TexRiv_63 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 We found some old photos of my wife's great uncle Herman. He was a car guy back to the 1900s so there are some cars in his photos that I would like to identify. I apologize for the quality of this first one, looking at Herman with his foot on the running board I think this is from the late 1900s or early 1910s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 With the steering tie bar ahead of the axle and the light mounted the way they are it has to be quite early - maybe 1906-8? Maybe a Rainier??? - https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A183730/datastream/IMAGE/view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif Holmberg Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 (edited) Looks like you nailed it nzcarnerd. Leif in Sweden. Edited November 16, 2016 by Leif Holmberg (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Wow, AWESOME! Nice job, NZcarnerd. Great photo, Tex. Looks like your wife's Uncle Herman and I might have been great friends, if I had been alive back then. His swagger and love for cars fit nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 26 minutes ago, lump said: Wow, AWESOME! Nice job, NZcarnerd. Great photo, Tex. Looks like your wife's Uncle Herman and I might have been great friends, if I had been alive back then. His swagger and love for cars fit nicely. NZ, that is fantastic, thanks! Herman was quite a guy, a semipro baseball player in the teens, served in WW1, and lived on the same block in Chicago his entire life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 I would have thought the attire was much later than the early 1900s, more like the '30s. Much too informal for the Edwardian period? The women aren't even wearing hats and the men are pretty motley in their head-wear. And a women behind the wheel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdang Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 51 minutes ago, Spinneyhill said: I would have thought the attire was much later than the early 1900s, more like the '30s. Much too informal for the Edwardian period? The women aren't even wearing hats and the men are pretty motley in their head-wear. And a women behind the wheel! Perhaps a bunch of buddies with an "old" car they found, got running, and then showed it off to family or friends. "This is how you used to have to start a car." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted November 17, 2016 Author Share Posted November 17, 2016 3 hours ago, Spinneyhill said: I would have thought the attire was much later than the early 1900s, more like the '30s. Much too informal for the Edwardian period? The women aren't even wearing hats and the men are pretty motley in their head-wear. And a women behind the wheel! I have compared this to other photos of the two guys and this is definitely pre World war 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 18 hours ago, Spinneyhill said: I would have thought the attire was much later than the early 1900s, more like the '30s. Much too informal for the Edwardian period? The women aren't even wearing hats and the men are pretty motley in their head-wear. And a women behind the wheel! MOST photos of the teens and earlier were indeed very formal, with somber, dignified poses. But not all of them. Some photos were candid, of life as it was really lived. Such photos are treasures, and real time capsules. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 So, even though the cowl/firewall and lower corners of the radiator are different, it is still a Rainier????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 30 minutes ago, rcr said: So, even though the cowl/firewall and lower corners of the radiator are different, it is still a Rainier????? Not necessarily, it was just the first one that came to mind. I don't think there is enough there to be positive on what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 I agree with the Rainier diagnosis. The lower corner of the radiator looks the same to me - see the curvature on top of the chassis. The OP has a windscreen fitted, perhaps by dealer or owner, the other does not but the shape of the cowl is the same. The front wheel and hub are the same, the bead on the edge of the rear 'guard is the same. The axle and tie rod are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_a Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Great photos, TexRiv. I just got some old car pictures from my grandfather last month, but none that old. He was driving before WWI, but not using a camera. He grew up in the first decade of the 1900s, and he called it "the oughts", in case you ever get a car that old and want to talk like some of the oldtimers. The lady may not be driving, but she probably is adjusting the spark, throttle, and choke levers. Like the white tires! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 All tyres were white until it was discovered that carbon black gave them UV resistance and they would last a few years rather than a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Layden B Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Some early tires were light red. It is the wear agent that colored the natural latex rubber ( think surgical gloves). White tires had zinc oxide ( think swimmer's sunscreen on their nose) in them, red came from iron oxide ( we have all heard of that it is called rust) and black came from carbon. The carbon won out as the cheapest. Early car tires and sidewalls could be almost any combination of the three. The tires in question might have been red. Hard to distinguish due to the photographic process at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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