Daimler Car For The Maharaja India, Old Print 1917

This print is an old page from The Graphic newspaper of 1917 with a picture of two Daimler cars of a Maharaja in India. The photo caption reads- The Daimler In India- A shooting party at Jasumund in Udiapur, Rajputana. Maharajas had a collection of luxurious cars ranging anywhere from 10 to 100. Out of the lot, Rolls Royces were their biggest fascination. A maharaja’s class was judged by the number of Rolls Royces he owned.

Undoubtedly more the merrier applied well for them. One of their main interests was hunting or shikar cars. Which the car manufacturers gladly obliged by souping up the performance and styles of the high-end luxury vehicles for shikars. Sought after coach builders abroad were entrusted with producing luxurious and sometimes bizarre body styles to satisfy sometimes eccentric cravings of their illustrious patrons.

See previous post Nawab Of Bhopal’s Bentley Car – Old Photo 1926 (#1).

Benz and Daimler cars merged into a single entity in 1926 as Daimler-Benz. Karl Benz and Gotlieb Daimler both claimed to have invented the petrol-driven automobile engine. Gotlieb Daimler in 1883 and Carl Benz in 1885. By 1887 Benz started selling his vehicles. Gotlieb died in 1900 and Carl in 1929 but both apparently never met although they lived within 60 miles of each other. Click on the photo for better view.