Period images to relieve some of the stress

[nzcarnerd]

One of the many more obscure French car makes is DFP, for Dorian, Flandrin and Parant. The company has its own small place in automotive history because the British agent for the make was one Walter Owen Bentley who modified some DFP cars using aluminium pistons and proved their worth before going into production with his own cars.

 

This first photo is from Australia, an undated photo of a car fitted with a locally-made body. The car identified as an early DFP. The second photo posted as another example of the make. It is not stated but I guess the location of the second photo is somewhere 'colonial'.

 

Doriot, Flandrin & Parant - Wikipedia

 

 

[nzcarnerd]

A couple of mystery vehicles in France. The commercial is very primitive - iron-tyres and wagon brakes.

 

 

[nzcarnerd]

Another obscure French make that I had not heard of until now - Crespelle - 

 

 

[oldcarfudd]

That's a weird way to hold a radiator!

[twin6]

17 hours ago, 30DodgePanel said:

100% agree... it really is an incredible story in one photo.

 

The taller man was the Governer of PA at the time. Forget his name now but can retrieve it if necessary

 

Gov. Martin G. Brumbaugh. He took office in 1915, same as the model year for the Packard, a big model 48. 

[twin6]

A simple study in contrasting tops, or hoods as our friends in England would say.  I think something must have fallen on the car behind the kids.

[nzcarnerd]

I am not sure this is quite the place to post this but it is too good not to share and I think this is a popular page. It was posted by one Bob Coiro on a facebook page;-

 

 

'Back about a hundred years ago, when Grandpa and Grandma bought a house in the town once known in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" as "the valley of ashes" (Corona, Queens, NY), the property included a large enough back yard that in it, Grandpa could build a huge, 4-car garage. This structure was a dimly lit lair which, in the present day, might be called a "man-cave." Nothing against the ladies, mind you, but this place reeked of oil, kerosene, grease and wet-rotted wood, and there were even a few (gasp!) girly pin-ups. Oh yes, this was most definitely the exclusive domain of the XY chromosome.
.
Upon a battered old desk in one corner sat an equally battered kerosene tail-lamp from some nameless horseless carriage and an old cathedral radio which worked astonishingly well. Instead of playing dramas like "The Lone Ranger," "The Shadow" and "War of the Worlds," it very incongruously played, "At the Hop," "Earth Angel" and "The Duke of Earl." Nevertheless, the décor was a bedraggled mix of Industrial Revolution and "Early Depression," and the countless license plates nailed to the bare-wood walls testified of the establishment's advanced age.
.
One of the neatest things about the garage was the grease pit in the floor. Grandpa, Dad and I would remove our watches and rings, lift out the protective wooden planks and descend into that dank, damp pit—the holy of holies—where beer-swilling, sweat-stinking MEN farted shamelessly, said very bad words and got black grime irrevocably implanted beneath their fingernails as they worked on oil-dripping, rust-flaking geriatric automobiles. Suffice to say, we didn't eat quiche.
.
Anyway, since tarnish-tinged teens of the Brass-Era, the rumble seat roadsters of the Roaring-Twenties, on up through the towering tailfins of the fabulous-fifties, that pit was used quite a lot and all kinds of car repairs got done down there, including welding. We didn't worry about poisonous or flammable vapors and we certainly spilled a few pints of gasoline, but nothing bad ever happened. I dunno; maybe it wasn't actually dangerous or maybe we were simply lucky enough to get away with it. I recall discussing the subject of safety only once and only very briefly: That was the time I asked Grandpa why he had built that concrete pit instead of installing some kind of lift. His reply was, "Did you ever hear of a car crushing a man because it fell off the ground?" '.

 

 

 

 

[nzcarnerd]

In the days before bike trailers and vans you rearranged your large touring car.to go to the bike races. Presumably these guys are reasonably wealthy and maybe that is the family car - or one of them.

