Brass Era car
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The automotive Brass Era is the first period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It extends from the first commercial automobiles marketed in the 1890's down to about World War I. These cars are also often called by the name they were originally known by, "horseless carriages."
In the United Kingdom, this era is split into two periods:
Such very old vehicles present special challenges to today's collectors. Replacement parts must nearly always be handmade and basic documentation such as wiring diagrams and specification sheets are often nonexistent. The huge variety of companies and technologies represented during this formative period is also a complicating factor—it has been estimated that there were well over 1,000 manufacturers in the U.S. alone.
Neverthess, an active collector community exists for these vehicles, which when well restored can be extremely valuable. The very, very rare original-condition survivor can be even more so.
The early Ford Model T is an example of a Brass Era car for the mass market, and the early European Hispano-Suiza models are fairly typical of expensive models of the time.
The gold-tone trim which is occasionally added to modern luxury sedans is a reference back to autodom's great Age of Brass.
Examples
In January, 1904, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine cataloged the entire range of automobiles available to the mass market in the United States. This list included the following manufacturers:
- Apperson Brothers Automobile Company (Kokomo, Indiana)
- Auburn Automobile Company (Auburn, Indiana)
- Autocar Company (Ardmore, Pennsylvania)
- Baker Motor Vehicle Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Berg Automobile Company (New York, New York)
- Buffalo Electric Carriage Company (Buffalo, New York)
- Cadillac Automobile Company (Detroit, Michigan)
- Societe Franco-Americaine d'Automobiles (New York, New York)
- Electric Vehicle Company (Hartford, Connecticut)
- Eisenhuth Horseless Vehicle Company (Middletown, Connecticut)
- Sandusky Automobile Company (Sandusky, Ohio)
- B. V. Covert and Company (Lockport, New York)
- Crest Manufacturing Company (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
- Clodio and Widmayer (New York, New York)
- Daimler Manufacturing Company (Long Island City, New York)
- American Darracq Automobile Company (New York, New York)
- Automobile Exchange and Storage Company (New York, New York)
- K. A. Skinner (Boston, Massachusetts)
- Standard Automobile Company of New York (New York, New York)
- Duryea Power Company (Reading, Pennsylvania)
- National Sewing Machine Company (Belvidere, Illinois)
- Elmore Manufacturing Company (Clyde, Ohio)
- Ford Motor Company (Detroit, Michigan)
- H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company (Syracuse, New York)
- Fredonia Manufacturing Company (Youngstown, Ohio)
- Grout Brothers (Orange, Massachusetts)
- Haynes-Apperson Company (Kokomo, Indiana)
- Holley Motor Car Company (Bradford, Pennsylvania)
- Thos. B. Jeffery Company (Kenosha, Wisconsin)
- Knox Automobile Company (Springfield, Massachusetts)
- Locomobile Company of America (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
- Central Automobile Company (New York, New York)
- National Motor Vehicle Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
- Northern Manufacturing Company (Detroit, Michigan)
- Olds Motor Works (Detroit, Michigan)
- Waltham Manufacturing Company (Waltham, Massachusetts)
- Packard Motor Car Company (Detroit, Michigan)
- Panhard-Levassor (Paris, France)
- Peerless Motor Car Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Phelps Motor Vehicle Company (Stoneham, Massachusetts)
- George N. Pierce Company (Buffalo, New York)
- Pope-Robinson Company (Hyde Park, Massachusetts)
- Pope-Toledo Company (Toledo, Ohio)
- Pope-Waverly Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
- Premier Motor Manufacturing Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
- Renault (New York, New York)
- Rochet-Schneider (New York, New York)
- Royal Motor Car Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Columbus Motor Vehicle Company (Columbus, Ohio)
- Smith and Mabley (New York, New York)
- St. Louis Motor Carriage Company (St. Louis, Missouri)
- Stanley Motor Carriage Company (Newton, Massachusetts)
- F. B. Stearns Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company (Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts)
- Studebaker Brothers Company (South Bend, Indiana)
- E. R. Thomas Motor Company (Buffalo, New York)
- White Sewing Machine Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Wilson Automobile Manufacturing Company (Wilson, New York)
- Winton Motor Carriage Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Woods Motor Vehicle Company (Chicago, Illinois)
- Kirk Manufacturing Company (Toledo, Ohio)
External links
- Brassauto.com (http://www.brassauto.com/cars8.html)
- Frontenac Motors (http://www.modelt.ca/index.html) (mostly Model T)
- Horseless Carriage Gazette (http://www.horseless.com/)
- Vintage Auto Parts (http://www.vapinc.com/) (has a brass section)
- Hispano-Suiza photos (http://www.autogallery.org.ru/hsuizaes.htm)