Bristol - original vintage 1950s/ early 1960s keyring - collector's item

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£195.00

1 in stock

An original vintage Bristol keyring which will have been produced in the 1950s or very early 1960s.

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

The keyring in this listing is an original vintage Bristol keyring dating from the mid to late 1950s or very early 1960s .

This is only the 2nd Bristol keyring with the little badge mounted onto a ‘square’ leather keyfob which we have ever listed .

We previously listed and sold another example in October 2023 – but that keyring was in well used condition whereas this example is in excellent condition .

The badge on this keyring is in nickel plating but this has worn through on the high detail to reveal the underlying brass base metal beneath – this has given the badge a rather pleasing and aged appearance which would be impossible to replicate by artificial methods.

The badge is mounted onto a ‘square’ keyfob in genuine black leather which is in excellent condition .

We cannot be certain who made these keyrings for Bristol –but assume that the maker would most likely be Castles Unit Development Co. of Castle Gate, Leicester .

They were one of the few concerns making keyrings of this quality at that time .

The keyring has one of the smallest keyfob badges ever – with a diameter of just 16mm.

If Castles did not make this particular keyring then Bristol could have had the badges made independently and then commissioned a leather workshop to mount the badges onto these keyfobs.

This is entirely feasible as Bristol commissioned us to make some special keyrings for them some years ago- rather than have them mass produced in the Far East as most other manufacturers now do.

However a former Bristol owner from British Columbia, Canada did made contact when we had the earlier keyring listed to say that a similar pair of keyrings were supplied by Bristol in 1966 together with a new Bristol 409 shipped to Victoria B.C. Canada .

Those keyrings had ‘J.FRAY B’HAM ‘ on the badge reverse which had a pebbled background .

J. FRAY of Birmingham is a maker well known to us and could well have carried on making these keyrings for Bristol after Castles stopped making them .

Frays always marked the reverse of their badges with their details – so we think that this particular keyring in this listing predates the keyrings made by Frays .

We are very grateful to the Bristol owner from Canada for his contribution – without owners like him much of the ‘lore’ surrounding these early keyrings would by now have been lost forever .

This keyring is original & correct for use with any 1950s or 1960s Bristol motor car and is a very rare item.

The keyring in the photos is the actual one which you will receive.