Alfonso XIII · Ramon Casas · Bertrand
The “sportsmen” clients of the Auto Garage Términus: Alfonso XIII, Ramon Casas and Barcelona's bourgeoisie
The Auto Garage Términus had many wealthy and sometimes famous clients, and these are their stories:
King Alfonso XIII and his first car (1904)
Alfonso XIII of Spain was born in Madrid on 17 May 1886 and was King of Spain from birth. He assumed effective power on 17 May 1902, on turning sixteen, and reigned until the proclamation of the Second Republic on 14 April 1931. He died in Rome on 28 February 1941. He was the most illustrious client of the Auto Garage Términus: through the Balet brothers he acquired his first car in 1904, and in 1905 they presented him with a Benz as a gift.
Los Deportes of 22 May 1904 reported the sale by the Auto Garage Términus of an Anglada 24 H.P. to King Alfonso XIII, his first car, at the age of 18. He was also given private driving lessons by Mr Domingo Balet in person.
"If all our reports and news prove true, no small luck attends Messrs Balet Brothers, owners of the Auto-Garage Términus in this city. Having placed several foreign cars due to arrive shortly, they have managed no less than to act as intermediaries for one that H. M. Don Alfonso XIII has acquired from Spanish industry, an Anglada of 24 horsepower, whose photograph is on display at the said Auto-Garage, Calle de Valencia, 290.
The Balet brothers are to deliver the Anglada car to H. M., and to that end will shortly set off for El Puerto de Santa María, where the maker is based, and from there drive the royal vehicle by road to Madrid; the chauffeur Don Domingo Balet will then spend a short while in the Spanish capital to train H. M. the King in the practice of motoring.
And if we add to this the recent sales of a Benz-Parsifal to D. Juan Garcí and another to D. Pedro Calvet, of this city, others of the same make to the Count of Villamar, of Valencia, identical to that of D. Ricardo liarlo, and another of the same make to D. J. Bosch, of Málaga, besides the 40 H. P. Berliet for D. Eusebio Bertrand, kindly tell me whether all this activity is not pure luck of the kind that brings both honour and profit.
We congratulate our friends and wish them many more years of progress along this well-trodden road."
Benz 40 HP Landaulet
The Valencia newspaper Las Provincias of 14.04.1905 describes King Alfonso XIII's visit to Valencia and reports that Domingo Balet presented the King with a Benz car.
"When the King returned to the city, the manager of the important Barcelona firm Balet Hermanos, D. Domingo Balet, handed H. M. a parchment offering him a Benz motor car. The King was most grateful for this splendid gift, and had the cars present parade before him, nearly all of them of the same make. The car offered to the King is of 40 horsepower, with a luxury body in landaulet form."
Ramon Casas i Carbó, painter
Ramon Casas i Carbó was born in Barcelona on 4 January 1866 and died on 29 February 1932. As a painter he portrayed much of the social, intellectual, economic and political elite of Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, and as a graphic designer his posters and postcards helped to define the aesthetics of Catalan Modernisme. He was also a keen motorist who travelled by road all over Spain and entrusted the care of his car to the Auto Garage Términus.
Los Deportes, 24 July 1904
"The accomplished artist and no less distinguished chauffeur D. Ramon Casas has just made another of his frequent motoring trips through various parts of Spain; on one of these last days he returned from Madrid by road and drove his 16-horsepower Renault to the Autogarage Términus of Messrs Balet Brothers, to be cleaned and made ready for the distinguished tourist to set off soon on a new route."
Los Deportes, 14 August 1904
"Through the good offices of our distinguished friends Messrs Domingo Balet and Brother, owners of the Autogarage Términus, D. José Munné y Leal has acquired the magnificent 14-horsepower Renault that belonged to the noted painter D. Ramon Casas. We congratulate Mr Munné on so fine an acquisition, and our friends Messrs Balet for having brought so distinguished a person into motoring."
Eusebi Bertrand i Serra, cotton industrialist
Eusebi Bertrand i Serra was born in Barcelona on 22 December 1877 and died on 4 June 1945. From a family originally from Roussillon, he was a cotton industrialist and was also active in politics. In 1904 he took delivery of two 24 HP Berliets at the Auto Garage Términus and also ordered a 40 HP Berliet through the Balet brothers.
Berliet 24 HP
Published in Los Deportes on 10 April 1904
"At the Auto-garaje Términus we have seen two beautiful Berliet 24 HP motor cars, just arrived and the property of the wealthy manufacturer and distinguished sportsman D. Eusebio Bertrán.
With their fine workmanship, their elegance and their running, these cars will surely catch the eye of our chauffeurs and of every motoring enthusiast."
Other clients: noblemen, businessmen and manufacturers
José de la Figuera y Calín - Marquis of Fuente el Sol
Los Deportes, 14 August 1904
"Benz Parsifal cars are in fashion in Spain; besides those already ordered through the Balet brothers, new orders have been placed: a 22/28 horsepower for His Excellency the Marquis of Fuente del Sol, of Valencia; another Benz Parsifal of 35/40 horsepower for His Excellency D. Eduardo de Renero, Senator of the Realm, of Madrid; and finally a 16/22 horsepower 1905 model for the well-known Barcelona manufacturer D. Esteban Ribas. We warmly congratulate our friends the Balets on their great successes with the Benz Parsifal."
Count of Villamar
Juan Bautista Viniegra y Mendoza - Count of Villamar
Los Deportes, 28 January 1905:
"These days we have seen at the Auto Garage Términus a magnificent 28-horsepower Benz for the distinguished Valencian sportsman His Excellency the Count of Villamar. Two new models will arrive shortly: one for the enthusiastic motorman His Excellency the Viscount of San Germán and another for the wealthy manufacturer D. Pedro Calvet, of this city."
Manuel Bertrán
Arnau de Mercader i Zufía - Count of Belloch
Los Deportes, 27 March 1904
...Other magnificent Berliet cars will also be seen about this city, among them the 20 H.P. cars belonging to the distinguished manufacturer D. Manuel Bertrán, and a magnificent 20 H.P. coming for D. Enrique Gironella; and since, besides that make, they have also worked with great zeal for Benz-Parsifal cars, several vehicles of that reputable make will soon arrive here and will surely stand out; today we can mention a superb 22 to 24 H.P. for D. Ricardo liarlo, another of 12 to 14 horsepower for His Excellency the Count of Belloch, and another for the distinguished landowner D. Juan Carsi, of the same 12 to 14 power as the previous one...
José Moroder
Los Deportes, 10 July 1904:
"The respected manufacturer and enthusiastic Valencian motorist D. José Moroder has ordered from Messrs Balet, of the Autogarage Términus, a 40 H.P. car of the highly reputed Benz-Parsifal make."
Sucesores de B. Brutau
Los Deportes, 8 May 1904
"Through the good offices of our distinguished friends Messrs Domingo Balet and brother, owners of the Auto Garage Términus in this city, Sucesores de B. Brutau have acquired a magnificent 24 H.P. Berliet. We congratulate our esteemed friends on their enthusiasm in bringing into motoring people who had not taken an interest in so brilliant a sport."