Gabriel sur Mors" depasse pour la premiere fois une moyenne de 100 a l'heure sur route gagnant la course Paris-Madrid 1903 (600 kilom a une moyenne de 106 a l'heure)

Paris: [Mabileau & Co.], 1903. Hand-coloured pochoir print. Very good condition. The pass for the lead made by Gabriel over the very recognizable "Shovel-nose". Mors, the driver behind Gabriel, had limited success in these races, this 70 horse power chain-driven car being the exception. There is some confusion as to the actual number on the car during this race, with some records indicating #6 rather than #168 as shown. This was Fernand Gabriel's only win in a career that lasted until 1923. He was killed during an RAF air raid on Paris in 1943. The 1903 Paris-Madrid race is infamous in racing history. The cars were extremely well-powered for the time, though not as well-endowed with breaking power. The speculators crowded the route for the race, and casualties resulted. Other oddities included one car whose transmission became stuck in reverse and was driven that way for 25 miles.

The Gamy-Montaut prints document various historical events in the early history of transportation, including Power Boat Racing, Motorcycle and Motor Car Racing, Motor Car Touring, Zeppelins and Tennis. Having observed the rapidly growing interest in cars and racing during the early years of motor cars, Ernest Montaut produced his first motoring prints in the mid-1890s, and by 1897, his drawings were pictorial records of the many races in France. Montaut's work was extremely well received in the Paris of his day and was shown in the fashionable shops of the Rue de l'Opera and Rue de la Paix, as well as in the better galleries. Marguerite Montaut, Ernest's wife, joined him in his work producing not only racing prints but also developing a fine series of aviation prints commemorating such events as the first flights on the early European mail routes. While Marguerite Montaut's works were occasionally signed "M. Montaut", she also used the name "Gamy", an anagram for Magy. The Gamy-Montaut prints were all produced by the pochoir process in which the outlines for each image were drawn onto lithographic stones and printed. Using these uncoloured prints as a template, elaborate stencils were cut for each colour. Water-colour was then brushed onto the image through the stencil. The colouring process was quite complex, with each print taking several days to produce. It was also quite labour intensive, and the studio of Gamy-Montaut therefore employed a group of trained artists, including Nevil and Campion, to assist in the colouring.