cycle engine patent from monopoly control in 1885 multiplied these efforts and many horseless carriages took to the roads of America and Europe. Prominent names among the more successful pioneers in this effort are Daimler, Benz, Peugeot, Duryea and Mueller. It was in the methods of automobile manufacture and the approach to the mass market that the 20th century inventors and industrialists developed new sociological concepts of great and lasting importance" (Dibner, 25th Anniversary Edition). This book was written soon after Knight s construction of one of Britain s first petrol-powered motor vehicles. The book includes chapters on several famous makes of cars, including Benz, Decauville, Motor Mfg. Co., New Orleans, Argyll & De Dion Voiturette, Serpollet, and Stanley Steam Car. There are also discussions on motor bicycles and tricycles such as Singer, Minerva, etc. The author counselled prospective buyers "to see the machine taken to pieces and put together again before purchasing." Knight also documented some of the earliest motor-sport events, including the 1894 Paris-Rouen and 1895 Paris-Bordeaux-Paris races. "John Henry Knight (1847-1917), from Farnham, Surrey, UK, was a wealthy engineer, landowner and inventor. With the help of the engineer George Parfitt he built one of Britain s first petrol-powered motor vehicles … On 17 October 1895, with his assistant James Pullinger, they drove through Farnham, Surrey, whereupon he was prosecuted for using a locomotive with neither a licence nor a man walking in front with a red flag … Knight was a founder member of the Automobile Association and politically active in the repeal of the Red Flag Act" (Wikipedia). ABPC/RBH list four copies in the last 45 years, but no presentation copies. Provenance: F. Crowley (?) (author s presentation inscription on title). "John Henry Knight was born in 1847 to John Knight, a banker and brewer of Farnham, who died in 1856 when John Henry was 9 years old. His mother was Mary Knight. His father s will bequeathed him title to, among other things, The Anchor Inn, Normandy when he was 21 years old. He was born and raised at Weybourne House, Weybourne, Farnham, Surrey, which still stands today. He then moved to Barfield in Runfold, just outside Farnham, which is now a Preparatory school (whose alumni include Mike Hawthorn). "He was inspired by The Great Exhibition of 1851 and went on to train as an engineer, developing an early enthusiasm for steam powered road-going transport. He owned an engineering works on West Street, Farnham. "In 1895 Knight built one of Britain's first petrol-powered motor vehicles, a three-wheeled, two-seater contraption with a top speed of only 8 mph (13 km/h). It was The first petroleum carriage for two people made in England and believed to be the fourth British vehicle to be built plus the first petrol driven vehicle ever to be driven on British roads. Known as the Trusty, it had a single cylinder Trusty 1,565cc engine. The car was designed very much as an experiment in order to attract police attention and therefore create public awareness of the many restrictions which prevented the use of motor carriages in Britain at that time. Knight managed to use the vehicle for some 150 miles (240 km) on public roads, before being stopped by the Police. "On 17 October 1895 Knight s assistant, James Pullinger, was stopped in Castl. Seller Inventory # 5679

Bibliographic Details

Title: Notes on Motor Carriages with Hints for ...

Publisher: Hazell, Watson and Viney, London

Publication Date: 1896