Early Years 2

« LA BELLE VOITURE FRANÇAISE »An Englishman’s view of the most French of French cars and its charismatic founder and driving force…Louis DELÂGE. By Colin Musgrove

Chapter 1 The Early Years Louis Delâge in 1914As far as motoring history is concerned the Delage story begins on the 22nd of March 1874,when Pierre Louis Adolphe Delâge, was born in Cognac, a sub-prefecture of the Charantesdepartment of southwestern France. Cognac itself is, of course, the town world-famous forits distilleries producing the eponymous brandy but until recently seemed all but obliviousto one of its most famous sons. Young Pierre Louis was born into a family of reputedlymodest means, his father was reportedly either a deputy station-master or railway companywatchman in Cognac. That they were later able to afford to send their son to the Ecole A&Min Angers, no mean feat even for the reasonably-off at the time, leads this author to suspectthat the Delâges were not as badly off as has previously been reported. In any event, theDelâge family left Cognac and the Charantes district when Louis was only six years old. Myresearch has yet to conclusively solve the mystery of where Louis lived and received hiseducation during the next ten years leading to his successful application to the A & M but itappears that the family moved about 100 km south to Saint-André-de-Cubzac in theGironde. This may have been due to Louis' father getting another railway company postingas they were certainly living there on Louis' later return from military service as documentsshow that he was living with them and, indeed, obtained employment with the state railwaythere. Saint-André-de-Cubzac is hardly a metropolis (!) having a population of around 3500in 1890 so it says a lot for the French education system if the village school was able toproduce a successful A & M applicant. Obviously, and in spite of being handicapped bylosing the sight of his left eye in infancy, the young man must have worked diligently atschool and certainly shown an aptitude for things mechanical.

At the age of sixteen, young Delâge, who had now taken to using only the prenom ‘Louis’,applied to the Ecole des Arts et Métiers at Angers and was accepted. This was a spectacularacademic accolade for the 'watchman's son' as the Angers campus was, and still is, part ofthe most prestigious engineering college group in France. The ‘Ecole A&M’ was founded atLiancourt, Oise, by Duke of Rochefoucauld-Liancourt in 1780 and was subsequentlypromoted by no less than Napoleon 1st himself, with a view to producing engineering armyofficers and plant managers to run the Empire. The friends and fellow students he met andthe unique A&M cultural life in Angers was to be a useful source of talent when he later setup his own company. In addition of course, he would be a “Gad’zart” and subsequently amember of the elite society of A&M alumni whose members include some of the greatestnames in engineering. The A&M provides a unique academic environment where practicalskills are deemed to be as important as theoretical knowledge and both disciplines aretaught to the highest standards. In addition to the esprit de corps engendered by theunique uniform and customs of the colleges Gad’zarts have the satisfaction of knowing thatthey are recognised as the finest of practical engineers. The A&M is not just anothertechnical college! Fellow Gad’zarts were to figure prominently in the fortunes of LouisDelâge. A&M Angers in 1897 showing the forge, engine maintenance and machine shopsLouis graduated from the A&M in 1893 with a degree in Engineering but was immediatelyrequired to fulfil his deferred military service. That the French army conscripted peoplewith only one eye will have to pass without comment here (!) but nonetheless Louis had tospend the next two years square-bashing and doing ‘general duties’ in Algeria much, nodoubt, to his considerable frustration. On his discharge in 1895 Louis spent a short time inAlgeria before going home to the aforementioned Saint-André-de-Cubzac for employmentand agreed to accept an offer of a job at the state railway company in the Gironde. This wasprobably more to please his father, who had presumably paid for Louis’ education, ratherthan any particular interest in railways. He also got married in 1896 to Gabrielle AndréaYvon, a young lady of farming stock from Averdon in the old Orléanais region (although sheis documented as living in Paris). She would bear him his only son. There is evidence thathis parents were none too happy with this liaison but the union was to last thirty years,albeit with a number of ups and downs and a final acrimonious divorce due to Louis’philandering, but more of that later!While working for the railway Louis had kept in contact with a good few of his fellowGad’zarts, many of whom were now working in the embryo motor industry in Paris. By 1900Louis had decided that automobiles were the future and duly set about getting a foot-holdin the industry by obtaining a position of draughtsman at Turgan, Foy et Cie situated in the

