Having become involved with the new British invention of the safety bicycle, Friswell in 1896 got into the import and sale of another exciting new thing – the car – from France. Within a few years, he had opened Friswell’s Automobile Palace, a vast five-storey showroom at Holborn Viaduct in his native London.
It housed a vast storage area; a paint shop sufficient for 50 cars; an even larger repair shop; “the largest showroom in the world” for new cars; a motorcycle department; a garage for 200 cars; another for more than 100 carriages; rooms for weekly auctions; an electric charging and lighting station; a repository of 1030 safes; and a seven-ton lift. All furnace- heated, electrically lit and supposedly fireproof, too.
Friswell – still in his early thirties – probably wasn’t wrong when he called it the world’s largest motor depot. And that’s not to mention his firm’s two used sales depots at Holland Park and Long Acre.
As for the Baby, this was a nickname for two models.
In 1902, the Type 37 was introduced by Peugeot – already long established in other areas of manufacturing – with a 5bhp one-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive, permanently meshed gears and two seats.
“A useful little carriage for everybody. Useful for the gentleman who has a large car to run about on. Useful to the man who can’t afford to pay fancy prices. Any lady can drive it,” proclaimed Friswell.
