Montagu Motor Museum
1922
Maxwell 25 cwt
14 seat charabanc body.

Something a little different here. CJ 5052 is a Maxwell 25 cwt chassis of the USA powered by a four cylinder 3.09 litre side valve engine and fitted with a 14 seat charabanc body of unknown make. The Maxwell business began in 1904 as the Maxwell – Briscoe Company, a car manufacturer which, by 1909, was the third  largest after Ford and General Motors. The Maxwell company began taking over other pioneer manufacturers, including the Columbia Motor Car which held the Selden patent. This patent remarkably declared that the petrol powered four wheeled automobile had been invented by George B Selden of Rochester, New York in 1878, eight years before Benz in Germany, and in 1895 the patent was granted entitling Selden to a royalty payment on all cars built in the United States. Unsurprisingly, this did not suit Henry Ford who legally contested the patent, finally winning his case in 1911, when the lucrative Selden income to the Maxwell Company came to an end. In 1913 the firm was reorganised as the Maxwell Motor Company Inc. and added light commercial vehicles to its car ranges from 1917. During the post WW1 slump in sales – a similar situation occurred in Britain as surplus military vehicles flooded the markets – Maxwell ran into financial difficulties and sold out to Walter Chrysler in 1921. Four years later, having made further company acquisitions, Chrysler founded his own Chrysler Corporation into which the Maxwell business was absorbed. This charabanc dates from 1922 when it was bought new (the chassis price was £280) by Victory Garage, Hereford, who ceased using it in 1929. The subsequent history is uncertain until Lord Montagu bought it in 1957 for complete restoration, and from 1962 it appeared on many HCVC Brighton runs. It is seen here on the A23 Crawley By Pass during the May 1970 event.

Photograph and Copy contributed by Roger Cox

25/02/20 – 09:59

On SORN at the moment. Does anyone know where and what is its current state?

David C

26/02/20 – 17:28

I took this photo at Beaulieu in May 2018.

John Lomas

27/02/20 – 06:12

Still a static exhibit in the museum, this pic taken in Jan 2020 www.flickr.com/photos/preservedtransport/

John Wakefield