The vast majority of Rolls-Royce Silver Wraiths were outfitted with typical saloon and limousine bodies.

Especially rare were open models, with Park Ward’s especially attractive Drophead Coupé, to design number 705, accounting for just five copies, of which four were on left-hand-drive chassis.

All were long-wheelbase examples, providing for both sumptuously proportioned, dramatically curved lines and capacious interiors.

Chassis number LFLW88, offered here, was ordered by New York dealer J.S.

Inskip on behalf of client Dr.

Carvel James.

Dr.

James was a prominent physician based in the exclusive enclave of Beverly Hills, California, and the third and final husband of Norma Talmadge, one of the best-known and most successful actresses of the silent screen era.

Ahead of her time, she had been one of the first women to launch her own production company, in partnership with another of her husbands, Joseph Schenck, which made her a very wealthy woman well into her retirement.

Impor...