PUB TALK
Well, almost everything is a bit more modern than the Bollée, at least in this country where the 1896 Emancipation Run to Brighton was the starting gun for motor vehicles and their manufacture (some 10 years later than France and Germany, due to vested interests and reactionary views). The heyday of the Forecar was the early 1900s, and 1903/4 is the likely date of this one. The construction of the vehicle in the photo is quite sophisticated, having a proper chassis with braced rails either side. This would have been beyond the capability of most at home, and even quite enterprising for a cycle shop, which in those days could likely braze up a bicycle frame from standard lugs.
Léon Bollée had aimed to make a lighter vehicle than the 4-wheelers of the day (hence calling it a‘voiturette’) but able to carry a passenger (or sometimes two), which the similarly dated De Dion tricycles could not do except by pulling trailers. Few followed his 3-wheels and ‘forecar’ layout for some years, although Humber had a go with a fairly similar vehicle (unsurprising, because they had been selected to make licensed copies, until suffering a disastrous fire at their Lower Ford Street, Coventry, factory in 1896). HFS Morgan had a large and heavy ‘Eagle Tandem’ in the
