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Cambridge Vintage Sale - Sale 5 -- Commercial vehicles & classic cars, vintage & classic tractors to be held at Machinery Saleground, Sutton, Ely, Cambs, CB6 2QT (#543) 19/10/2019 11:30 AM CEST Closed

Starts Ending 19/10/2019 11:30 AM CEST

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Lot 2310

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  • 1903 IVEL Agricultural Motor 2cylinder petrol TRACTOR Reg. No. AO 385 Serial No: 131
1903 IVEL Agricultural Motor 2cylinder petrol TRACTOR Reg. No. AO 385 Serial No: 131
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Lot closed - Winning bid:£310,000 (19 bids)

Cambridge Vintage Sale - Sale 5 -- Commercial vehicles & classic cars, vintage & classic tractors to be held at Machinery Saleground, Sutton, Ely, Cambs, CB6 2QT (#543) 19/10/2019 11:30 AM CEST Closed

Starts Ending 19/10/2019 11:30 AM CEST

Auction Info

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1903 IVEL Agricultural Motor 2cylinder petrol TRACTOR Reg. No. AO 385 Serial No: 131 Without doubt, the most important tractor ever to come to auction in the UK, the Ivel Agricultural Motor is an icon of its age and has been cited as one of the great British inventions. Just eight complete examples are known worldwide, and four of those are in museum collections. Furthermore, this is probably the most famous and best known of all the survivors, having been in the ownership of leading enthusiast, the late John Moffitt, whose Hunday Collection led to the establishment of the National Tractor & Farm Museum in Northumberland, where the Ivel was the star attraction. Not only does this tractor have great provenance, it is also the oldest surviving example with the exception of the 1902 prototype preserved in the Science Museum collection at Wroughton. The provenance of No. 131 is fully outlined in John Moffitt's book, The Ivel Story, published in 2003. The book also documents the history of the Ivel Agricultural Motor, the company and the vision of its inventor, Dan Albone, and explains the machine's importance as the first commercially-viable British tractor, and the first to go into volume production. Albone's success with his Ivel tractor was undoubtedly down to the man himself. He realised that the design had to be simple and compact to succeed and he seized every opportunity to underline the tractor's capabilities - organising demonstrations and creating sales where others had failed. Born on 12 September 1860, Albone was the youngest of a family of eight. His father was a smallholder, innkeeper and carpenter, and the family lived at the Ongley Arms in Biggleswade. Dan's affinity with things mechanical began when he was given a bicycle for his ninth birthday. This kindled Albone's inventive streak, and when he was 13 he was apprenticed to a local engineering works. Within a few years, Dan was constructing his own bicycles and had become a notable racing cyclist. In 1880, Albone acquired the premises neighbouring the Ongley Arms, turning the building into the Ivel Hotel, named after the River Ivel that flowed nearby. The yard attached to the property became the site of the Ivel Cycle Works, where Dan manufactured bicycles and ball-bearings before progressing to motorized vehicles. After experimenting with motorcycles, powered tricycles and even a car, Albone began developing a farm tractor. It was a simple three-wheel design with a single-speed (forward or reverse) transmission. The engine, a two-cylinder horizontal unit of 24hp, was supplied by fellow cyclist, Walter Payne of Coventry. The first tractor was completed in 1902, and Ivel Agricultural Motors Ltd was formed the same year. Dan had a gift for promoting his products, and he demonstrated his Ivel tractor widely. It was awarded numerous prizes at agricultural shows, and was widely fêted by the local and national press. The orders, a trickle at first, eventually began to flow in from home and abroad. Within a few years, the Ivel Agricultural Motor was being exported across the world. Its success looked assured, but a cruel twist of fate altered the course of events. On 30 October 1906, Dan Albone died from a seizure brought on by being struck by lightning while demonstrating his tractor at night in a thunderstorm. His premature death at the age of 46 left the company in limbo. Without his inspired leadership, many of the planned future developments, including a larger Ivel tractor, were shelved. Ivel Agricultural Motors Ltd soldiered on, making minor tweaks to the design including changing the engine supplier from Payne to Aster, a French concern. However, the Ivel tractor was becoming outdated, which became even more apparent after the latest machines from America were imported in large numbers during the First World War. The Biggleswade firm could not compete in terms of performance or price. Sales of the Ivel tractor began to dwindle, and the company moved into smaller premises. Ventures building French Bauche and American Hart-Parr machines under licence came to nothing as the business lost direction and ran into debt. In 1920, Ivel Agricultural Motors Ltd went into receivership. According to John Moffitt's research, No. 131 was used by Dan Albone as a demonstrator, and was exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Show in London in 1903. In 1905, bearing the registration number AO 385, it was purchased by a Mr Tinneswood of Rosebank Farm, Dalton, near Carlisle, via Ivel's local agent, Mr J Hall of Wigton. Mr Tinneswood reported that acquiring the tractor allowed him to sack three men and dispose of six horses! In 1908, the Ivel was sold to Mr R Davidson of Roadhead Farm, Winskill, near Penrith. When Mr Davidson gave up farming in 1934, the tractor was bought by Mr Topping, an agricultural engineer from the nearby village of Gamblesby, who used it for towing and as a stationary power unit. In 1939, Mr Topping agreed to sell it back to Mr Davidson, who had become sentimentally attached to it. In the early 1950s, the Ivel was acquired as a 'museum piece' by two local farmers, Messrs Parker and Howe, who overhauled the machine and exhibited it at several local shows. It changed hands yet again in 1958 when it was acquired by pioneer collector, Derek Hackett of Ross on Wye. With a mutual interest in early machinery, John Moffitt and Derek Hackett became firm friends. In 1970, wanting to raise funds to build a house for his forthcoming marriage, Derek agreed to sell John the bulk of his tractor collection, which included the Ivel. 'I suppose I was at the right place at the right time,' John would later recall. 'Derek had no wish to hawk the tractors around and was keen to sell the lot to one person. After a long haggle, I purchased them for a figure I won't repeat, although at the time it was considered a lot of money.' The Ivel became the centrepiece of John Moffitt's Hunday Collection. After the museum closed and the collection was dispersed, the Ivel remained in the Moffitt family's ownership, and was loaned for a time to Beamish Museum. In 1994, an extensive rebuild was undertaken by the late John Clarke. To celebrate the tractor's centenary in 2003, John embarked on an ambitious road run, taking the wheel of the veteran machine for a 100-mile charity drive around the country. The run raised an impressive total of £120,142 that was distributed to hospices throughout the country. The Ivel was prepared for the run and maintained during it by David White Power Factors. Following John's death in 2008, David White continued to maintain the Ivel for the Moffitt family, and it has been exhibited at various events in recent years. The tractor has also featured in various publications. Its importance to early British tractor history cannot be overstated. This is an unparalleled opportunity to acquire a unique and famous machine with incomparable provenance. Such an opportunity is unlikely ever to be repeated. Archive images and information courtesy of Stuart Gibbard



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