Mayfair, London dealers Gordon Watney and Co.

Ltd.

ordered Phantom II Continental number 56GX on behalf of their client, Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Duveen.

Knighted in 1948, Lt.

Cmdr.

Duveen was the son of renowned art dealer Henry J.

Duveen and himself a barrister and businessman.

His interests included serving as a director of coachbuilders at Freestone & Webb, which must have proved rather awkward, given the body on his own Continental was by their competitor H.J.

Mulliner.

Its one-off body, the only fixed-head coupe by Mulliner on a Continental chassis, was built to the Weymann method—lightweight metal-paneled construction with inner framework insulated against squeaks and rattles—and featured a large “sunshine roof,” a rear-mounted spare, and the rakish, flared, open fenders that are so instantly indicative of the early Continentals.

Lt.

Cmdr.

Duveen enjoyed the car for four years before its resale to Captain Raymond Farrington, who after three months sold it to Bea...