This 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith All-Weather Tourer features

　　one-off coachwork for American playwright and socialite C. Blevins

　　Davis. Among the most dramatic and modern bodies on the Silver

　　Wraith, it has a dual-cowl design with a fully disappearing top. It

　　is documented by Rolls-Royce Foundation build and history records.

　　The Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith was the world's most popular

　　coach-built automobile in the early postwar era, with the 1,783

　　chassis produced between 1946 and 1958 supporting bodywork built by

　　virtually every surviving famous shop. Many of these bodies were

　　rather imposing stately sedans and limousines, dignified and

　　conservative in the mold one would expect. There were, however,

　　exceptions to the rule, among the most prominent being this

　　all-weather tourer crafted by Freestone & Webb of London. This

　　grand design was commissioned for the Silver Wraith of C. Blevins

　　Davis, an American playwright and theatrical producer from

　　Independence, MO, where he maintained a lifelong friendship with

　　neighbor Harry Truman. In 1946, Davis had married Marguerite Sawyer

　　Hill, daughter-in-law and heiress of Great Northern Railway tycoon

　　James J. Hill, and upon her sudden passing two years later

　　inherited her $9 million fortune. Davis' Silver Wraith featured the

　　voluptuous rounded curves typical of Rolls-Royce coachwork in this

　　era. The influence of other coachbuilders was clearly evident,

　　however, with a modern power-operated, fully disappearing

　　convertible top hidden under a rear tonneau, which effectively

　　eliminated the bulky top "stack" necessitated by a large four-door

　　convertible. Silver Dawn-specification headlamps blended into the

　　front fenders recall Pininfarina's designs on a Bentley chassis.

　　There were also charming throwbacks to the Classic Era, such as the

　　second cowl and windshield provided for rear seat passengers.

　　Rather than the bulky cowl of old, this unit folded away, providing

　　access to the handsome burled walnut cabinetry with its folding

　　writing tables. Even the side-mounted spares were concealed beneath

　　streamlined covers. The Silver Wraith, formally referred to in the

　　ungainly British fashion as a "four-door four light Concealed

　　Head," was originally finished in two-tone royal blue and black and

　　supplied to Davis at his palatial Glendale Farm in Independence in

　　the autumn of 1954. Within a year, for reasons unknown, its

　　coachwork was moved from its original chassis, No. LCLW9, to

　　Chassis No. WLE27, on which it remains today. Chassis No. WLE27 was

　　subsequently owned by Patrick Murlowski of Minnesota, who

　　advertised it for sale in 1967, and by the renowned expert in

　　American antiques, David Stockwell of Delaware, in whose ownership

　　it was pictured in Lawrence Dalton's "The Elegance Continues" in

　　1971. In 1974, the car was sold to Richard Levine of Greenwich, CT.

　　In the early 1990s, it was restored in a bright Scarlet with

　　inserts of striped "canework," a Classic Era flourish appropriate

　　to its brassy personality. The interior features complementary

　　Cream and Scarlet leather upholstery, which shows minor age and use

　　but is overall highly attractive, as are the finishes of the engine

　　compartment and chassis. The original chassis number can still be

　　found on the frame rail and firewall plate, the Freestone & Webb

　　body plate remains in place and the matching-numbers engine for

　　this chassis is still fitted. There are few other coach-built

　　Rolls-Royces of its era with this car's style and character. It is

　　a one-of-a-kind, just like the world-traveling auteur for whom it

　　was produced. From the Don Williams Collection. ** PREVIEW