 

Unfortunately the car is so obscured it is unidentifiable. The ohc Norton on the running board dates from the 1930s but the car is probably more than ten years old - note no front brakes.

 

[Fossil]

53 minutes ago, nzcarnerd said:

We didn't worry about poisonous or flammable vapors and we certainly spilled a few pints of gasoline, but nothing bad ever happened.

You were very lucky. My 15 year old nephew died in one of those pits when gasoline fumes exploded. He was repairing a leaky gas tank. 

 

 

[jukejunkie1015]

On 1/9/2022 at 9:43 AM, 30DodgePanel said:

Winnipeg to Victoria via Canadian Highway

https://packardprovinggrounds.org/2021/02/15/riding-the-rails-in-canada-in-a-packard/

 

 

Interesting website about what I guess to be the same automobile.

 

1924 Packard 226, was being driven by Austin F. Bement and E.S. Evans of the Lincoln Highway Association across Western Canada from Winnipeg to Victoria (Vancouver) for a promotional highway tour in 1924.  At this time, many of the dirt and gravel roads in this part of Canada were impassable by automobile. And the only route through parts of the Canadian Rockies was by rail.  So the Canadian National Railway gave the men permission to drive on the railroad tracks when necessary as long as they gave trains the right-of-way.  One shudders to think what would have happened if Bement and Evans had met a train on this trestle or in the tunnel pictured above.

In 1924, Bement was Vice President of the Lincoln Highway Association. Evans was one if its founding members.  The Association was created to promote the Lincoln Highway, which was dedicated in 1913 and stretched from New York City to San Francisco.  It was the first transcontinental road for automobiles in the United States. 

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by jukejunkie1015
forgot picture (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

I thought this was fitting considering the temperature up her in the far north of Maine is dropping into the the -30F range tomorrow. During the 1920's and early 30's Great Northern Paper Company with its massive mill complex in Millinocket, Maine was a dominate industry. To support the mill, their Spruce Wood Department ran a huge timber harvest operation in north western Maine - with large cutting operations, a vast road network and a series of backwoods farms to serve as supply depots and to provide fresh produce, meat etc. to the logging camps in addition to summer pasture and hay for the thousands of horses used in the logging operations of the day.

 

As the use of tractors exploded during the mid to late 1920's Great Northern had to have a means of transporting fuel into the camps. The solution is what you see below - a 6 ton Lombard model 'T' chassis stretched to accommodate a 1,500 gallon fuel tank. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[LCK81403]

I remember a grease pit.  My grandfather had one in a large machine shed.  My first memory of the pit was when it had a Huber tractor parked over it.  The description of the pit is very good -- "reeked of oil, kerosene, grease and wet-rotted wood" -- pretty accurate description.  The oil, kerosene, and grease smell definitely suggested "old".  The wood was permanently infused with old reeking oil with an octane of perhaps minus 10.  Fittingly enough, the smelly grease pit was only about eight feet away from grandpa's coal forge.  It was O.K., there was a heavy steel anvil between the forge and the grease pit.  🙂  From time to time grandpa sometimes parked one of the Minneapolis gas tractors over the pit.  That's my grandpa looking out of the cab.

[nzcarnerd]

I don't have any specification information on Knox vehicles but I think this one must have had quite a large engine.

 

 

[5219]

11 hours ago, twin6 said:

Gov. Martin G. Brumbaugh. He took office in 1915, same as the model year for the Packard, a big model 48. 

He looks like he should be Governor!

[nzcarnerd]

20 hours ago, nzcarnerd said:

A couple of mystery vehicles in France. The commercial is very primitive - iron-tyres and wagon brakes.

 

 

There has been a suggestion that the car on the left may be a Gregoire and the 'camion' a circa 1903 Aries.

[nzcarnerd]

Further to the last pic The French make Aries was in production form circa 1902 to 1937. This is their 1907 30 hp model.

 

 

[nzcarnerd]

A 1916(??) Chandler at Virginia Beach in 1919 - 

 

 

 

 

[nzcarnerd]

Reminiscent of the Reeves Octoauto of 20 years earlier?

