Unknown car - Can you solve the mystery?

Connecticut circa 1918 (from the collection of the author)

I don't usually offer up a mystery car, but in this case I'm stumped. I acquired this image in an antique store a few months back and the car is noted as a Buick (written in pencil on the back). I'm fairly certain it's not a Buick. The car wears a 1918 Connecticut license plate, however the car itself is earlier - probably 1911 or 1912. It appears to be an American make of mid-price range. The photo is not the greatest, but you can click on it to enlarge.

The challenge is on. Please leave me a comment and let me know the year and make. 

UPDATE: Blog reader Ariejan Bos has suggested that this car may be a 1911 or 1912 Haynes. Great suggestion, Ariejan

Studebaker and the Whipple Stage

1926 Studebaker Model EP "Big Six" Duplex Phaeton (photo credit: Sharlot Hall Museum)

The Studebaker Corporation, of South Bend, Indiana, introduced the "Big Six" in 1922 and by 1926 the car had earned a reputation for being a strong runner for a reasonable price. This car features a 75 horsepower, 6-cylinder engine and wears Studebaker's "Duplex" body - a style copied after the "California" tops of the previous decade. Apparently these cars were favored by the southwest's lawmen and earned the nickname "Sheriff". 

The story is told in The Arizona Sheriff, by Grover F. Sexton. It states "Twelve of the fourteen counties of Arizona furnish the sheriff's office with an automobile. Every one of these twelve has bough a Studebaker. When this story came to South Bend, we commissioned Major Grover F. Sexton to visit each of these twelve sheriffs and see just what service Studebaker cars were rendering to the people of Arizona. In honor of Arizona sheriffs who have made the Studebaker a vibrant symbol of law and order, from the Grand Canyon to Old Mexico, the 5 passenger Big Six Sport Phaeton has been named "The Sheriff."

I wonder if this influenced Jack Sills, the man seen with his Studebaker in the photo above, to acquire his car? Mr. Sills founded the Whipple Stage in 1922 to provide bus service to soldiers at Fort Whipple in Prescott, Arizona. From the sign on the number, it cost 15 cents to get to town. Fort Whipple is now the Prescott Veterans Hospital and Jack Sills's Whipple Stage gave birth to Prescott Transit which still operates today.

1914 Packard Model 2-38 Runabout

The sporty Packard 2-38 Pheaton Runabout of 1914 (photo from the author's collection)

The 1914 model year was a transitional one for Packard. Having introduced their first six-cylinder car only two years prior, Packard had now standardized on the six-cylinder. However, they offered a dizzying array of chassis and body options. This car, seen in a period postcard, is a 1914 Model 2-38 with a two-tone "phaeton runabout" body - a very sporty offering. With an L-head, 38 horsepower engine, this car is smaller in displacement than their model 48 of the same year. 1914 also brought a number of new features to Packard, including left-hand drive and a Delco electric starting system.

In May of 1915, Packard would introduce their landmark Twin-Six and change everything - the first mass-produced V-12 engine. Additionally, Carl Fisher would pace the 1915 Indianapolis 500 in a Packard factory special built from a 1914 Model 2-38 runabout.

Today, there are roughly 6 to 8 1914 Model 2-38 Packard's known to survive. Only one of these is a runabout - the 1915 Indy pace car. If you own a 1914 Packard, you have between the 141st and 161st oldest Packard to survive. 

Factory image of a 1914 Packard Model 2-38 Pheaton Runabout (photo credit: Detroit Public Library, IMLS)

1909 Stoddard-Dayton Tours London

1909 Stoddard-Dayton touring London (from the collection of the author)

This postcard, showing the pride of Dayton, Ohio's Dayton Motor Car Company, the Stoddard-Dayton, appears to be taken in London. Upon careful examination, the building in the background looks to be Britain's House of Commons (or Parliament Building). Could this shot be taken from the Victoria Tower Gardens?

The Stoddard name was already well established and respected within Dayton. It was John Stoddard's farm implements business that put Dayton on the map as a center for industrial production. Together with his son Charles, the two would turn to automobile manufacturing in 1905. In 1907, they would introduce an engine of their own design and by 1909 they manufactured most all components for their cars within thier own factory complex. 

I believe this car to be a Model 9K, Detachable Tonneau. The largest of the line that year, the car featured a 4-cylinder, 45 horsepower engine on a 120 inch wheelbase and sold for $2700.00. Stoddard-Dayton also sold this Detachable Tonneau style on their 35 horsepower - Model 9C - chassis. The company had North American representatives spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Texas, however I could find no reference to a London agent? It is certainly possible that a wealthy family brought over their Stoddard-Dayton for a European tour (no uncommon at the time).

