Derham bodied Packard, Pierce and Cadillac

I purchased these images of coachwork by the Derham Company of Rosemont, PA at Hershey last year. Derham's history extended far past the lifespan of most other coachworks and they survived through two world wars. Amazingly, two out of the three cars pictured here are known to have survived.

The company was founded by Joseph Derham as the Rosemont Carriage Works at 1234 Lancaster Avenue in Rosemeont, PA - only a few miles west of Philadelphia in an area known as "the main line". Enos Derham, the youngest of four brothers that followed their father into the firm, would end up running the firm at the time these cars were built. According to Mark Theobald at coachbuilt.com, Enos graduated from Cornell in 1922 and took over the production responsibilities of his oldest brother Joe, who had passed away the same year. The Derham Company built bodies on the finest domestic and foreign chassis, but like many firms, suffered greatly during the depression.

1936 Pierce-Arrow Twelve with body by Derham

Regardless, they continued to body significant cars such as the 12-cylinder, 1936 Pierce-Arrow that the Pierce-Arrow Company sent to Derham to body in the style of the Brunn Metropolitan Town Car. It's unknown why Pierce sent the car to Derham, but by the time the car was finished, so was Pierce-Arrow (they went out of business in 1937). The car was first registered in 1937 by Charles Walker of MA and the car stayed in the northeast until it showed up for sale in the New York Times (around the late 1960s or early 1970s). The car was restored in 1977, and again in the early 1990s, more recently being sold from the Ray Warshawsky collection by RM Auctions in 2007 - it sold for $231,000.

1938 Packard Twelve bodied by Derham

1938 Packard Twelve bodied by Derham (photo credit: Dave Mitchell)

This 1938 Packard Twelve (model 1608) is said to have been bodied for Frank B. Wentz Jr. of Philadelphia. Delivered in 1939, the Derham body is recorded as costing $4,132.10 (that's on top of the price paid for the car). By this time Derham was only producing a hand full of bodies a year, but in 1942 they recieved a much needed contract from the Army that got them through the war years.

1942 Cadillac bodied by Derham

The last car in this group, a 1942 Cadillac convertible sedan, is interesting for a couple reasons. First Cadillac dropped the convertible sedan body style in 1941 - this Derham body is quite similar to the work they were doing on Chrysler chassis of the same period. The other reason this image is unique is that it's written that Derham only bodied three 1942 Cadillacs - all in the town car style?

In 1956, Enos' brother James died. The business and building was finally sold in 1964 with Enos and his partner Grotz continuing on doing antique automobile restorations up until the the building became the home to Chinetti & Garthwaite - the US distributor for Ferrari. Enos died in 1974, but the building still remains as the home to Ferrari of Philadelphia.

The Derham bodied 1936 Pierce-Arrow today (photo credit: Richard Spiegelman)

The Derham bodied 1938 Packard today (photo credit: conceptcarz.com)

The 1914 Indy 500 winning Delage

The 1913 Delage type Y with Rene Thomas at the wheel (photo credit: Artimus Images)

Here's another car owned by our friend Edgar Roy. Dad had gone off to college when Ed acquired this car, and I didn't realize he'd restored the car until recently. This spectacular car is none other than the 1913 French GP and 1914 Indy 500 winner - a 1913 Delage, type Y factory works racer. Louis Delage (1874-1947) left Renault to open his own company in 1905. Always passionate about racing, Delage hired a new engineer in 1910 - Arthur Michelat, a Angers graduate (France's Army Heavy Artillery School). Michelat is credited with designing the type Y racers of 1913. The cars (4 type Y racers are though to have been built) are equipped with a 4-valves per cylinder, 4-cylinder engine producing roughly 130hp. 

