The "One-Eyed Garford" - do any survive?

[Terry Bond]

Down-time when it's too wet to mow the grass, provides as little time for some research.  Looking at the last gasps of the Garford automobile in particular, it seems production ceased late in 1913.  I have details of the tie-in with Studebaker, and am able to find photos of existing Garford vehicles prior to 1913, but that year, they introduced a one-eyed "cyclops" style headlamp mounted in the top of the radiator shell.  Production wasn't long and it didn't seem too popular, with the nick-name quickly being coined as "The One-Eyed Garford."   I wonder how many were actually made and if there are any survivors?  Any photographs from automobile shows or any publicity surrounding its grand unveiling? 

 

Here is a brief synopsis from some internet research:

 

"On August 1, 1912 The Garford Company came under control of John N. Willys who bought all the Garford stock held by Studebaker and Arthur Garford then retired. The 1913 Garford had a large single parabolic headlamp sunk flush with the radiator. Specification included a long stoke six cylinder 60 horsepower engine, four speed transmission, 128 wheelbase, 36 x 4 1/2 inch wheels and tires, electric starter, electric lights and speedometer. 1913 was the last year of Garford production. In 1914 Garfords were advertised and sold as Willys-Garford and by 1915 the Garford factory was used to make the Willys-Knight engines for the Willys automobile."

 

Thanks in advance-

Terry

[Marty Roth]

Hi Terry,

 

Bob Smits probably knows more about Garford tham most folks I know.

His is a 1912 Garford

[Terry Bond]

Bob's car is great and I have a few photos of it and got to visit it on the 2010 Reliability Tour.  I have heard there might have been an example of the "cyclops Garford" in Bill Harrah's collection but am not able to find any photos.  Bob's car came from the Harrah collection so there could simply be some confusion over the name.  Bob's car certainly isn't one of the one-headlamp cars.  His car is the only Garford listed in the HCCA roster but could it really be the only survivor???  There are several examples of the Studebaker-Garfords around but that's a Garford chassis supplied to Studebaker.  The 1913 cars were a last-gasp effort from Garford to make their own car.

Terry

[1937hd45]

Who had the idea first Brisco or Garford?  Now for the never ending flood of Tucker photos. Bob 

[Terry Bond]

Garford introduced that cyclops headlamp for the 1913 six cylinder cars but Briscoe didn't begin using it until later.  I believe it was late 1914 for the 1915 model cars.  It didn't last long as it was outlawed in several states I understand.

Terry

[oldcarfudd]

There was a cyclops Briscoe in the Harrah collection.  !916 and later Briscoes had a more appropriate number of lights.

[Joe in Canada]

 

[Joe in Canada]

Some staggering  sales info for the 1913 Garford  IF it is true.

 

https://books.google.ca/books?id=3j84DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=One-Eyed+Garford&source=bl&ots=RxkoVG32d4&sig=ACfU3U05lDIcnx77acCNOMQ61EkCs2rVfA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLt5e99fToAhVOB50JHWtVCqAQ6AEwAHoECAwQKQ#v=onepage&q=One-Eyed Garford&f=false

Edited April 19, 2020 by Joe in Canada (see edit history)

[Robert G. Smits]

Joe, thanks for resurrecting the photo of the Garford.  From the Harrah records I received they extensively searched for another surviving Garford but could not find one.  I have run down every lead for years without success.  The ones I found are Studebaker-Garfords. From my research I suspect the "One Eyed " Garford never went into production in spite of their boasting of Orders taken at the New York Auto Show in 1913. It is speculated that the 13 Garford at the New York Auto Show was actually a 12 with the 13 front end.  Garford's were only produced in 1912-13 and in very limited numbers and were sold through a New York Packard Dealership.  To the best of my knowledge my Garford does not appear in any of the literature for the Harrah sales and was sold privately.  I fell in love with it on my first visit to the Harrah museum in 77 or 78 where it was the feature car on a elevated round table in the lobby of the main building. I never forgot it.  It re- appeared at "The Auction" in Las Vagus in 1990.  A Packard collector friend and I flew out for the sale.  At that time I only had $75K available to spend.  The bidding opened at 5K and I immediately jumped all in and bid $75K and the bidding kept right on going.  How I ended up with the car is a story for another day.

