Brooke 25/30-HP Swan Car [View all]

[usonian]

https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/car/brooke-25-30-hp-swan-car/

This Brooke Swan Car is truly extraordinary. It was the creation of the eccentric and wealthy Scotsman Robert Nicholl ‘Scotty’ Matthewson, who lived in early 20th century Calcutta, the capital of what was then British India

Matthewson wanted to shock the local elite with his car, and he certainly succeeded in doing so.

The bodywork represents a swan gliding through water. The rear is decorated with a lotus flower design finished in gold leaf, an ancient symbol for divine wisdom. Apart from the normal lights, there are electric bulbs in the swan’s eyes that glow eerily in the dark. The car has an exhaust-driven, eight-tone Gabriel horn that can be operated by means of a keyboard at the back of the car. A ship’s telegraph was used to issue commands to the driver. Brushes were fitted to sweep off the elephant dung collected by the tyres. The swan’s beak is linked to the engine’s cooling system and opens wide to allow the driver to spray steam to clear a passage in the streets. Whitewash could be dumped onto the road through a valve at the back of the car to make the swan appear even more lifelike.

The car caused panic and chaos in the streets on its first outing and the police had to intervene. Matthewson sold the car to the Maharaja of Nabha, whose family owned it for over seventy years.

Restored, at Louwman Museum.

Easy to get to!

Why,

The Louwman Museum is easy to reach by public transport. It is just a 3 minute walk from the bus stop, named Louwman Museum, where bus number 385 stops. Traveling time from The Hague Central Station is just 8 minutes.

https://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/


Lotus barely visible here.


https://www.getbengal.com/details/when-brookes-swan-cars-cruised-through-the-crowded-streets-of-kolkata



Brushes to remove elephant droppings!



Great article here.
https://www.gearrice.com/update/the-swan-car-the-most-eccentric-vehicle-of-the-20th-century/

A century ago the upper class did not stoop to speaking to the driver. that's why the passenger had a lever with words like Left Right, faster either stall, to tell the driver what to do:



In the passenger seat there is also a keyboard that allows you to generate different sounds through the swan's mouth, simulating it squawking.

And progeny!




I found the link at Hacker News.
"And did some further research on the internet"