Delage was in a battle with Peugeot for French racing supremacy (Bugatti was just coming on the seen in 1914) and the French Grand Prix held at Le Mans was their focus. Peugeot had won in 1912, and Delage's answer for 1913 was the type Y. Delage would campaign three cars (driven by Bablot, Guyot, and Duray) and in the second race at Le Mans in August 1913, Bablot would bring home the victory for Delage - arguably their most important victory up to that point in time. The Delage team for the French GP was managed by W.F. Bradley, and Englishman who was the European correspondent for Automotive Industries - a leading trade journal at the time. Bradley was well connected and the same year Charles Sedwick, events manager for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, appointed Bradley their European representative.  The Automobile of October 31, 1912 notes "Mr. Sedwick sails about November 1 for Europe, where he will discuss the May race meet with the most prominent European manufacturers."  The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Sedwick) knew that they needed to attract the top European teams in order for the "500" to truly be considered a world class event. With the help of Bradley, Sedwick was able to bring the Peugeot and Delage cars to the 1914 event. 

The 1914 Indianapolis 500 was a star studded event with Duray moving over to drive for Peugeot (the other Peugeot being driven by Goux). Rene Thomas and Albert Guyot would drive for Delage and hometown favorites Oldfield, Wishart, and Rickenbacker would drive for Stutz, Mercer, and Duesenberg respectively. With W.F. Bradley as team manager yet again, the number 16 Delage driven by Thomas would win the event. 

The Horseless Age, June 3, 1914

The history of this important race car is a bit thin from this point forward. It is said that Bradley sold the car in New York after the race (rather than shipping the car back to France). Did he sell both cars? Whom was the winning race car sold too? The type Y doesn't seem to have been raced in 1915 in any significant US race as Delage brought over a new group of cars that competed throughout the country. The next references I can find are mentions of the car after being restored by Ed Roy. Roy seems to have refurbished the car around 1960 and is seen showing the car over the next few years. Road & Track (Vol 13) of 1961 reports ""This 1913 Delage, one of three brought privately to the 1914 Indianapolis race by W. F. Bradley, had long pushrods actuated by camshafts ... at the hands of its present owner, Edgar L. Roy, President of the Vintage Sports Car Club of America." In 1965, Roy would win the Alfred Poole Trophy (donated by Peter Helck) with the Delage - awarded to the best restored foreign car by the VMCCA. Somehow the car found it's way to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum (Roy parted with the car prior to his passing - most likely in the late 1960s or early 1970s) and I can't think of a more fitting home for this car.

A postcard of the 1913 Delage after Ed Roy restored it (photo credit: Mark Dionne)

1914 Indy winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum (photo credit: dieselpunks.org)

The Horseless Age, June 3, 1914

1914 Renault type EF Torpedo

1914 Renault type EF when owned by Ed Roy

Another image from Dad's collection - He took this at the Larz Anderson Carriage House (VMCCA headquarters) in 1955. This car is a 1914 Renault type EF Torpedo (I believe this is chassis 47043). The car was owned at the time by Edgar Roy, whom I've written about before. As Dad tells it, this was Ed's first nut & bolt restoration - done right there in the basement of the Larz Anderson Carriage House.

Edgar Roy was an enthusiastic car guy (always on the lookout for a powerful early car to restore) and a master machinist. Ed was very involved with the VMCCA at the time (though not a founder of the organization). Ed worked for Warren E. Collins Inc., patent holder and manufacturer of the "Drinker respirator" - better known as the "iron lung" - instrumental in the treatment of Polio at the time. Warren Collins was also a member of the VMCCA (president in 1951) and it was Ed Roy, his employee, who played an important roll in translating the prototype to a manufacturable product.

Ed's restorations were legendary in his day and after the Renault he acquired and restored a 1911 Simplex. Although Ed restored a number of cars, it was the Simplex that inspired his model making later in life. It's one of Dad's great regrets that he was unable to purchase one of Ed's scale Simplex models before his passing.

Renault, on the other hand, was going though a turbulent time when this car was produced. According to Automobile Topics of September 20, 1913 Renault Freres Automobile Company expanded their service facilities by leasing 20,000 sq ft in Long Island City, NY - only to loose their US sales agent (Renault Freres Selling Branch, 63rd Street & Broadway, NYC), N. Nason Morris the following year (he had been with Renault for 7 years). In Europe things were even more challenging, the Motor Age of February 27, 1913 reported a walk out at the Renault factory due to the implementation of an "American system of timing". The article goes on to say "Louis Renault gave the order for the entire factory to be closed... until his workpoeple have adopted a more sensible attitude." Of course, by 1914 the winds of war had over taken France and the Motor Age of September 10, 1914 published an article titled, "Touring Car Production in France at a Standstill". Renault stopped producing cars and its aviation engine factory was taken over by the miltary.

