The Voisin, the film star and the Friday Lady

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In the 1920s, half the men in the world probably wished they could be Rudolf Valentino, and who could blame them? The handsome Italian émigré to America enjoyed wealth, celebrity and the company and affections of beautiful women, not to mention a stable of some of the finest motor-cars in the world.

Valentino revelled in luxury and attention. His taste in vehicles was not discreet, but that is not to say that he just splashed his money around indiscriminately. He had genuine preferences and ordered a number of cars to be built to quite exacting specifications. Isotta Fraschini was one of his favoured marques, and so was Voisin, as we see here.

He seems to be in 'country sports' mode with his knickerbockers and flat cap, and the young woman accompany him is his wife, Hollywood costume designer Natacha Rambova, who's looking magnificently exotic in an outfit which is half flapper girl and half Eastern enchantress. The picture dates from 1923 or thereabouts, and they look supremely youthful with their dramatic Voisin standing out against all the upright sedancas and limousines in the neighbourhood.

We'll have to leave it to the experts to tell us exactly what type of Voisin this is and whether or not there's any more information to be said about it, but we know it was one of at least three owned by Valentino. The others included an unreservedly glamorous 1923 C5 Sporting Victoria and an exquisite C7 town car, which he employed a chauffeur to drive so he could better appreciate Natacha's company.

Yes, indeed, we think we could have happily lived for a day in Valentino's shoes...

Words: Zack Stiling
 

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