But this strange vehicle, shown here, is one of the most singular. In case you are wondering, it is a snowbike, but not just any snowbike.
Featuring from April 18 to May 3 in an exhibition, The Great Escape, at Mr Schotten's gallery in Burford High Street, this Velogemel snow bike was made in Switzerland and is stamped with a patent number 5628 and dated 1 April 1911, complete with the maker's name and location, Christian Bühlmann, Brindewald.
Bühlmann (1872-1953) was a carpenter/inventor and his Velogemel (velo is French for bike and gemel Swiss dialect for sledge) snowbike soon became the must-have mode of transport in snow-covered Grindewald.
Most of the original 1911 Velogemels, made of ash with steel runners, have disappeared. Mr Schotten has only seen one other, so this must be rare indeed.
But they are still being built by a local man after the original plans and every year there is a world championship upon the Bussalp Grindewald, the longest toboggan run in Europe, with up to 130 contestants on new Velogemels.
If you think the 5ft 1in (1.55m) long snow bike has a decorative, even sculptural quality, then it is not lost on Manfred Schotten. He bought it more than 15 years ago and since then it has looked very fetching hanging between beams in his home.
It will cost £2600 in the Burford exhibition, which is previewed in this week's Dealers' Diary in the ATG printed newspaper. To subscribe, click here.