It's not surprising that the production for the 1914 type EF (2.6 liter, 4-cylinder, 13hp) is said to have been only 700 cars. Ed Roy passed away in 1995. This car, however, has found it's way to another enthusiastic car guy in Joris Bergsma. Joris is the founder and editor of prewarcar.com, and I couldn't be happier that the car has found a good home in the Netherlands.

1914 Renault type EF today (photo credit: willemalink)

Motor Age, September 10, 1914

1920 Kissel 6-45 "Gold Bug" Speedster

Gene Husting driving his 1920 Kissel 6-45 Speedster (chassis 451964)

This 1920 Kissel 6-45 speedster (chassis 451964) was often seen at early VMCCA events because its owner that the time, Gene E. Husting (1910-1997), kept the car at the Larz Anderson carriage house - the headquarters of the VMCCA at the time. Gene Husting was a VP at the First National Bank of Boston and an avid antique car guy.

The idea for the Kissel speedster (later nicknamed the Gold Bug) came about in the late "teens". It was a popular undertaking by New York dealers to create custom bodies for the various brands they handled to provide something unique to their clientele. Many brands were subject to this activity (with strikingly similar bodies), such as Marmon, Willys-Knight, Danials, Noma, Oakland, Apperson, and Kissel. According to Mark Theobald, it was Conover T. Silver who originated the design that would be adopted by Kissel. Silver left Buick in 1909 to take on the New York dealership for Oakland. In 1915, he started experimenting with custom bodies (Oakland, Peerless, and Willys-Knight) and in 1917 he added the Kissel line and applied his custom designs to thier chassis.

The Motor Age, January 23, 1919

The Motor Age of February 6, 1919 - reporting on the special bodies at the New York Armory Show - stating, "New York dealers have found it extremely profitable to have special bodies built practically creating a new line of cars such as the Silver-Apperson or Silver-Kissel." The publication goes on to say "Some of the special bodies and painting jobs included... a Kissel roadster of sporty type in canary yellow..." Apparently, Kissel saw the value of this sporty style and adopted it (largely unchanged) for the 1919 model year. The speedster was listed for $2850 (same price as the touring) in 1920 and featured a side-valve 6-cylinder (61 hp) and Houck wire wheels.

The Hartford, Wisconsin company had always built commercial vehicles (trucks) along with cars and The Motor Age of April 24, 1919 noted the Kissel's challenge in meeting the demand for its cars due to its commitments in supplying the government's war needs (WWI) - "The best Kissel can promise the customer is delivery in three weeks... Of course, the Kissel factory is still on Government work, but it is expected here that it will be through in about three weeks..." The company would end up yet another victim of the depression and close its doors in 1930. 

This car (chassis 451964) is said to have spent 37 years in the family of the first owner - originally purchased by Charles Bent (of RI) to take his new bride on their honeymoon to Niagara Falls. Gene Husting would have acquired the car in the mid-1950s and he restored the car to working order. Interestingly, the car was purchased from Hustings for inclusion in the famed Harrah collection. The car has been through many hands since, and been the subject of a major restoration in the early 1990s, recently being offered for sale for $395,000 (www.classiccars.com).

The Motor Age, January 23, 1919

1920 Kissel 6-45 Speedster (chassis 451964) today (photo credit: www.classiccars.com)

1904 Central Greyhound 8-cylinder racer by H. H. Buffum Co.

Central Greyhound racer (with Lafayette Markle at the wheel?) (photo credit: The Horseless Age, April 6, 1904)

Herbert Buffum, an early pioneer of motor design, had largely been lost to history until a renewed interest was brought about by the sale of one of his early cars. Described as the first four-cylinder American car, it was consigned to Bonhams Auctions and sold at their London-to-Brighton sale in 2012. This car, said to be Buffum's first car (or prototype design) was described in the Bonhams catalog as an 1895 Buffum Four-Cylinder Stanhope (Chassis No 1BUFFUM). Although this particular car is not the focus of this post, it's a fascinating vehicle. There has been much speculation as to whether this car actually dates to 1895 and I'm told that definitive documents were brought forward by a previous owner after the car first went over the block at the Quail auction (but didn't sell) better informing prospective buyers at the London-to-Brighton sale.

