Alfa Romeo – original vintage 1960s keyring by Les Leston in age worn condition – collector’s item

NOW SOLD – sorry this keyring has now been sold and can no longer be ordered

An original Alfa Romeo keyring which will have been produced in the 1960s .

We have just this one example of this keyring to offer – when this keyring has been sold this listing will be cancelled.

This keyring is in age worn condition but is a valuable collector’s item as relatively few original Alfa Romeo Milano keyrings from the 1960s have survived intact .

Additionally this keyring was produced by Les Leston Accessories – which makes it a very rare item indeed .

We have listed very few Les Leston Accessories keyrings over the years – Les Leston keyrings are rare .

This keyring is very easy to date as Alfa Romeo dropped ‘MILANO’ from their badge in 1972 .

This keyring is in age worn condition with a vitreous enamel badge mounted onto a keyfob in genuine black leather .

The enamel badge has some enamel chipping and general wear whilst the keyfob shows all the signs of wear associated with a keyring of this age which will have covered very many thousands of miles .

Additionally it may be that the enamel badge has been very hot at some time ( maybe left in the sun in an open topped Alfa Romeo ? ) as it has marked the leather beneath the badge .

All of this can be seen in the enlarged high resolution listing photos but despite the wear and damaged enamel – the keyring is still very much in a serviceable condition with many thousands of miles left in it yet .

It is not every customer who is looking for mint perfection in a keyring – many prefer a keyring which has ‘ had a life ‘ which this example clearly has had .

The badge is marked ‘ MADE IN ENGLAND ‘ on the reverse together with a crown motif and ‘ M P ‘ which will stand for ‘ Manhattan Products ‘ – the forerunner of the famous Manhattan Windsor concern of Birmingham who made some of the finest automotive keyrings from the 1970s onwards .

The leather keyfob is marked ‘LL’ on the back – this was the logo of Les Leston Accessories Ltd .

By the late 1960s or early 1970s it may be that Les Leston was no longer producing his own keyrings – but was having them made on his behalf by other manufacturers such as Manhattan Products .

Les Leston was a larger than life character who served in WWII as a mid-upper gunner in an Avro Lancaster bomber – unlike many of his colleagues he survived and then went on to embark on a career as a racing driver.

Originally racing a Jaguar SS100 he then went onto drive for Lotus and Aston Martin .

After escaping from a serious crash during a race at Caen in 1958 he went on to concentrate on developing his motorcar accessories business – Les Leston Accessories – which became very well known for marketing high quality motoring accessories in the 1960s and 1970s.

The range of accessories included steering wheels, gear lever knobs, mirrors, etc and also gloves and flame proof clothing .

Bud Marston has devoted a couple of pages of his ‘Vintage Jaguar Keyrings’ book ( which can be seen in the Jaguar section of this website shop ) to describing the life & times of Les Leston together with descriptions of the products .

This keyring is original & correct for any Alfa Romeo motor car up until 1972 and the keyring in the photos is the actual one which you will receive . SMOSO  00/521  11/23