Marcelle’s mobile fantasy

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Thanks to the superb quality of the images seen here we were able to zoom in on that tiny little coachbuilder plate in the door opening and actually read what was on it. ‘Carrosserier Gaston Grümmer’, it revealed. Grümmer was a coachbuilder to the members of Parisian high society during the interwar years and this car was one of its coolest creations.

The pictures were taken in June 1928 at the Concours d’Élégance de Paris in the Bois de Boulogne and we understand the car shown was a Panhard et Levassor with a so-called Demi-Berline de Grand Tourisme body. It was a 35hp model, which meant it used a massive 7.4-litre four-cylinder engine. But it must have been the car’s features and the presentation that made it a prize-winner at the concours. The lady seen demonstrating it was singer, dancer and actress Marcelle Rahna, who may have attracted at least some of the attention. Furthermore, the features included a lavish interior, supposedly with part-velour and part-snakeskin upholstery, and front seats which could be folded to turn them into a bed. That novel feature must have been a dream come true...

That wasn’t all. The car’s dashboard supposedly came with a built-in drinks cabinet while a large storage compartment in the left-hand wing boasted an extensive picnic set with saucers, cups and plates all in their own protective cases, while the back of the car contained a table and matching folding seats. We understand that very few Grümmer creations survive today. Could this impressive machine be among them?

Words by Jeroen Booij, picture Bibliothèque Nationale de France

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