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1924 Taxis-Citroen |
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Stock Code VM-ANC1924 |
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1924 certificate for this famous motor company.
Brown decorative border with vignette of historic car. Facsimile
signature of Andre Citroen, the founder.
Certificate size is 25
cm high x 31 cm wide (10.5" x 12.5").
We have several certificates
of this company; should you require
information on any of the others please
click here.
About This Company
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Framed Certificate Price : £155.00
Certificate Only Price : £105.00 |
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A perfect personalised
gift for someone who:
- works or worked in the
motor industry
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Order Now - Free Worldwide Shipping!
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About This Company
Ex-military man Andre Citroen (born 1878) made his name by
purchasing the patent rights to helical gear technology from Poland, where
he had seen such wooden gears working water-driven machinery. Manufacturing
these gears in steel - the double chevrons of the Citroen badge are a
graphical representation of their appearance - he quickly grasped the need
for mass production technology, as introduced in the US by Henry Ford.
Producing gears for use in other French cars, Citroen joined the board of
the struggling Mors car company in 1908, tasked with saving the
near-bankrupt firm. By 1913, Mors was making 100 cars a month and he
returned to running the gear business, before taking up a captaincy in the
Army in 1914. His factory was sidelined into making munitions shells, but
post-war, Citroen pursued his dream of a mass-market car, rather than the
large luxury models and sports cars Mors had been making.
Poaching engineer Jules Saloman, an Army friend, from a firm called Le Zebre,
and refitting his factory along the lines of Ford's River Rouge plant near
Detroit, Citroen's first car was the Type A: a four-seater soft-top with a
1327cc sidevalve engine, an electric starter and even electric lighting -
all for less than 8000 francs, undercutting all its competitors. The Type A
weighed just 990lbs and had a top speed of 40 mph; it was said to return
35mpg. It went on sale in May 1919, advertised as "Europe's first mass
production car." 30,000 Type As were sold from pre-orders alone, and by
1920, the factory was making 100 cars a day. The upgraded Type B with a 10hp
1450cc engine was launched in 1921, and the factory was making 500 cars a
day by the time the Type B was discontinued in 1927. New factories were set
up, including the facility in Slough, England.
The Type C, however, was to be the most ground-breaking Citroen of the
period: smaller than the A or B, with a sidevalve 856cc engine and two
seats, it was marketed specifically towards women, with advertising
stressing how easy it was to drive. Its engine developed 5CV (horsepower) by
the French ratings system and 11hp by the RAC ratings, and it had a
three-speed gearbox, electric starter, dynamo and magneto, but only
rear-wheel braking. It was offered as an open Tourer, a Cabriolet with
opening windscreen and sliding glass windows, or the 'Cloverleaf' - a three-seater
with a third seat mounted behind the front two. Citroen also produced
pick-up trucks, delivery vans and, to special order, coupe de ville models
on the same chassis. Over 88,000 Type Cs were made. Citroen was affected
badly by the Depression and subsequent poor economical conditions, however;
Andre Citroen himself was a gambler, and he and his company fell further
into debt. One of the firm's largest creditors, Michelin, took ownership,
forcing Andre Citroen to 'retire'; he declined into poor health and died of
cancer in July 1935.
Larger cars followed: the 22hp B14 (1538cc), the hugely popular C4 and
six-cylinder C6 of 1929, the latter with 2442cc or 2650cc engines, then the
truly ground-breaking "Light Fifteen" front-wheel drive models. The
mid-market sector was largely abandoned, with just the rear-wheel drive
'Ten', with its 1450cc engine, continuing as an entry-level model.
source: www.channel4.com |
