Stamps featuring Riley cars
Riley cars on stamps
Below - A pair of stamps from a sheet of 50 issued in the 1980's showing a 1930 Riley Nine Brooklands. For info on Nevis, a small Caribbean island click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevis , and a pair of stamps from a sheet of 20 showing a 1950 Riley RM. For info on Tuvalu, a very small Pacific island click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvalu also two proof stamps, one marked Bernera Islands and the other one an incomplete proof, It is not known if this set was ever issued or actually produced. Only these proofs seem to exist, for more information on Bernera click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Bernera.
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Below is the text accompanying the Nevis stamp -
1930
Riley
Brooklands Nine
History and description: Sausage making.
That’s what Victor Riley called the practice of merely manufacturing automobiles. “I can only continue in business as long as it holds some promise of romance,” said he. “Races, trials, round-the world expeditions-this is the romantic side of the motor industry.
Victor was one of five brothers engaged in the family business in Coventry. Percy was the brother who guaranteed that Victor would remain with the firm. In 1926 he designed the Monaco Nine, a small sedan powered by a 90° ohv 1089 cc four-cylinder engine. Nominal output was about 28 bhp at 4200 rpm, which was fine for the mere manufacture of family motoring machines. Among the engine’s interesting features were a cross-flow cylinder head with hemispherical combustion chambers, and camshafts high up in the cylinder block where they actuated the valves through short pushrods. Here was a power plant as tweakable as Jimmy Durante’s nose. It didn’t Riley take long to get to it. In 1927 a sports version arrived.
The Brooklands Nine was developed for the company by Thomas and Taylor Ltd. (Both there first names were Ken, and their associate was a brilliant Reid Railton.) With dual sidedraft Solex carburetors, a higher compression ratio and mechanical rather than thermosyphon water circulation, horsepower was increased to 41 at 5200 rpm. Serious tuning could bring55 bhp, and 90 was available with alcohol fuel. Perhaps no engine before or after enjoyed being tuned quite as much as a Riley Nine. One unit being tested at the factory hit 99 bhp at 6300 rpm before the engineers got cold feet and shut it down.
With the Thomson and Taylor premises located at Brooklands, there was a legitimate reason for naming the new model thus. But the car itself provided the crown by winning its first time out at the track-late in 1927, at 91.37 mph. Railton driving. Several International Class G records followed in 1928, including 500 miles at 87.08 mph. In 1929 Brooklands Nines finished one-two-three in class at the Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland. In 1930 Victor Gillow won the Saorstat Cup in Southern Ireland 5.5 mph faster than a supercharged Alfa 1750 had won it the year before. In 1930 as well, two Riley Monaco owners left Coventry in April and returned in December after travelling across three continents. Victor Riley presided at the homecoming luncheon.
Such luncheons were frequent as the thirties wore on, and globe-trotting became a favorite pastime of Riley enthusiasts. So did winning Monte Carlo Rally, with a Monaco winning the Light Car Class in 1931. In 1932 nine cars started (three having been driven overland from Australia), and all of them finished, the best at third, fourth and fifth overall.
Meanwhile, the Brooklands Nine begat a flurry of riley specials that continued the original’s winning ways. Just one among subsequent high spots was the unprecedented second third overall at Le Mans in 1934, and this from a 1500 cc.
The Brooklands Nine certainly was not a sausage making.
1930
Riley
Brooklands Nine
History and description: Sausage making.
That’s what Victor Riley called the practice of merely manufacturing automobiles. “I can only continue in business as long as it holds some promise of romance,” said he. “Races, trials, round-the world expeditions-this is the romantic side of the motor industry.
Victor was one of five brothers engaged in the family business in Coventry. Percy was the brother who guaranteed that Victor would remain with the firm. In 1926 he designed the Monaco Nine, a small sedan powered by a 90° ohv 1089 cc four-cylinder engine. Nominal output was about 28 bhp at 4200 rpm, which was fine for the mere manufacture of family motoring machines. Among the engine’s interesting features were a cross-flow cylinder head with hemispherical combustion chambers, and camshafts high up in the cylinder block where they actuated the valves through short pushrods. Here was a power plant as tweakable as Jimmy Durante’s nose. It didn’t Riley take long to get to it. In 1927 a sports version arrived.
The Brooklands Nine was developed for the company by Thomas and Taylor Ltd. (Both there first names were Ken, and their associate was a brilliant Reid Railton.) With dual sidedraft Solex carburetors, a higher compression ratio and mechanical rather than thermosyphon water circulation, horsepower was increased to 41 at 5200 rpm. Serious tuning could bring55 bhp, and 90 was available with alcohol fuel. Perhaps no engine before or after enjoyed being tuned quite as much as a Riley Nine. One unit being tested at the factory hit 99 bhp at 6300 rpm before the engineers got cold feet and shut it down.
