Catalogue information
Škoda's history began on December 18, 1895 in Mladá Boleslav, Austria-Hungary. It was there that the technician Václav Laurin and the bookseller Václav Klement started producing Slavia bicycles, according to legend that Václav Klement was dissatisfied with the quality of the bicycles being sold at the time. In 1899 their factory began producing motorcycles that were successful in both racing and on the road; 2,000 of them were produced in three years. In 1901, Laurin & Klement presented a two-cylinder car at the Vienna Motor Show. However, it would take until 1905 before this first car, L&K type A "Voiturette", went into production. A short time later, stronger and larger models appeared, analogous to Ford typified with letters: type B, type C, and so on. In 1907 the company became a limited company and in 1912 the Reichenberger Automobil Fabrik was taken over. Soon, L&K was the main car manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. In addition to motorcycles and cars, the factories also produced trucks, buses, stationary engines, agricultural machines and rollers. Exports went mainly to Russia (40%) and other European countries, but cars were also shipped to Japan, America, Australia and New Zealand. L&K was very successful in races and rallies. In 1914, for example, the first prize was won 32 times in 34 competitions. In August 1914 Austria-Hungary went to war. L&K, like the Škoda machine factory, was used entirely for the production of military equipment. (Source Wiki)
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