 

From a 1931 Swiss magazine - 

 

 

[Walt G]

5 hours ago, nzcarnerd said:

A 1916(??) Chandler at Virginia Beach in 1919 - 

 

 

 

 

AND DAD SAID HE WOULD TAKE US TO HERSHEYWORLD IF WE BEHAVED AND LET HIM SEE THE FLEA MARKET FOR A WEEK . HE BORROWED YOUR CARRIAGE SO HE COULD GO GET SOME STUFF HE BOUGHT AND SAID HE WILL WASH IT OUT BEFORE YOU GET BACK IN !  HE SAID HE WILL FIGURE OUT WHAT TO TELL MOM ABOUT YOUR BLANKET THAT WE ARE SITTING ON...............

Edited January 11, 2022 by Walt G (see edit history)

[J.H.Boland]

I have a pile of old Farmer's Advocate magazines from the teens through the 40's. Going through some of them recently, I found this ad for the "Autotrac" ca. March 1943. This was a kit supplied by OTACO (the Orillia Tudhope Anderson Company) that included a stub frame, steel rear wheels, sprockets. etc. to convert old cars into makeshift tractors during wartime shortages. At $150-$300, these were a cheap alternative to a horse or light tractor. It's surprising how many have survived using Ford, Chevy, Gray-Dort, Star and other makes. Pictured is a 1923ish Gray-Dort.

[LCK81403]

The Knox firetruck is real interesting and its photo is a first for my collection.  The 1906 Knox motor car was air-cooled, according to the caption on photo in an automotive journal.  In the time period of the 1900s through about 1912 there were competing claims whether an air-cooled or water-cooled engine was to be preferred.  The Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal carried a number of articles about air-cooling versus water-cooling.  Some manufacturers produced both types of cooled vehicles, such as the 1908 Knox Model H air-cooled and the Model L water-cooled at $100 more.  I have never found documentary accounts why water cooling won out over air cooling, in spite of the greater complexity and operational /  maintenance issues involved with water cooling.  Engineering wise, air cooled automobile engines seems to be a more logical solution since it does away with weight and the more expensive engine block casting, heavy radiator, water pump, hoses, and coolant fluid.  The Franklin air-cooled auto soldiered on for many years but finally closed its shop.  Years later air-cooling made a return with Ferdinand Porsche's production of the Volkswagen beetle for the German government in the 1930s.

[nzcarnerd]

This car - which looks to be something 'sporting' although I don't know what it is - is fitted with a 'System Autogaz' - some kind of gas produced system. Odd to see something like that in 'peacetime'. The date looks to be 1920s.

 

 

[Walt G]

Beyond the great car just look at that cast iron post behind it!  Most likely for a huge tall lamp or series of lamps to be mounted at the top.

[LCK81403]

I'll need to vote with Walt about this autogaz photo.  The lamp post, even the wonderful building across the street is more eye appealing than the automobile.  The "Autogaz" name plate on the rear of the car indicates the fuel is liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).  The "Autogaz" is not a coal burner/converter to produce a low grade gas as a substitute for gasoline.  The LPG used in automobiles similar to household LPG but automobile LPG contains less impurities.  Automobile "autogaz" liquifies at lower pressure (about 6 bar) and is stored at 12 bar pressure.

 

[Terry Harper]

With the daily commute over and the temp at -8 F and dropping, I figured I would post a photo related to that joyous (or joyless) winter commute. This is yet another Lombard tractor owned by the Great Northern Paper Company. Purchased at a cost of $4,000.00 on January 20th, 1921 from the Lombard Tractor Truck Corp. in Waterville, Maine, it was equipped with a one-off "Jitney" cab and served as a bus to transport lumberman back into the logging camps. Powered by a Stearns four cylinder engine it was delivered new to Kineo Station near Moosehead Lake. 