With the Thomson and Taylor premises located at Brooklands, there was a legitimate reason for naming the new model thus. But the car itself provided the crown by winning its first time out at the track-late in 1927, at 91.37 mph. Railton driving. Several International Class G records followed in 1928, including 500 miles at 87.08 mph. In 1929 Brooklands Nines finished one-two-three in class at the Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland. In 1930 Victor Gillow won the Saorstat Cup in Southern Ireland 5.5 mph faster than a supercharged Alfa 1750 had won it the year before. In 1930 as well, two Riley Monaco owners left Coventry in April and returned in December after travelling across three continents. Victor Riley presided at the homecoming luncheon.
Such luncheons were frequent as the thirties wore on, and globe-trotting became a favorite pastime of Riley enthusiasts. So did winning Monte Carlo Rally, with a Monaco winning the Light Car Class in 1931. In 1932 nine cars started (three having been driven overland from Australia), and all of them finished, the best at third, fourth and fifth overall.
Meanwhile, the Brooklands Nine begat a flurry of riley specials that continued the original’s winning ways. Just one among subsequent high spots was the unprecedented second third overall at Le Mans in 1934, and this from a 1500 cc.
The Brooklands Nine certainly was not a sausage making.
Below - Riley Sprite stamp on a picture card and the actual stamp, a 1984 Classic Cars stamp from Bhutan, for more info on Bhutan click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan
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Below - the Riley Sprite text from the rear of the card -
RILEY SPRITE
To the British motoring enthusiast, the very name Riley conjures images of open sports and racing cars thundering toward the finish line in a cloud of dust, lengths ahead of the rest of the pack. Although Riley also marketed its share of conservative, modest town cars, more suitable for shopping than for the high-speed rigors of the racing circuit, speed and competition were the very raison o'etre for the Riley marque.
It was soon after the end of World War I that the Riley began to establish itself in international racing competition. The best known of the racing Riley's was the Riley Nine which, In 1928, set eight international records at Brooklands, including an average speed of 97.5 miles per hour over a five-kilometer
stretch and a distance of 511 miles covered in only six hours. This remarkable performance was achieved with a four-cylinder, 32-horsepower engine-an engine that formed the basis of all Riley engine designs until 1957.
From these racing Rileys, an impressive stable of sports models emerged. Perhaps the finest was the Riley Sprite, which was introduced with no advance publicity at the 1935 Motor Show. The chassis for the Sprite was modified from that of a previous model; the beautifully crafted two-seater's coachwork featured a folding windscreen, streamlined radiator cowl, full weather protection and even an enclosed luggage compartment-unusual for a sports car of the day.
Stamp issuedby Bhutan -August 1984
Below - A 2010 stamp showing a 1927 Riley "Brooklands" from Puntland State of Somalia, for more information on Puntland click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puntland
RILEY SPRITE
To the British motoring enthusiast, the very name Riley conjures images of open sports and racing cars thundering toward the finish line in a cloud of dust, lengths ahead of the rest of the pack. Although Riley also marketed its share of conservative, modest town cars, more suitable for shopping than for the high-speed rigors of the racing circuit, speed and competition were the very raison o'etre for the Riley marque.
It was soon after the end of World War I that the Riley began to establish itself in international racing competition. The best known of the racing Riley's was the Riley Nine which, In 1928, set eight international records at Brooklands, including an average speed of 97.5 miles per hour over a five-kilometer
stretch and a distance of 511 miles covered in only six hours. This remarkable performance was achieved with a four-cylinder, 32-horsepower engine-an engine that formed the basis of all Riley engine designs until 1957.
From these racing Rileys, an impressive stable of sports models emerged. Perhaps the finest was the Riley Sprite, which was introduced with no advance publicity at the 1935 Motor Show. The chassis for the Sprite was modified from that of a previous model; the beautifully crafted two-seater's coachwork featured a folding windscreen, streamlined radiator cowl, full weather protection and even an enclosed luggage compartment-unusual for a sports car of the day.
Stamp issuedby Bhutan -August 1984
Below - A 2010 stamp showing a 1927 Riley "Brooklands" from Puntland State of Somalia, for more information on Puntland click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puntland
Below - What looks like the first Riley from Eynhallow an uninhabited island which issues lots of stamps! for more information click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eynhallow
Below - A Jersey mini sheet of 6 stamps with a Riley RMA printed on the sheet, for more information on Jersey click here:- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey.
Below - 2019 Guernsey stamp, for information on Guernsey click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernsey
Below left - 1995 Vintage and Classic cars 1995 from the Isle of Man, for more info on IOM click here :- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Man
A vintage 12th July 1933 video of Freddie Dixon winning the Isle of Man "round the houses" / Manin Beg race driving No.7 his Riley special is available to view and buy here :- www.britishpathe.com/asset/39996/ , stills from the video are also available.
Below right - 1982 10P stamp, not on a Riley but the famous Riley driver Freddie Dixon riding in the Isle of Man 1927 junior TT race.
A vintage 12th July 1933 video of Freddie Dixon winning the Isle of Man "round the houses" / Manin Beg race driving No.7 his Riley special is available to view and buy here :- www.britishpathe.com/asset/39996/ , stills from the video are also available.
Below right - 1982 10P stamp, not on a Riley but the famous Riley driver Freddie Dixon riding in the Isle of Man 1927 junior TT race.
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