Delaugère & Cie of 89 rue d'illiers, Orléans displayed tricycles at l'exposition Universelle de Paris in 1898, which were fitted with 2½ hp or 3 hp engines. There is one known survivor, an 1899 model believed to be in the collection of the brothers Martin. From 1900, the firm also built quadricycles and other four-wheelers under the original name, which changed to Delaugere et Clayette.
The Delaugère family had run a workshop since 1811, and in 1864 Jean-Pierre Delaugère (1810-1868), of Vernisson, Loiret department, was joined by his son Henri (1839-1908) to establish Delaugère Père et Fils, a coachbuilding business, at 89 rue d'Illiers in Orléans.
Four years after the death of their father Jean-Pierre, Henri and his brother Émile renamed the company to Delaugère Frères, and then in 1898 to Delaugère et Cie when Henri's son Félix joined the business.
In the late 1890s the Delaugère family became interested in the automotive field. Their first engines were designed in a workshop located on Rue des Bons-États, at the corner of Rue d'Illiers. The motorized tricycle was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1898. This was the Moteur Romain.
The Delaugère vehicles enjoyed considerable success with prominent families and notables in the Orléans region, and the company established a fine reputation for the quality of its manufacturing and customer service.
The product range extended to small handcarts, taxi cabs and large family saloons. The latter were often very expensive machines, more than 2½ times the price of a conventional automobile. They were sold to the likes of the Countess of Talleyrand, the Duke of La Rochefoucauld, and English lords. In 1913, the company received an order from the German Emperor Wilhelm II.
They continued producing luxury automobile until 1926, when the company was taken over by Panhard and Levassor.
Sources: Bourdache p 441. Isabelle Bracquemond, mini.43.free.fr/delaugere.html
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