Levallois-Perret area of Paris, the veritable epicentre of France’s fledgling motorindustry. Turgan-Foy had only been in business for a year but exhibited a twin-cylindervoiturette at the 1900 Salon. What influence young Delâge had is not known but hisreputation among the motor men rapidly began to rise, so much so that within three yearsLouis was head-hunted by Automobiles Peugeot, also situated in Levallois. The rising starsoon established himself with his new employers and within a couple of years had risen tothe post of Head of Design and Testing.Young Louis was becoming hot property in the Parisian motor world and was being courtedby various other manufacturers, notably the Renault brothers. Delâge, though, was a manin a hurry and with a burning desire to make his own way in the world. Less than two yearsafter joining Peugeot Louis Delâge set about raising some capital to start his own businessand here we start to see one of his greatest strengths, his ability to enthuse and convincepeople to follow his leadership…a priceless management attribute. Within months he hadraised 35,000 francs and was ready to give up his 600 francs/month job at Peugeot and go italone, much to the displeasure of his family. Rue Chaptal...site of Louis' flat...and first HQ and drawing office of the Delage company.Louis' flat was at 62 rue Chaptal, literally round the corner from Peugeot in Levallois-Perret,and it was here that Louis set up his 'drawing office' and HQ. Some basic machine tools,including two lathes, were bought, his notice handed in to his employers and by January1905 Delage et Cie was technically in business albeit not yet registered as a limitedcompany. The company was simply a working relationship between Louis and AugustinLegros, a fellow Gad’zart who had been promoted by Louis to head up the Peugeot designoffice (and teach him English, Augustin being fluent , having spent two years with Daimler inCoventry). Five years younger than Louis, Augustin needed little persuasion to throw in his

lot with the fledgling enterprise. The inspired choice of Legros as an associate was to be akey factor in the success of Automobiles Delage throughout its entire existence. Augustin Legros...the mortar that held the bricks of Delage togetherIn January 1905 the two started working flat-out to design the single-cylinder De Dion-Bouton engined chassis that were to become the Type A and Type B cars with 9hp and 4.5hpengines respectively. Unfortunately, shortly after starting the enterprise Louis was strickenwith a bout of rheumatic fever which rendered him bed-ridden for a couple ofmonths...hardly the most auspicious start. Nonetheless, Augustin worked tirelessly, anotherdraughtsman was taken on and Louis directed operations from his sick bed. Back on his feetLouis attended to the vital matter of finding premises and, very soon, workshop space wasduly rented at 71 rue de Cormeilles (now rue Anatole France) literally a couple of streetsaway. Income had been non-existent so, to generate funds, Louis struck a deal with theHelbé Company to make parts and assemble their De Dion-Bouton-engined chassis includingthe fitting of Delage-built bodywork. Helbé (an acronym of \"LB\", from the initials of itsbuilders, Levêcque and Bodenreider) was a short-lived (1905-1907) manufacturer located atnearby Boulogne-sur-Seine but they were very important to Delage in getting the Companythrough its first year’s existence. More staff were taken on to fulfil this contract whileDelâge and Legros worked flat out on designing the Delage cars knowing that it was vital toexhibit them at the Salon des Automobiles at the end of the year. Louis had also found abacker, albeit with a somewhat small contribution of FF 40,000 and on 1st August 1905 theDelage enterprise was officially registered as a limited company under the title 'Delâge etCompagnie'. The soon-to-be meteoric rise of Delage had begun.Delâge and Legros managed to get cars ready in time for the Paris Salon des Automobiles inDecember 1905 and these cars already exhibited the virtues of superb build-quality andsilence in running that were to become a Delage hallmark. The models exhibited weresimply labelled Type A at 1039cc/9hp and Type B at 496cc/4.5hp. Oddly the smaller capacitycar had a slightly longer wheelbase at 2050mm as opposed to 1850mm of the smaller-engined example. Interest in the cars was considerable with their single-cylinder De Dion-

