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Built for Lincoln on a 1927 Model L chassis, it was called a "English Coaching Brougham", and was without a doubt, Judkins most famous vehicle.
Built for exhibition by the Ford Motor Co and was based in part on an old horse-drawn coach that was on display at Henry Ford's Wayside Inn.
Designed by John F. Dobben in cooperation with Edsel Ford, the car was also shown at the 1927 Chicago and Los Angeles Salons.
Dobben remembered visiting the Wayside Inn at Sudbury, Massachusetts, to see the old coach that was on display which Ford stated was the one "in which George Washington and Lafayette rode." Dobben also remembered traveling to the old Abbot-Downing plant in Concord, New Hampshire with John Judkins to get a photo of an actual Concord Coach to use as a model for the Lincoln commission. Four or five pencil sketches of similar designs that used both the Concord Coach and the one at the Wayside Inn were presented to Edsel Ford, who picked his favorite which became Judkins' English Coaching Brougham.
The interior followed the pattern of earlier coaches, with seats and doors covered in tufted dark green morocco leather, and headlining of red plush. The ceiling had an additional coverlet of lace, which could be detached and washed. Small hammocks of hand-knotted string, like fishnets, were provided to hold the passengers' odds and ends, as on horse-drawn Concord Coaches. The exterior was finished in coaching yellow and black, with coaching vermillion striping.
It was much admired by Mrs. W. C. Fields at the 1927 New York Salon but remained unsold until the wealthy father of Ethel Jackson, an aspiring movie actress, purchased it in 1928 for publicity purposes. Unfortunately the car didn’t help her career – she appeared in only three movies, 2 1935 Bill Cody B-Westerns and un-credited in 1936’s After the Thin Man.
Dobben remembered visiting the Wayside Inn at Sudbury, Massachusetts, to see the old coach that was on display which Ford stated was the one "in which George Washington and Lafayette rode." Dobben also remembered traveling to the old Abbot-Downing plant in Concord, New Hampshire with John Judkins to get a photo of an actual Concord Coach to use as a model for the Lincoln commission. Four or five pencil sketches of similar designs that used both the Concord Coach and the one at the Wayside Inn were presented to Edsel Ford, who picked his favorite which became Judkins' English Coaching Brougham.
The interior followed the pattern of earlier coaches, with seats and doors covered in tufted dark green morocco leather, and headlining of red plush. The ceiling had an additional coverlet of lace, which could be detached and washed. Small hammocks of hand-knotted string, like fishnets, were provided to hold the passengers' odds and ends, as on horse-drawn Concord Coaches. The exterior was finished in coaching yellow and black, with coaching vermillion striping.
It was much admired by Mrs. W. C. Fields at the 1927 New York Salon but remained unsold until the wealthy father of Ethel Jackson, an aspiring movie actress, purchased it in 1928 for publicity purposes. Unfortunately the car didn’t help her career – she appeared in only three movies, 2 1935 Bill Cody B-Westerns and un-credited in 1936’s After the Thin Man.
In 1931 it was sold to the MacMillan Oil Company for use in promoting the Beverly Hill Billies, a popular radio vocal group unrelated to the stars of the 1960s TV show. W.C. Fields did get to ride in it later, when it was used to promote one of his movies, 1932’s Million Dollar Legs
Outstanding !
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