Herbert H. Buffum (1861 - 1930) grew up in New Hampshire and is listed in the 1882 Manchester (NH) City Directory as a machinist working for S.C. Forsaith Machine & Company. The Dyer Memorial Library in Abington, MA has been instrumental in researching Herbert Buffum's life and they are currently hosting an exhibit on the subject. According to The Dyer Memorial Library, Herbert and his family moved to Abington, MA in 1891 - his business of manufacturing small machines is seen in the 1892 Abington and Whitman Directory. Buffum's factory on Center Avenue, seen below, still stands to this day.

Center Avenue factory in Abington, MA (photo credit: Dyer Memorial Library)

It would appear that Buffum recognized a business opportunity and moved south to sell machinery to the many fabric mills, clothing and shoe manufacturers of eastern MA. His many patents related to machinery for stitching, etc. are seen throughout the later 1890s right up to 1900. Of course, this area also happened to be a center of early automobile production as well, and his interests soon turned to designing motors for boats and cars. Herbert Buffum's patents for automotive related items first appear in 1901 and are seen through 1906.

By 1901, the H. H. Buffum Manufacturing Co. is building automobiles and the The Horseless Age of March 13, 1901 states "H. H. Buffum, Abington, MA, is building six motor carriages for local parties". Those local parties included the Ames family of North Easton, MA who were wealth industrialists and patrons of Buffum's automobiles - the photo below is most likely one of the cars built for Ames. Herbert's interests and talents appear to have been more focused engineering than manufacturing, as the volume of cars produced seems to have been small (even for the day). Regardless, his growing enterprise is revealed by the statements seen in The Horseless Age of September 17, 1902, "H. H. Buffum, Abington, MA, is preparing to turn out fifty of his gasoline touring cars next year". 1903 is a seminal year for the H. H. Buffum Manufacturing Company as Herbert starts exhibiting his automobiles - initially at the New England Automobile Association Show and later the same month at the Boston Dealers' Show (March 1903). According to Great American Automobiles by John Bentley,  this would be the Model “G” of 1903. Later in 1903, H. H. Buffum is listed among the exhibitors at the Madison Square Garden Show. The Horseless Age of November 4, 1903 reports: "H. H. Buffum, Abington, MA, is building a four cylinder (4 1/2 x5 1/2) touring car and a two cylinder runabout for 1904. Sliding gear transmission and aluminum bodies will be features".

1902 Buffum horizontally opposed 4 cylinder engine (photo credit: Dyer Memorial Library)

I 'm not sure if Buffum was the first American manufacturer to offer a 4 cylinder engine (as some have suggested)  - it appears that he built a 4-cylinder by 1900, and patented a flat opposed 4 cylinder design in 1902, but I don't believe he publicly offered for sale a 4-cylinder car until 1903. In 1902 for example, the Automobile Company of America was offering the Gasmobile in 3 and 4 cylinder models. Regardless, Herbert Buffum was on the leading edge of multi-cylinder motor design and 1904 would be the year he showed the world what he was thinking.