Bouton engines, a Delage-designed 3-speed gearbox (made by Malicet et Blin, like thechassis) with shaft drive. These attributes, allied to first-class build quality and fittings,made the new marque stand out from the crowd. Delage Type A 1906However, Delage had miscalculated the potential buyers’ engine size preference. At 9 hpthe Type A was too big and at 4.5 hp the Type B was too small for a voiturette. Legend has itthat Delâge and Legros took the Type B back to the factory, got hold of a production DeDion-Bouton 6.5 hp of 697cc, fitted it and had the car, now designated Type C, back on thestand at the Salon in two days! This might be an urban legend and I have yet to find anyfactual evidence but I certainly wouldn't put it past these two characters! The resultingproduction Type D had the shorter wheelbase of the Type A but the ‘engine swap’ car justcould have formed the basis for the still-born Type C which was mooted for a fleet oftaxicabs but that deal fell through. I suspect that, in reality, Louis had a load of leafletsprinted for the, as yet un-made, Type D and sold the cars on the basis of his charm and theobvious quality of the existing models...but I'd like to believe the 'engine-swap' story! In anyevent, the 6.5 hp cars were exactly what the customers wanted and orders began to flood induring the show including one from a wealthy enthusiast/investor, a certain Colonel Lucas,who offered to invest 150,000 francs in Delage on the condition that they employed his son.Needless to say the young man joined the Delage payroll immediately! The 6.5 hp Type Dwould remain in production, with continuous improvements, until 1910 and would establishthe Delage reputation.While the response from public and press was favourable the comments were almostuniversal in praising the high quality and ‘solid’ nature of the construction. This was all verywell but hardly inspiring, least of all to the flamboyant Louis Delâge. Something else wasneeded to augment Louis' undoubted expertise at marketing (Delage were already getting ahighly disproportionate share of press coverage in view of the company's minisculesize). Louis knew very well what that was...they had to go racing. Competing at Grand Prix

level was totally out of the question but Louis had been a very interested spectator in the1905 Reliability Trials and had noted the publicity accorded to the participants The two modified Type A race cars prepared for the 1906 Coupe de VoiturettesAccordingly two 9 hp racing-cars were constructed and prepared for the Coupe deVoiturettes held at Rambouillet in November 1906. Reports vary as to the motive power ofthe Delages; most contemporary reports state that both cars were powered by De Dion butthere is evidence that one was Aster-powered. This latter is quite likely as Aster (Ateliers deConstruction Mecanique l'Aster) were by far the largest supplier of engines for vehiclemanufacturers in France at the time. However, as we shall see later, the Marquis de Dionand Louis Delâge were not averse to being economical with the truth where expediency andmoney were concerned! The event was held over 7 days and comprised both speed andregularity trials. The Delages showed well but one of the cars was written off in a nastyaccident on Day 5 in pouring rain, resulting in driver Pessonneaux being seriouslyinjured. However, the second car, driven by Ménard with diminutive riding-mechanic Lucas(the son of the wealthy Colonel who put the 150,000 francs in!), finished second behind thelarger-engined Sizaire-Naudin. This success was perfectly timed to be exploited at the Salona month later and Louis Delâge did not disappoint with the result that orders began tosnowball. This obviously required larger manufacturing facilities and, typically, Louis hadanticipated this by acquiring building land to construct a proper factory and escape from thecramped and somewhat rudimentary workshops in rue de Cormeilles. The site was at thejunction of rue Baudin and rue des Frères-Herbert but still in Levallois-Perret. This factorywas to become the first of the famous 'Usines Delage' and would be continuously improveduntil Louis decided to build the great factory in Courbevoie to be safe from any further Parisfloods.To be continued!

© Colin Musgrove 2017