Since 1555 ....

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Coachbuilding is an art that is almost extinct. Nowadays it’s hard to imagine how these men laboured in ill-lit factories, yet producing intricate bodywork. This picture was taken at Rippon, probably Britain’s oldest coachbuilder that was active in the car industry. Established in 1555! Sadly the firm -like many others- did not survive the post-WW II mass-production years. Rippon’s bodyshop graces the front-cover of a new book by Jonathan Wood, who we know as a great motoring writer. In his book Jonathan tells the history of coachbuilding, going back from the days of horse-drawn coaches to the first motor cars and on to the stylish bodies of the thirties. The book is filled with period photographs explaining the different techniques of coachbuilding. Take for instance this grand picture of Enrico (Harry) Bertelli, working on a saloon body on an Enfield-Allday chassis designed by his brother Augustus (Bert) Bertelli).

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