A book about a prestigious Huddersfield coachbuilder has scooped an international award.

Rippon Bros was the ultimate in luxury car maker for the first half of the last century and was based in the heart of Huddersfield.

The firm’s highly skilled workers custom-built many Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars and one was on sale recently for almost $200,000.

Last year’s publication of Rippon Bros – A Coachbuilder Of Renown, by Jonathan Wood, has picked up an award from the Society of Automotive Historians based in Pennsylvania.

The society has awarded the publishers, James Hinchliffe and Annabel Sleigh, a Merit of Distinction in The Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot Award.

This award goes to a book published in the previous year which best advances the understanding of the history of the automobile.

This follows on from the book’s success at end of 2012 when author Jonathan Wood, a renowned motoring historian, received a commendation from the Guild of Motoring Writers in the Mercedes-Benz Award for the Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy.

The Guild of Motoring Writers is the world’s largest association for automotive editorial professionals.

The book was also Classic Car Weekly’s book of the week last September.

The book has sold in many countries including New Zealand, Australia, India, Canada, the States, and across Europe.

James and Annabel, who live in Huddersfield, commissioned the book to record for posterity the history of the family coachbuilding business that grew from humble Yorkshire beginnings to be regarded as one of the best in the land. Testament to this was being awarded the Coachmaker’s Cup successively from 1930-38 at the London Motor Show, then held at Kensington Olympia and Earls Court.

From the horse-drawn carriage building days of 1870 the firm moved quickly to custom-building bodywork on different cars, including its first Rolls-Royce in 1905.

As the industries of the north prospered, so too did Rippon Bros, largely supplying Rolls-Royces to the textile barons of West Yorkshire.

The book can still be bought at www.ripponbrosbook.co.uk