1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Mayfair Town Car by Merrimac
{{lr.item.text}}
Offered from The Hadfield Family Collection
Offered Without Reserve
{{bidding.lot.reserveStatusFormatted}}
- Fitted from new with Mayfair Town Car coachwork by Merrimac, an attractive blend of limousine formality with open sporting character
- Delivered new to Harry Cohn, co-founder and longtime head of Columbia Pictures, in Hollywood
- Powered by its numbers-matching 7.4-liter inline six-cylinder engine
- Joined The Hadfield Family Collection from Southern California in 2000; mechanically restored and extensively toured by the Hadfields
- A compelling, well-documented Silver Ghost, benefiting from remarkable coachwork and notable provenance
Among American-built Rolls-Royce motor cars, few carry the provenance and character found in chassis 369 LF, offered here. Built at the Rolls-Royce of America factory in Springfield, Massachusetts, this Silver Ghost was fitted from new with a Merrimac Mayfair Town Car body and delivered on 20 June 1925 to one of Hollywood’s most influential early figures, Harry Cohn. Co-founder and longtime head of Columbia Pictures, Cohn was among the powerful studio executives who helped shape Hollywood during its formative years.
The Mayfair Town Car is particularly attractive for blending limousine formality with open sporting character. The chauffeur’s compartment features a retractable fabric roof, allowing the driver to operate in the open air while rear-seat passengers remain protected within the enclosed passenger compartment. This arrangement lends a more rakish appearance than a conventional limousine while retaining the dignity expected of a Rolls-Royce Town Car, providing greater visual flair and touring appeal than a purely formal limousine body.
Following Cohn’s ownership, 369 LF appears to have remained in California with registration documents on file placing it in the San Dimas and Canyon Lake areas circa the sixties to early eighties. In January 2000, Roger Hadfield acquired the Silver Ghost out of Southern California and imported it to Ontario, Canada. At that time, the car underwent mechanical refurbishment with an emphasis on preparing it for reliable touring. The work proved its worth on tours with the Silver Ghost Association and Rolls-Royce Owners' Club, with the Hadfields reportedly driving around 2,000 miles a year, availing themselves of the car’s smooth, stable ride even on an intrepid drive up Mount Washington in an 85-mph gale.
Well-documented with copies of build cards and entries in various Rolls-Royce references, including Steve Hubbard’s The Vintage Silver Ghost, chassis 369 LF gains further significance from retaining its numbers-matching engine. With its impressive coachwork, exceptional touring history, and connection to a powerful figure from Hollywood’s beginnings, chassis 369 LF is an unusually evocative Springfield Silver Ghost—as impressive to drive as it is to behold.
| Hershey, Pennsylvania