Leon Serpollet was to the European steam automobile industry as the Stanley brothers were in the United States: a pioneer whose work broadly inspired others. Jules Miesse of Belgium took note of Serpollet’s inventive flash boiler design and developed his own version for his “horseless carriage”, the Torpedo of 1896. The engine was a rather remarkable horizontal three-cylinder affair, with a closed crankcase and poppet valves. With the flash boiler, it could achieve remarkable water economy—reportedly up to 50 miles to the gallon, quite impressive for an early steam automobile in these days before “condenser” set-ups.

Miesse is believed to have licensed his design to Thomas Turner & Company, in the early British motoring hotbed of Wolverhampton, which produced the Turner-Miesse steam car between 1902 and 1906.

The example offered here, dated 1904 by the Veteran Car Club, has a known history back to the early post-war years, when it was owned by R Lawson in the Bristol area. It later passed to Alex Hodsdon, Leslie Goldsmith, and Peter Kendall-Torry, before being acquired in 1979 by a British enthusiast who maintained it for over 20 years. In this ownership, it regularly participated in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run until 1993. In all those runs, it failed only twice—in the latter through a cylinder block failure, subsequently cured by installing a new block.

In 2000 the car was acquired by the prominent American collector Jack Croul, a well-known and beloved enthusiast. In his ownership, the Turner-Miesse was occasionally displayed at West Coast events. Most prominently, in 2014, it was fitted with a new flash boiler and exhibited at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, earning 3rd in the Prewar Preservation class. Acquired by the current owner from the Croul collection, the Turner-Miesse exhibits wonderful, charming patina throughout. It retains many original finishes, including much of its leather trim. It is well-accessorised, as well, supplied with a Lucas Duplex headlamp, Powell & Hammer kerosene sidelamps, and Salisbury kerosene taillamp.

A wonderful, proven London to Brighton entrant, VCC dated, and capable of excellent performance, this superb example of a high-quality early steam automobile offers its distinct charms to a new caretaker.