The Motor-Car Journal, April 23, 1904

In 1904, Herbert Buffum built a horizontally opposed, 8-cylinder racer with four carburetors for the Central Automobile Company of New York City. The Central Automobile Company, located at 1684 Broadway, was one of the largest automobile garages in the city. Specializing in storage, repair, and sales of foreign cars, they were the authorized agent for Mors here in the US. Mr. Kimball and Mr. Moody (of the Central Automobile Co) somehow became aware of Herbert Buffum and acquired a racer in the style of Alexander Winton's Bullet #2. Is it just coincidence that Kimball and Moody had been to the Boston Automobile show where Buffum exhibited his cars or that Buffum was building a 4-cylinder car and Mors (the brand they represented) had built a 4-cylinder car previously? We'll never know for sure, however we do know that Buffum turned out the racer in short order with a unique and original (for the time) engine design. Winton, of course, had built his 8-cylinder bullet racer the year prior and it seems evident that Buffum's racer - named the Central Greyhound - borrowed from it's design. It's been stated that the Central Greyhound was built to compete against Winton in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup, however I find no reference to the Buffum designed racer until 1904. Further, I could find few pictures in period publications - I believe one image to have been taken outside Buffum's facility in Abington (The Motor, May 24, 1904) and the others on the streets of New York City (maybe Broadway?). The Horseless Age of April 6, 1904 describes the car as having four sets of horizontally opposed twin cylinders crosswise on the frame, one after the other, with their crank shafts connected by flanged couplings. They go on to say that the crank chamber is all one casting and that the cylinders had mechanically operated over-head valves.

Of the few period reports on the Central Greyhound, it seems clear that Kimball and Moody intended to race the car in speed trails and hill climbs on the east coast. Central Automobile Company had campaigned the Mors cars previously - using their driver at the time, Lafayette Markle. The Automobile of July 16, 1904 - reporting on the upcoming attractions at the Empire City Track - states "Thirty cars have been entered... and the Central Greyhound, an 8-cylinder racer which has never yet been given a thorough trial. The latter machine will make an attack on the track record of 55 seconds, established by Barney Oldfield with the Winton Bullet." Markle was set to drive the Central Greyhound, but the car appears to have had issues. The Motor Age of March 13th, 1904 gives some indication into the challenges Kimball and Moody were having with getting the car race ready, "Mr. Kimball says there is some trouble with the carburation, which is defective and will need to be remedied." The car was designed with four float feed carburetors that sat between the valve chambers of adjacent cylinders. However, the same article notes "One of the companies employees says he had the car out on the Coney Island boulevard early one morning and that it was timed between mile posts in not far from 42 seconds..." Curiously, the Central Greyhound seems not to have made an appearance at the Empire City Track, and in fact, I can find no reference to it ever having been raced at all.

The Motor Age, March 31, 1904

Soon after building the racer, H. H. Buffum introduces the car that would mark his place in history. The 45 degree, "V" style 8 cylinder engine of 1905 which appears to be the first V-8 car offered for sale by an American manufacturer (and I use the term loosely). Buffum had limited success an automobile manufacturing, however he did secure a Boston sales agent for his cars - E. S. Breed (a dealer that carried other brands as well). Additionally, Buffum cars were privately campaigned in motor racing events of the day -  Glen Breed (I don't know if there is any relation to E. S. Breed) drove a Buffum in the 1906 Worcester Hill Climb - event 24 (Special runabout class).

1907 seems to be the last year of automobile production for the H. H. Buffum Company - still offering their 8-cylinder (40 hp; 45 degree V-8; 4 in × 4 in; 6.6 liter; 402 cubic inch). The Automobile Topics of May 25th, 1907 reports "H. H. Buffum of Abington, Mass., is having a hydroplane built for use on Winnipisaukee this summer. The boat will be but 14 feet long, and with an engine installed will weigh but 500 pounds. The boat is copied after the French hydroplanes, and will prove a novelty in New England waters." I can only guess that Buffum would design the engine himself. In 1909, Buffum sold his home and factory on Center Avenue and moved back to New Hampshire.

Unemployed for a time, Buffum is seen listed in the Laconia (NH) Directory in 1911 as a boat builder. The 1912 New Hampshire Motor Vehicle Registrations list him as living in Weirs (Laconia area on Lake Winnipesauke) and having two vehicles registered - a Hudson and a Peerless. By 1914, Buffum's cars were already forgotten as illustrated by the letter to the editor of The Horseless Age of October 7, 1914 in which the writer is reminding the editor that Buffum had built a V-type eight cylinder car in 1905 - said to have been sold in the spring of 1906 - "These cars were heard from as recently as a year or two ago and are probably still giving satisfactory service... these motors of eight or nine years ago were remarkably prophetic of what the public abroad and in this country is just beginning to consider as an improvement in several respects over both fours and sixes."

