History Photos taken before WW2 - history in black and white

[T-Head]

Griffith Cooper poses with his car after driving it off the edgeand into the Erie Canal near the Plymouth Avenue Bridge in Rochester, NY. Stone, RMSC Photo

[The37Kid]

How come only four of the cars have steering wheels? Are the others real or photoshopped back in the day?

[yellerspirit]

[yellerspirit]

1910

[Silhouettes 57]

Originally Posted by yellerspirit

Somebody put DONK wheels on that truck!!!!

[early guy]

T-Head-is this a Mercer? Neat photo showing a now unusual 1914 Virginia license plate.

[T-Head]

EG......Nice photo and that's quite a hat, I wonder if its good for 60MPH?......No its not a Mercer but I would guess a 40 HP+ car. It is very Simplex like but it is not one of those either.

[swi66]

A group of mostly female motorists gathered before the fountain at the Albright Art Gallery c. 1909. The photo appeared in the catalog of the
Babcock Automobile Company of Buffalo. They were sitting in a style called the "stanhope" (also manufactured by other
companies) which featured a single bench seat, folding cloth top, front buckboard, and tiller steering. A 1904 Buffalo stanhope
cost $1640 ($33, 864 in 2005 dollars). At this stage in automobile manufacturing, all vehicles were purchased by the wealthy.



A typical wealthy Buffalo couple might have two automobiles: an electric for the women in the family and a gasoline auto for the
men in the family. The electric automobile was quiet, easy to operate, and emission-free; it was also heavy, slow, unable to
climb hills, and in need of recharging after 20-50 miles. Such a vehicle was quickly marketed to women, doctors, delivery
businesses and others residing in an urban environment where electricity for recharging was available. The gasoline automobile
had already been adopted by men for its speed and "portability," i.e. it could "tour" in rural areas and be re-fueled at gasoline
stations that quickly sprang up around Western New York. The Buffalo Automobile Club was a touring club for
gasoline vehicles; its membership was male.

The Buffalo Electric Carriage Company garage at 240 W. Utica Street, lined with new Stanhopes c. 1905.

Although in 1900, equal numbers of electric-, gasoline- and steam-powered automobiles were produced
in the U.S., it quickly became apparent that electrics would not succeed in competition with gasoline
models (becoming more reliable each year) unless a revolution in the electric battery came about that
would result in a lighter battery that would produce more power for a longer run per charge. Thomas
Edison took on this challenge (see his optimism here) and did produce an early alkaline battery, but
it was not powerful enough to replace the lead-acid battery then used in electrics.
In 1908, there were 300 electric automobiles privately owned in Buffalo; more were used daily by
delivery companies. But Henry Ford had begun mass-production of gasoline vehicles in 1904, driving down
the price of owning an automobile. And in 1913, a battery-powered electric starter eliminated the
dangerous manual crank-starting of automobiles, opening the way for widespread ownership by women.
The Buffalo Electric Carriage Company (1900 - 1906), which became the Babcock Electric Carriage
Company (1906 - 1912), changed its ownership again in 1912. It became The Buffalo Electric Vehicle Company
and had a short life. It continued manufacturing at the 1911 complex at 1219-1247 Main Street in
Buffalo (at Northhampton St.) but by 1916, it was out of business, one of 30 automakers that came and went in
Buffalo in the twentieth century.
N.B. The Buffalo Electric Vehicle Company building still stands in 2006 and is being transformed
by Art Space into artists' residential and work space.

[swi66]

[swi66]

[jimi'shemi291]

Anybody recognize anything on the front row there???

Not a junkyard shot in the regular sense, this pic is of scrapped cars in 1930 waiting to be salvaged for materials to make new Fords. It was taken at Ford's Rouge River Plant near Detroit and is in the photo archives of the New York Times. This photo can be ordered in "exhibition quality" and sizes (meaning suitable for framing) from the New York Times Store site ( nycshopkolinsky.info/auto-salvage-1930). Such prints are minus the NYT watermark shown here.

[jimi'shemi291]

SWI, any story behind all those beat-up cars?
Or, is it simply that they were all in accidents?



I like the period moralizing and use of GUILT in this old ad !!!
GREAT stuff, SWI!

[T-Head]

This is a fairly clever idea......

[twin6]

I think the steering wheels are all present and accounted for, on these single cylinder Cadillacs. The Horsch photo may remain a mystery - good catch 37kid.

[twin6]

Not quite Toy Story 3, but this Teddy has a great ride. EG should be able to nail this one down easily.

[twin6]

Before electric starters, there were hand cranks and the inevitable achy backs. And smashed thumbs for guys not doing it right. An RCH on the left, mystery car on right.

[kurtis]

Originally Posted by jimi'shemi291

Kurtis, what the heck is this contraption? Looks heavier than any "tri" I've seen before. Ideas who made it or where and when? Thanks! -- Jimi

...

Jimi, this is the Butler Petrol Cycle.
Englishman Edward Butler designed this 'car' and showcased it at the 1885 Inventions Exibition. In 1887 he patened the design and later built this working model in 1890. Powered by a 2 cylinder water cooled engine with electronic ignition and jet carburtetor it is said to be the first automobile made in Britain and it recieved plenty of attention but never any interest as suitable transportation because of Britain's Red Flag Act.

[T-Head]

Twin6 leaving to have lunch downtown......

[early guy]

Looks like Teddy has himself a nice Oldsmobile-1909 probably.
Here are a few pics of a local car. You know the saying "Sellers market"?
I guess it wasn't...

[T-Head]

Don't Mess with us.....Twin6 on the left, Early Guy in the middle and yours truly with our WWI Whippet tanks......WE BAD....Just wait until you see our plane.......RMSC Photo