Page 21 - The Kellner Affair Sample Pages

THE KELLNER AFFAIR: MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
style was being widely licensed by other important carrossiers such as Henri Labourdette or Jacques Saoutchik. Kellner was active on the international scene in the 1920s. Cars were shown at the London Motor Show in 1925, 1926 and 1928, although not in 1927 for some reason.
Marcel Lacarrière remembers,
1923 to 1936
Marcel Lacarrière was commercial director of Kellner from 1923 to 1936. In their 1980 book entitled Rolls-Royce, Jacques Borgé & Nicolas Viasnoff share a few of his recollections. Lacarrière’s memories provide a tiny yet unique glimpse into the bygone world of the whims of Kellner customers and the glittering world they inhabited. They are therefore worth quoting at some length:
“We had a very pleasant relationship with the Rolls factory in Derby. In my early days, I was sent to a two-month internship at Conduit Street, the Rolls showroom in London, so I knew how to receive customers and deal with important people. In the 1920s, Argentinians, Brazilians and Peruvians were our best customers.
LEFT: Princesse de Faucigny-Lucinge, born Liliane Beaumont d’Erlanger. Here in 1935. She bought a new Rolls with a Kellner body every other year – always in yellow and black. (Peter Larsen)
A well-proportioned and quintessential Kellner demi-conduite intérieure cabriolet, advertised in Vogue, May 1930. (Peter Larsen) 187