In a recently rediscovered tool catalogue from around 1920 were several pages devoted to the travelling motorist.
What is striking is not how different these tools appear, but how familiar many remain. Leather tool rolls, socket sets, adjustable spanners and compact road-side tool kits which would not look out of place in a touring car today.
The illustrations reflect a time when motorists were expected to be practical engineers as well as drivers. A puncture, loose fitting, or mechanical adjustment was not necessarily cause for recovery services. Instead, many owners carried carefully assembled kits designed to deal with the minor difficulties encountered along the road.
Intriguing is an early Starrett ratchet wrench and socket set. Separated from modern examples by more than a century, the design is different but will be instantly recognisable to anyone who has opened a modern socket case.
Perhaps some travelling companions change less than we imagine.
From the collection of a George Collier tool catalogue, Brixton, c.1920.
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