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Anthony Blackman with his Unic taxi |
Taxi that Chaplin drove goes up for sale at a fare old price!
Vintage Unic built in 1912 set to be sold as long film career comes to an end
WITH a top speed of 30mph and a wind-up engine that takes its inspiration from Noddy, it’s not exactly a Top Trumps winner.
But this Unic taxi, built in 1912 and at one time the oldest cab on the road, is a rare prize, and now it’s up for grabs – a cheap fare at just under £23,000.
The vehicle’s owner, Anthony Blackman, 63, says he no longer has any use for the vintage taxi because the film work that earned its keep – Charlie Chaplin once got behind the wheel – has dried up.
“I’m not getting any younger and it’s done well for me,” said Mr Blackman. “The main reason I’m getting rid of it is because it just does not get any work any more. Television people and film-makers aren’t interested in it because there seems to be no demand for films set during the First World War and the 1920s.
“Now they’re making a lot of stuff set in the 1970s and 1980s. It still goes well and I just hope I can find it a good home, maybe in a museum, because it does need care and attention.”
The car narrowly escaped the scrapheap in the 1930s when an American GI had it shipped over to Texas as a gift, before almost sinking during its return transatlantic voyage. The fitting of taximeters was made compulsory in 1907 and industrial action over fares and fuel almost crippled the trade, wiping out all other models and leaving the Unic as the only taxi left on the road at the outbreak of the First World War.
While stationed at Vauxhall Bridge Motors, when you could get across London for less than a shilling, the taxi was drafted into the war effort, ferrying troops to and from Dover.
Mr Blackman, who was working as an engineer in Hammersmith, picked it up for next to nothing in 1974 after spotting an advert in his local paper. He began collecting taxis in the 1960s when he saw one being flytipped and now owns close to 40. The Unic was restored and began a new lease of life on the silver screen – featuring in The Charlie Chaplin Story and numerous wartime adaptations and period dramas such as the 2001 film Charlotte Gray.
“Whoever buys this is getting a piece of history,” added Mr Blackman. “I’ve seen the photos from Texas and they will be part of the sale too. Most of the Unics were decommissioned and broken up for scrap so there are only a handful left.
“The sun scorched it a bit, but apart from that it’s working pretty well. I’m still collecting them but am now looking more at Austins.” |
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