The company earned a reputation for fast, reliable cars - competing (and winning) many tests of endurance and speed. Unfortunately, the Stoddard's made an error in judgment when they decided to merge with the recently formed United States Motor Company in 1910. The brain child of Benjamin Briscoe, the company was an effort to consolidate many automotive brands, a prevailing movement in the industry at the time. United States Motor Company would buy up 11 companies - including, Maxwell, Columbia, and Brush - before going bankrupt in 1913. A reorganized Maxwell would buy up the assets but the Stoddard-Dayton name was never revived. A few years later the Maxwell board would entice Walter Chrysler to lead the company. With a deal that allowed Chrysler to gain controlling interest, he would found the Chrysler Corporation and retire the Maxwell name.

UPDATE:
Blog reader Ariejan Bos has added the following:

References to the presence of Stoddard-Dayton in Europe are scarce: according to the "List of Motor Cars 1908-1914" (accessible through the site of Grace's Guide) Stoddard (no suffix!) was present in the UK from 1912 on. However I have a photo of a Stoddard from a 1911 English magazine (probably The Graphic, but no exact date), so they were available earlier but how much remains unclear.

Although I first thought it was an early 'photoshop' because of the vague contours of the buildings, the photo was made in London indeed: the lamp is clearly a London Embankment example. Looking at the angle from which we see the Parliament buildings, the photo must have been shot from across the Thames, roughly along the Albert Embankment near Lambeth Bridge.

As always thanks for your always interesting blog!

Motor Age, September 10, 1908

  

1905 Gordon-Bennett Cup Winner - Richard Brasier

1905 Postcard showing the Richard-Brasier stand at the Paris Salon (from the collection of the author)

I came across this postcard in Monterey and couldn't resist. As it states, the card illustrates the Richard-Basier stand at the Paris Salon in 1906. The star-car of the French show, the 1905 Gordon-Bennett winning racer is seen front and center.

The French firm of Richard-Brasier has a confusing history with many name changes, but the simple version starts with brothers Georges and Maxine Richards. They entered the bicycle business in 1893 and a few years later started manufacturing vehicles resembling the Benz Velo. In 1901, they enticed Henri Brasier, the chief designer for Mors, to join the team. His impact was immediate and by 1902, Brasier's name was added to the marquee. 

The Gordon-Bennette Cup was the premier international race at the turn of the 20th century. Founded by the American owner of the New York Herald, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the race was overseen by the Automobile Club de France (ACF) and open to the qualifying cars from each country. First raced in  1900, the race was won by a Panhard. Mors would take the fastest time in 1901 and this result would impact the Richard brother's decision to approach Henri Brasier. S.F. Edge would change the game in 1902, winning the race and taking the Cup from France. After Mercedes won in 1903, Richard-Brasier would bring the Cup home to France in 1904. The race held the greatest prestige and France took enormous pride in being on the cutting edge of the automobile industry. 

Henri Brasier would make minor changes to the 1905 Richard-Brasier racer, lowering the center of gravity. The car had a 4-cylinder engine producing 90 hp at 1200 rev - three forward speeds and dual-chain drive. At 2150 pounds and 104 inch wheel base, the car was very much in keeping with the prevailing design of the day. With Leon Thery at the wheel (the 1904 winning driver), the car would win the French elimination trials. Richard-Brasier fielded two cars driven by Thery and Cailois - and with strict instructions to keep their speed under 50mph, they would finish the race 1st and 2nd. The racers certainly had the capability for higher speeds, but they wisely recognized the need to go the distance. The Fiat team lead the first two laps by quite a margin, but would retire with mechanical problems, giving the win to Thery and the number 5 Richard-Brasier racer.

photo credit: Motor Age July 6, 1905

The 1905 Gordon-Bennett Cup was run on the Auvergne circuit covering 4 laps or roughly 340 miles. Thery won in 7.02:25 (just over seven hours) at an average speed of 48.5 miles per hour. This would turn out to be the last running of the Gordon-Bennett Cup as France (and England) would choose not to resume the competition (forever keeping the cup in France). The competition would be replaced with an endurance race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans.

It was written that the Richard-Brasier company would send the car as well as Thery and Cailois to the America to run the Vanderbilt Cup, but does not appear to have happened. In 1904/1905 the Richard brothers left the company to start the Unic that went on to achieve success building light cars and cabs. The company name changed to Brasier, however, they would not repute their successes of 1905. In 1927 the name was changed yet again - to Chaigneau-Brasier - and in 1930 they ceased production, selling the factory to Delahaye.

photo credit: The Autocar December 23, 1905