Car Bonnet Decoration, 1920s
This black metal cat standing on a green base was a car bonnet decoration, or mascot, for the Bentall car owned by Sir James Fortescue Flannery of Wethersfield Manor in the early part of the 20th century.
Born in Liverpool in 1851, Flannery led a remarkably varied career, working as an engineer, naval architect and later both a Liberal Unionist and Conservative politician. He was created 1st Baronet of Wethersfield Manor and appointed J. P for Essex in 1904. In 1910 he joined the Conservative party and returned to parliament as MP for Maldon in Essex, a seat which he retained in the 1923 election. Flannery died in October 1943 aged 91.
Upon Flannery’s designation as Baronet in 1904 he adopted the Flannery coat of arms featuring a cat facing frontwards symbolising vigilance and courage. The cat is standing in front of an oak tree with the moto firmitate coeli floreat arbor translating as “may the tree flourish in heaven”. The black cat car mascot was styled upon the cat from the coat of arms with a bronze button to connect it to the bonnet featuring the Latin moto.
Car mascots were popular in the 1920s, the glamourous era of motoring, when cars were not only becoming more common but increasingly more sophisticated. As a result of cars becoming more affordable and accessible, wealthy car owners wanted to personalise and demonstrate their wealth further with miniature mascots and, in some cases, works of art to adorn their vehicles.
E. H. Bentall & Co was a company that primarily made agricultural equipment in Heybridge. However, from 1906 the decision was made to move into automobile production. Edmund Ernest Bentall, a keen motor enthusiast who, in 1900, owned the only car in the Maldon area, designed two prototype cars in 1904. In 1905 the company decided to go into full production producing the initial design for the 1906 Olympia Show. Unfortunately, due to finances, the company stopped production in 1912 and had produced only 100 Bentall cars.
Photograph – Sir James Fortescue Flannery with his Bentall Car
Circa.1922-23
The photograph of Flannery with his wife, Edith Mary Emma, and their chauffeur, Arthur Whittaker, was taken whilst campaigning for his seat in Parliament.