Herbert Buffum continues his boat-building career through 1920 and is said to have built the first pier at Weirs. In 1925, Buffum is associated with the C. S. & B. Sprinkler Company of Boston - this is the same year that the Laconia Directory notes Herbert and his wife having moved to Portland, OR. Buffum's daughter had moved to Portland upon being married back in 1912 and Herbert lived there until his death in 1930. Other than the car sold by Bonhams and rumors of an incomplete car said to be owned by a Buffum relative, no other cars are known to have survived - what a shame.

The Motor, May 24, 1904

The Automobile, July 2, 1904

The Buffum V-8 engine (photo credit: Dyer Memorial Library)

Cycle and Trade Journal, February, 1904

1917 Stanley Model 728 and Rev. Stanley Ellis

1917 Stanley Model 728 when owned by Rev. Stanley Ellis

This image from Dad's collection is of the Rev. Stanley Ellis' 1917 Stanley Model 728 Touring (chassis 17225). In the post-war days of the VMCCA, the "steamer guys" always included Stanley Ellis, Earle Eckel, and Dad's good friend Frank Gardner. Rev. Ellis owned many Stanleys over the years, including a 1908 model H5, a 1908 model EX, a 1914 model 607, a 1918 model 735, a 1922 model 740, and a 1925 model SV252A. According to The Stanley Register (fantastic website: http://www.stanleyregister.net), Ellis purchased this car from George Hildreth, a Stanley dealer from Maine, who had stored the car 18 years - Ellis would own the car for 12 years.

The Stanley Motor Carriage Company of Newton, MA (yup, they still called themselves a "motor carriage" company) produced two models in 1917 - the model 728 and model 730. They made 998 cars that year and prices ranged from $2200 to $2800. 1917 was also a import year in the history of the company as the founders, F.E and F.O. Stanley sold their interest in the business. The Automobile Trade Journal of July 1, 1917 reported that the company was re-incorporated under the same name with the brothers selling to the officers of the company, "Messrs. Warren, Hallett and C.F. Stanley joined the concern in 1906 and became officers and directors in 1912". Interestingly, Carlton Fairfield Stanley was a nephew who shared an interest in violin making with his uncle F.O. Stanley. F.O. taught C.F. Stanley violin making and Carlton would produce an estimated 600 violins between 1920 and 1942 (the year F.O. Stanley died) for commercial consumption - they are well regarded instruments today. Unfortunately, it appears Carlton was more focused on violin's than automobiles as the Stanley Motor Carriage Company suffered from a lack innovation and new designs after the founders left the company. The last Stanley steamer rolled off the Newton line in 1926 - the company would produce some 16,000 vehicles over it's lifetime.

F.E. Stanley died soon after the sale of the company from injuries sustain in an automobile accident (he was driving a model 730) on July 31, 1918. F.O. would live to be 92, spending his days in Estes Park, Colorado (he sold his interest in the Stanley Hotel around the same time as he left the motor carriage company). Rev. Ellis received a master's degree in theology from Harvard in 1930 and followed his passion for steam cars right up until his passing in 1989.

Rev. Stanley Ellis in his 1914 Stanley Model 607 circa 1948 (photo credit: The Marshall Collection)

Frank Gardner and his 1912 Stanley Model 74

Automobile Trade Journal, July 1, 1917

F.O. Stanley

1911 Mercedes 37/90 & Ralph De Palma

1911 Mercedes 37/90 in the garage of a friend.

Frankly, this car blew me away when I first saw it in a friend's garage many years ago. The car is a 1911 Mercedes 37/90 - one of the few with a flat radiator (most are the "V" shaped). In 1911, Mercedes introduced their new hi-performance car replacing the six-cylinder models of 1907. The model 37/90 is the last of the chain drive Mercedes, with dual chains enclosed in an oil bath. A four cylinder engine of 9.5 liter displacement, it features three valves per cylinder and dual ignition, producing 90 to 95 hp.

