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Photos from the Edinburgh Corporation Transport Department Collection George Street 1920s or 1930s |
1.
A Marion Fishmonger lorry heads to the west along George Street towards the Assembly Rooms
© Photo from the
Edinburgh Corporation Transport Collection reproduced with acknowledgement to
Lothian Buses
and taken from a print from the original glass plate made by John Dickson,
Royston, Edinburgh
2.
Cars travelling to the east along George Street approach the George Hotel
© Photo from the
Edinburgh Corporation Transport Collection reproduced with acknowledgement to
Lothian Buses
and taken from a print from the original glass plate made by John Dickson,
Royston, Edinburgh
3.
© Photo from the
Edinburgh Corporation Transport Collection reproduced with acknowledgement to
Lothian Buses
and taken from a print from the original glass plate made by John Dickson,
Royston, Edinburgh
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Cars in George Street |
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I am not familiar with car models from around the 1920 or 1930s, but some of these cars do look interesting, and quite distinctive. Can anybody identify the models of any of the three cars nearest the camera in photos 2 and 3? Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: February 23, 2012 |
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Reply 1. Bozi Mohacek Surrey, England |
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Thank you to Bozi Mohacek and other members of the Surrey Vintage Society for identifying most of the cars in Photo 2. Bozi wrote: |
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Photo 2 American Cars "The vehicles in this photo seem to be mainly American cars. Front to back, I believe they are: - c.1919: Overland, Model 90 - 1924: Buick, Standard Six - c.1923: Moon 6'58 Sports Phaeton ** - c.1922: Rover Eight. I cannot make out enough on the last car, which is back-on. So, all the cars were mid-1920s. Even if the cars were a few years old when this photo was taken, I think it likely that the photo would be late-1920s, rather than 1930s. ** I'm slightly hesitant on the Moon, as the photo is low res and not at all clear, but it is an American car and does have a Rolls look-alike radiator, but the Moon had a low height between the radiator and the filler cap." Bozi Mohacek, Surrey, England: March 10, 2012 |
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American Cars I wonder why the American vehicles, with Edinburgh number plates, were in George Street when this photo was taken. |
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Reply 2. Ian Green |
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Thank you to Ian Green who wrote: |
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American Cars Parked Cars "The vehicles in Photo 2 look to me to be parked, partly because of the position of the cars at the back, and partly because the spokes on the front car are not blurred. Photo 2 In fact, in all three photos the cars look to be parked on tram lines in the middle of the road which, in view of the unusual models identified, suggests either a rally or exhibition. Scottish Motor Shows "I then searched The Scotsman for articles containing three of the identified names, “Moon”, “Overland” and “Buick”, and found a number of hits in the year 1924. For example, on page 4 of The Scotsman for November 24, 1924, the three names appear in the exhibit list for the Scottish Motor Show, held at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. A year earlier, a rail strike coincided with the Motor Show, which led to exhibit cars being driven en masse from England. Here is an extract from an interesting article in 'The Scotsman' at the time which also includes names of the three cars:
So, I think it likely that the cars in George Street came from the motor show, possibly demonstrators from the 1924 show, and that their presence in Edinburgh would have been reported in The Scotsman, but will leave it to someone with more stamina than myself to track down the details." Bozi Mohacek, Surrey, England: March 10, 2012 |