The hubcap badges used on Sunbeam Talbot Mark 2s and 3s and the "proper"
Alpines of '53-'55 vintage are 1 3/8" in diameter. The originals had two
studs each but the replacements only have a center stud.
They are available to members of STAR for 5 and a half British pounds (about
nine yankee dollars) each. As I recall, there is a 20% surcharge for
nonmembers. This is of course plus packing and shipping.
The background of the crest is this:
In 1902, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot put up the money to begin British
manufacture of the French car, Clement. In return for his largesse, the
family name and crest - "a Talbot hound surmounted by a coronet" would be used
on the cars built both in London and in Paris.
Several years ago, Paul Johnson of the San Diego club undertook a research
project into heraldry (amazing what he found in the public library) and the
Talbot hound. The dog appeared in the crests of quite a few aristocratic
families in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Talbot hounds were a treasured
sporting and hunting dog. Alas, in the early 1900s, The Royal Kennel Club
removed the Talbot hound from its lists as none had been registered for a
number of years. As a distinctive breed, they are now considered extinct.
So, yeah, the dog in our crests started looking more lionly as it was
redesigned over the years, probably by people who didn't know of its origin.
"Ole" Olson
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