British Medals from the Collection of James Spencer

Exhibitions: England and Wales, Birmingham, Birmingham Industrial Polytechnic Exhibition, 1901, a gilt-bronze award medal by Jenkins Ltd, blacksmith and artisan in forge, rev. two shields, named (Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering Co Ltd), 63mm (Allen Pt I). Very fine; a rare early award for the British motor industry (£40-60)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, British Medals from the Collection of James Spencer.

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The Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering Co was one of Birmingham’s first manufacturers of automobiles; their first quadricycle, called the Traveller, appeared in 1898. In 1900 the company launched a 7hp rear-engined flat-twin four-seater, several examples of which still exist and compete in the London-Brighton run each November. Over the next decade the company introduced a range of more powerful cars, but in 1918 it merged with the Royal Enfield motorcycle business based in Redditch and car manufacture ceased