ANTIQUEXPLORER: CAR MASCOTS HAMPERS AUTOMOBILIA TITANIC

Tony Wraight looks into the halcyonic heyday of the picnic hamper.

'The age of the motor car and the motorway has brought many blessings. The ability to travel the length and breadth of the country in comparative ease and comfort (traffic jams and roadwork's permitting). The capacity to cover large mileage at high speeds is now a part of our lives. Life is a hard taskmaster however, and teaches us that as we gain we lose, and as modern road development manifests itself, so another custom fades into oblivion...'

Jack Tucker's Garage.

'Few car museums in the world can match the unique collection of the world renowned National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Managed by the National Motor Museum Trust, Beaulieu is also the home of the world famous Beaulieu International Autojumble and Automart. Whether your interest is as an individual, a motor enthusiast, or as a member of an interest group or educational party, when it comes to cars, motorbikes, commercial vehicles, motoring eccentricities and memorabilia, the National Motor Museum is firmly in the driving seat...'

'Just as when a Viking ship crested a wave, it was the carved figurehead that first emerged from the spray, so when an early automobile made its spluttering progress over the brow of a hill, an onlooker would see a metal object glittering in the light. This was the car mascot, but it was far more than simply a metal object, for it hid a deeper meaning and symbolic purpose...'

In September last year Henry Aldridge & Son auctioned over 400 lots of Titanic and White Star Line memorabilia with record breaking results.

'Although the Titanic sank nearly 96 years ago, demand for memorabilia from her shows little sign of abating. A mystique has built up around the story since her demise on a cold April night in 1912 with the loss of 1,517 lives. Ironically though it was not until the film ‘A Night to Remember’ was released in 1958 that the story was brought back to the attention of the media in general. Several films came and went after what is still seen by many as the definitive movie on the subject...'