 

Note in the article ("Popular Mechanics", Nov. 1921) it states top speed of 10 mph and a 84 mile round trip taking two days....... 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[twin6]

I don't recall ever seeing landau irons and a "porthole" window arrangement like this.  Stearns-Knight?  Whatever it is, I like the looks with the B pillar doors.  Hard to tell from this angle, but it also appears to be close coupled. Walt, are those accessory lights the type that direct the light to the curb?

[Walt G]

The trim at the radiator shell/core area tells me it is a Stearns -  Knight as well.

The accessory driving lights are indeed the type that direct the light towards the curb. In 1930 they were sold by Saf-de-Light as Packard factory authorized accessories . I have a pair on my 1930 Packard model 733. the chrome shield covered the left side of the light  to let the light reflect more towards the curb and not shine out forward as did other driving lights. You may be able to see the lights on the front of my car if you click on the photo of it.

[Terry Harper]

Holt tractor equipped with a Sargent plow clearing streets in Greenville, Maine. The Sargent plow, produced by the Union Iron Works in Bangor, Maine, was interesting in several aspects - The company claimed that they developed the first tractor snow plow and the tractor actually pulled the plow as opposed to pushing it. When you think about it it may sound strange but it makes sense when you realize that the early crawler tractors were designed for pulling equipment, trailers etc. as opposed to pushing with a dozer blade which came into use later on.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[8E45E]

On 1/11/2022 at 10:09 AM, LCK81403 said:

The Knox firetruck is real interesting and its photo is a first for my collection.  The 1906 Knox motor car was air-cooled, according to the caption on photo in an automotive journal.  In the time period of the 1900s through about 1912 there were competing claims whether an air-cooled or water-cooled engine was to be preferred.  The Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal carried a number of articles about air-cooling versus water-cooling.  Some manufacturers produced both types of cooled vehicles, such as the 1908 Knox Model H air-cooled and the Model L water-cooled at $100 more.  I have never found documentary accounts why water cooling won out over air cooling, in spite of the greater complexity and operational /  maintenance issues involved with water cooling.  Engineering wise, air cooled automobile engines seems to be a more logical solution since it does away with weight and the more expensive engine block casting, heavy radiator, water pump, hoses, and coolant fluid.  The Franklin air-cooled auto soldiered on for many years but finally closed its shop.  Years later air-cooling made a return with Ferdinand Porsche's production of the Volkswagen beetle for the German government in the 1930s.

Knock Knox!

 

The 1904 Knox Waterless in the Harrah's/National Auto Museum in Reno.

 

Craig

[8E45E]

4 hours ago, Walt G said:

The trim at the radiator shell/core area tells me it is a Stearns -  Knight as well.

The accessory driving lights are indeed the type that direct the light towards the curb. In 1930 they were sold by Saf-de-Light as Packard factory authorized accessories . I have a pair on my 1930 Packard model 733. the chrome shield covered the left side of the light  to let the light reflect more towards the curb and not shine out forward as did other driving lights. You may be able to see the lights on the front of my car if you click on the photo of it.

I had this similar '60's Goodyear Tire ad hanging on my bedroom wall.  One particular car that did stand out was the 1923 Stearns, because of its opera window & Landau bar on the C-pillar.

 

Craig

[Walt G]

Terry, love the snow photos and also the great wood buildings in the back ground with the mansard roofs , the paneled doors in the shop fronts etc. what an incredible window to the past. everything done with chains and pulleys . "Period Images" hummmm I guess there are a few of us looking here who like this kind of stuff. 😊

Walt

[J.H.Boland]

Sorry if this is a repeat posting. This rig was clearing drifts in what is now south London, Ontario. I'm not sure if the trucks following are for added traction or sanding. Ca. 1936.

 

[Terry Harper]

10 hours ago, Walt G said:

Terry, love the snow photos and also the great wood buildings in the back ground with the mansard roofs , the paneled doors in the shop fronts etc. what an incredible window to the past. everything done with chains and pulleys . "Period Images" hummmm I guess there are a few of us looking here who like this kind of stuff. 😊

Walt

Here you go Walt. 

