Vehicle Description
• Stately open coachwork on the Springfield Silver Ghost chassis, Body 537
• Matching numbers, with original open bodywork
• Formerly owned by Harry Resnick
Rolls-Royce maintained an American factory at Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1919 to 1931, where the Silver Ghost remained in production until 1926. In order to compete with other prestige manufacturers, Rolls-Royce set up a range of bodies to be sold under the name “Rolls-Royce Custom Coach Work.” Many of these were built by Brewster, but some were commissioned by Merrimac, Willoughby, Holbrook, and Biddle & Smart. They all carried the names of British landmarks: Croydon and Henley convertibles, St. Stephen and St. Alban town cars, and the Piccadilly roadster, to name but a few.
The Oxford was a stately touring car, of dignity and good posture, which befitted from the elegance of the Silver Ghost chassis. Only 77 Oxford examples were produced.
Records from the Rolls-Royce Foundation, copies of which are on file, record the delivery of chassis number 107JH to Albert R. Hansen on April 20, 1924. Mr. Hansen was a Chicago resident who both worked and lived in landmarks, the Continental Bank Building at 208 South LaSalle Street and the Horatio N. May House at 1443 Astor Street, respectively. The car was later acquired in 1957 by W.E. Schreiber and then again, in 1964, by Dr. John A. Bowers, of Kokomo, Indiana. From 1969 until 1980 it was the property of well-known East Coast collector and Rolls-Royce enthusiast Harry Resnick, of Channel Master television antenna fame, and it was displayed at his well-known Ellenville Motor Museum in New York.
In December 1980 the Rolls-Royce was acquired from Resnick by Warren E. Spieker, of Atherton, California. It eventually made its way into the Blackhawk Museum, where it was on prominent display for several years prior to its acquisition by the current owner. The present restoration is believed to have been completed in the early 1990s, and it saw the car refinished in its present striking livery of two shades of blue, with both a complementary leather interior and top, and trimmed in beautiful walnut. Capacious collapsible jump seats allow for seven-passenger occupancy on warm summer drives. The paint and interior have mellowed nicely and held up well throughout, as has the nickel trim on such components as the classic Bausch & Lomb headlamps.
A complete frame off restoration has been performed. Four wheel braces were added at Springfield works. This car was recently serviced by Vintage & Auto Rebuilds.
This handsome Oxford would be a superb choice for Veteran Motor Car Club of America or Rolls-Royce Owners Club tours, as it represents the best of classic early Springfield Rolls-Royce design and coachwork.
