LORD MONTAGU, John, 2nd Baron of Beaulieu [editor]. A History of the first ten Years of Automobilism. London, Published by The Car, 1906.
Royal 8vo. Original cloth, lettered in white, decorated in cream and gilt; pp. viii, 124, [4, illustrated advertisements], apart from annotations to endpapers by a previous bookdealer, a very good copy with the bookplate Lionel de Rothschild inside front cover.
Scarce first edition, especially in good condition. 'John Scott Montagu MP (later 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu) was born in 1866 and he campaigned for motorists in Parliament, was the first member of the Road Board and was instrumental in the introduction of vehicle registration plates. He worked tirelessly to promote motoring, introducing it to people of influence and helping to lay the foundations for mass motoring as we know it today. In 1899 John Scott Montagu drove the first car to enter the yard of the House of Commons at Westminster, his recently acquired 12hp Daimler. In September that year, he competed in the Paris–Ostend race, and the Daimler finished third in the touring car class. It was the first time that British competitors had taken part in a European road race and was the first prize ever awarded to a British driver in a British-built car' (National Motor Museum, online).
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