Similar view as it appears today. I am sure back then the big mansard was more colorful than plain old white though not garish. The newer buildings across the street and beyond (other than the church) are certainly not an improvement.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

This is one of those photographs I have always been been fascinated with.

 

Many years ago I was working on a historical research project and was contacted by the late Mrs. Avis Harkness Black. Her father was O.A. Harkness who throughout the 1920's was Chief Mechanical Officer for the Great Northern Paper Company. Prior to that he had worked for Fred Marsh who founded Eastern Manufacturing which was located in South Brewer, Maine. Harkness was an interesting man. He is best known today as the "Admiral of the Northwoods" in reference to the many boats of varying sizes he designed and built for both Great Northern and Marsh. He also held several patents. (For an enjoyable account of O.A.'s life see: "Logging Towboats and Boom Jumpers: The Story of O.A. Harkness" , Roger Moody, North Country Press, 2018)

 

Anyway, during my visit with Avis she handed me a stack of what turned out to be her fathers photo albums which included this image. It was taken near Russell Brook in Township 9-14 where Eastern Manufacturing had an extensive logging operation during the period spanning 1908 - 1913. We still have many, many unorganized townships in north western Maine thus the township grid reference. 

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, Terry Harper said:

Similar view as it appears today. I am sure back then the big mansard was more colorful than plain old white though not garish.

 

I bet you're correct.  Most likely an off-white and the dull 'Institutional' or 'School Board Green' for the trim color.

 

Craig

[Walt G]

2 hours ago, Terry Harper said:

The newer buildings across the street and beyond (other than the church) are certainly not an improvement.

The newer buildings as you note are not an improvement BUT they are not a total blight  either. They are of an appropriate height, proportions with masonry construction ( which means earth tones and not painted orange, bright puke green and stop sign yellow) AND they are not make of aluminum, plastic  and glass , like so many modern buildings are because of the ease of being able to put up quickly. 

If this all sounds like I am very critical - well - I am also a local history historian ( certified by the state of NY) , come from a family who ( until me) were generations as builders and masons in England. I also started the Architectural Review Board here in the village I reside and wrote the guidelines ( with the help of a well respected architect)  that were made into  law of the village about 40 years ago.  When I was teaching art, as a class for the gifted and talented program,  I did one on architecture and every kid in the class had to finish making a three dimensional building they designed about 18 inches square - they were 10 to 12 years old. I never had enough room in each class to accommodate all the kids that wanted to be there so did a modified version of the class on weekends in the winter months for all kids open to attendance by kids from both public and parochial schools. 

Yes, I know I can be a bit "picky". 😮 But if I know something will affect generations to come I am very passionate ( stubborn ??? ) that it is correct the first time - be that the design of a structure , history of the local community or history of a car company.

[Terry Harper]

51 minutes ago, Walt G said:

Yes, I know I can be a bit "picky". 😮 But if I know something will affect generations to come I am very passionate ( stubborn ??? ) that it is correct the first time - be that the design of a structure , history of the local community or history of a car company.

Totally agree Walt! 

My biggest beef is mutilating nice period architecture in the name of "improvements" Here is a view of our downtown.

 

 

And what it use to look like. The large brick building in the distance was the State Theater which was destroyed by fire. The building with the multi-level porches was replaced with the current bland brick building. There is still some nice period architecture hidden behind the cheesy appliques, fake brickwork metal and trappings.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[J.H.Boland]

Here's a couple more ads from the Farmer's Advocate magazine ca .August 1911. Both the Tudhope and Everitt were built in Orillia Ontario and are the predecessors of OTACO, who built the Autotrac years later.

I scotch taped these into an album when I was a teenager, hence the glue marks in the corners.

[Walt G]

Glue marks from the tape or not this is really great stuff!!

[twin6]