This particular car is has been suggested to be the Mercedes that Ralph De Palma owned and campaigned from 1912 through 1914. However, according to the owner at the time, this is not the case. According the factory records this car has always been a touring car and has never been raced. It was a 1908 chassis modified with the new 37/90 engine that famously quite on De Palma in the 1912 Indy 500 where he and Jeffkins (his riding mechanic) pushed the car to the finish. De Palma would win the 1912 and 1914 Vanderbilt Cups - earning the national drivers championship in both years - in a car similar to this. The 1914 Vanderbilt cup was one of De Palma's greatest achievements - the 1914 race was the first Vanderbilt Cup to be held on the west coast (Santa Monica) and it was here that De Palma beat his rival Oldfield. The Horseless Age of March 4, 1914 described the race as follows: "The 1914 contest for the Vanderbilt Cup will go down in motoring history as being one of the most thrilling and sensational road races ever run in this country...There is a long story back of the ill feeling between Oldfield and De Palma...DePalma in his Mercedes, the same car with which he won the Vandebilt race at Milwaukee in 1912, really rubbed in the lather and close-shaved Oldfield, in the Mercer..."

The car pictured herein has a wonderful history that includes ownership by James Melton, the famous opera singer and early collector. The only De Palma connection to this car appears to be seen below when he drove this car at a VMCCA meet in CT back in the 1950s. I photographed the car in the late 1980's before it was sold to Europe. The car has since been restored and was shown at Amelia Island in 2011 - I don't know who owns the car today.

Ralph De Palma driving the Mercedes when owned by James Melton (photo credit: ebay member mixa11)

The ex-Melton Mercedes today (photo credit: Richard Owen)

De Palma wining the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup (photo credit:

photo credit: The Horseless Age, March 4, 1914

1906 Autocar type X roadster

1906 Autocar type X roadster when owned by John Hebden

The Autocar company was the second automotive manufacturing enterprise of Louis (1866-1957) and John Clarke. With financial backing from William Morgan, the Clarke brothers established the Pittsburg Motor Vehicle Company in 1897. The Horseless Age of September, 1897 states, "Under this title a company was incorporated, Oct 2, under the laws of Pennsylvania, to manufacture motor vehicles of all kinds. At first, however, the company's attention will be entirely given to a tandem tricycle of moderate price and light construction, propelled by a gasoline motor..." With great foresight, Louis Clarke donated one of their motorized tricycles to the Smithsonian - the only known surviving example of this pioneering effort.

Clarke gasoline tricycle (photo credit: Smithsonian Collection)

In 1901, the brothers had moved operations to Ardmore, PA (just outside Philadelphia) and founded the Autocar Company. The Henry Ford Museum has an early example - a four-wheel gasoline car dated 1900. By September of 1902, the Horseless Age reported that the company had orders for 500 cars on hand and were looking for "fifty suitable mechanics." In November of the same year it was reported the William Morgan had left the company, retiring to CA, and John Clarke was assuming his position. The car seen at the top of the post, in a photo taken by Dad, looks to be a 1906 type X roadster - owned at the time by John Hebden. It is said the that the company produced 1000 type X roadsters in 1906. Priced at $1000.00, these cars featured a 12hp, 2 cylinder engine. This vehicle is much the same as the roadster the company had been building since 1902. One of the key differences is the that Autocar was late to adopt the steering wheel - adding a steering wheel to the type x roadster in 1905/1906.

As with many early manufacturers, Autocar produced commercial vehicles as well. It was soon apparent that the commercial vehicle business was more profitable and by 1912 they ceased making automobiles. The Clarke brothers sold their interest in the business in 1929 - Louis retired to Florida. The company continued on and was eventually sold to White in 1953. Volvo absorbed the assets of White in 1980.

Few Autocar's (cars) survive today , but there are at least 5 remaining type X roadsters (possibly more). This car's fenders are unique and maybe a product of its 1950s restoration.

I believe this to be a photo of the John Hebden car today - I'm not aware of who owns it.