Beschreibung:

Woodrow Wilson, America’s 28th President, was the first leader of the republic to recognize the appeal of the motor car. His predecessor, William Howard Taft, was the first President to ride to his inauguration in an automobile, but Wilson was charmed by the internal combustion powered vehicle. His appreciation of the automobile’s potential led him to champion national road-building, beginning a process which has shaped America. Wilson is best known for his initial aversion to America’s participation in the First World War and his subsequent conversion after Germany’s initiation of unrestricted submarine warfare. His Progressive political views helped establish the progressive income tax, the Federal Reserve System, Clayton Antitrust Act, Federal Trade Commission and suffrage for women during his presidency. Legions of American troops and shiploads of American supplies, machinery, trucks, automobiles and aircraft helped defeat the Central Powers in the World War, launching the United States into a position of world leadership. Wilson, who had witnessed America’s Civil War firsthand, then proposed his Fourteen Points as the guiding principles of the League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles. The proposition was rejected by the U.S. Congress and Wilson suffered a stroke in office in 1919. His leadership suffered and the postwar years were fraught with division. After he left office early in 1921 the leadership and contributions to the country of the ailing President was recognized by a group of supporters. They bought him this 1923 Springfield Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Silver Ghost Oxford Touring Car just before he died in 1924, a measure of the respect in which he was held even. Rolls-Royce had been operating in Springfield, Massachusetts for barely two years when this Silver Ghost Oxford Touring Car was built, a graphic and tangible example of Woodrow Wilson’s international perspective and his appreciation for the interactions between the commercial, social and political interests of the great powers. Similar in design to the 5-passenger Pall Mall Touring, the Oxford’s extended passenger tonneau seated seven with the elegance and style that characterized Rolls-Royce’s American catalog coachwork. The tall windshield and top reflected the style of the times and made room for the top hats that were still expected in formal business, society and diplomatic circles at the time. Ted Leonard lent Woodrow Wilson’s Rolls-Royce for many years to President Wilson’s museum in Staunton, Virginia. Its original tall windshield and top were at some point cut down to the more streamlined proportions of a Piccadilly Roadster, but it is nonetheless an elegant formal automobile with a long passenger tonneau. Drum headlights characteristic of Springfield-built Rolls-Royces mounted low in forks between the front fenders accentuate the presence of the distinctive Rolls-Royce radiator. Restored a generation ago and showing only limited use since, the nickel plated brightwork and German silver trim are handsomely preserved. It has Rudge centerlock wire wheels carrying wide whitewall tires, dual sidemounts with mirrors and a natural cloth soft top. Ted Leonard liked to drive his cars, so the modification that lowers the driver’s seat cushion for a taller driver is not surprising. An early righthand drive chassis, it also has the appropriate and rare early four-speed gearbox. The instruments are sharp and original, as are the carburetor, magneto and distributor for the dual ignition system. The magneto and fuel system have been rebuilt before the auction and the engine starts promptly and runs strongly using the original pressurized fuel system. It has good brakes. Woodrow Wilson was President of Princeton University before becoming governor of New Jersey and then President of the United States and his 1923 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Silver Ghost Oxford Tourer has an appropriate Princeton Tiger livery of Black with Orange coachlines. This is an elegant, refined