1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Landaulette

After testing the Silver Ghost chassis number 25EB on January 28th of 1914, it was delivered to Barker of London to receive its open-drive limousine coachwork. It had a high roofline with large windows around the rear compartment. Inside was a sliding division window that separated the enclosed passengers and the chauffeur in the open. There was a carriage-style curved molding running through the front doors, which themselves are curved up into the cowl. After the coachwork was finished, the Silver Ghost was delivered to its original British owner, D.E. Cameron Rose, on May 28th of 1914 and registered at LL 4138. The car remained in the United Kingdom for only a short period, as it was subsequently acquired and imported to New York by Robert W. Schuette, the U.S. Rolls-Royce distributor at the time and the American agent for Barker. It was subsequently sold to Helen Brice of New York City.

Miss Brice was driven in her Silver Ghost on a regular basis by her chauffeur, Francis Cox, until early 1934. It was then traded for a more modern automobile. The car was later sent forwarded to Dearborn and placed in the Edison Institute, later to become the Henry Ford Museum, and remained on display there until 1971. After leaving the museum, it was sold to Bernard Paul Moser from Solvang, California, and remained in his care until his passing in May of 1992, then sold the following year to Chris Lambert. The next owner was DeNean Stafford III and then to British enthusiast Jonathan Proctor, in whose ownership the body was refinished in Burgundy. The Rolls-Royce then returned to the United States and was sold to the late Richard Solove, who commissioned Steve Littin's renowned Vintage and Auto Rebuilds of Chardon, Ohio, to restore the car between 2004 and 2005.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2019

Few Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts retain their original coachwork on the original chassis, but this is one of them. This Silver Ghost was the last of the 116 B-series chassis produced at the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby, England, and it was delivered to the coachworks Barker & Company of London to be fitted with its open-drive Landaulette coachwork. After a short period with a first owner there, the car was imported to New York by Robert W. Schuette, the Rolls-Royce distributor, who then sold the motor car to Helen Brice of New York City, the daughter of Calvin S. Brice. Miss Brice used her Silver Ghost on a regular basis until 1934 when she donated it to The Henry Ford Museum where it remained until 1971. Subsequent owners kept the car as original as possible with only routine mechanical maintenance and minimal refurbishment to its body and paintwork. After 80 years, Richard Solove finally had the car fully restored in 2005 by Ghost restorer Steve Littin.