 

For Terry, How did Garford get his start up money to get into the Automobile business?  He received the patent for the first padded bicycle seat and by the mid 1890's was producing and selling over a million a year.  Isn't it interesting how many of the Automobile stories involve bicycles.  For example the Duesenberg brothers had a bicycle shop on East Grans in Des Moines, Iowa before relocating to Indiana.  They were responsible for the Mason and later the Maytag-Mason.

[TheMoneyPit]

Aside from two sales pins I have seen, the one in my collection and one I can only assume is on its way to your collection if the timing of this thread is any indication (???),I have not found much information about this company regarding the cyclops shell. I have had my pin for at least 30 years now but I cannot say I searched very hard in the last 25...

 

Did I make the right assumption? If so, I am glad you bought it, I planned on telling you about it but it was sold before I could...

[Robert G. Smits]

Unfortunately I didn't know about the sale.  I have examples of about every piece of Garford  advertising and have quit searching in recent years.

[Billy Kingsley]

A "cyclops car"...any mentioned above...is now on my White Whale list.

[John_S_in_Penna]

7 hours ago, Terry Bond said:

I wonder how many were actually made and if there are any survivors? 

 

Thank you, Terry, for asking this question.  It's something

I've wondered about ever since I put the one-eyed Garford

on the cover of one of our regional newsletters, and did a 

one-page feature on the ad itself.  Marty Roth gave me

Bob Smits' name, but I never followed up to find out

whether any survived.

 

Here is the 1913 ad I used for the feature piece in our newsletter.

The ad certainly implies that some were produced, and

were distributed to localities, ready to buy.  "Look up

the Garford dealer in your town."  "See this new Six..."

Could they be so brazen to send people to their local 

dealers to see the car, knowing that none really existed?

This may be a part of history that is lost.

 

How would water get from the filler neck down to the radiator

with the headlight (and electrical connections) in the way?

Edited April 19, 2020 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Terry Bond]

7 hours ago, Joe in Canada said:

Some staggering  sales info for the 1913 Garford  IF it is true.

 

https://books.google.ca/books?id=3j84DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=One-Eyed+Garford&source=bl&ots=RxkoVG32d4&sig=ACfU3U05lDIcnx77acCNOMQ61EkCs2rVfA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLt5e99fToAhVOB50JHWtVCqAQ6AEwAHoECAwQKQ#v=onepage&q=One-Eyed Garford&f=false

Thanks Joe,  had seen that info, but believe it was just advertising hype.

[Terry Bond]

2 hours ago, Robert G. Smits said:

Unfortunately I didn't know about the sale.  I have examples of about every piece of Garford  advertising and have quit searching in recent years.

Bob, would love to see photos of any pins, fobs, etc you might have.  I'll post some photos of the one I recently purchased.  It's like the one shown in the post from Moneypit.

Terry

[Terry Bond]

3 hours ago, TheMoneyPit said:

Aside from two sales pins I have seen, the one in my collection and one I can only assume is on its way to your collection if the timing of this thread is any indication (???)

You're right!  I was pretty sure it was a rare piece.  I tried to find info but drew a big blank except for what little is commonly available on the net.  I'll email you some photos when I can.   Wonder if Robert has one among his collection of advertising material?

Terry

[Ozstatman]

Is this a Garford? Pic is in nzcarnerds post on Page #72 of the Period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress thread.

 

[Gunsmoke]

Looks more like a Brisco based on cowl shape.

[gossp]

4 minutes ago, Ozstatman said:

Is this a Garford? Pic is in nzcarnerds post on Page #72 of the Period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress thread.

 

Briscoe. 

[Ozstatman]

Makes sense , since it's outside a Briscoe dealer.

[Robert G. Smits]

4 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

the Garford dealer in your town.

To the best of my knowledge the Garford was sold privately after Bill Harrah's death.  If anyone has other information please contact me. The information re the cars being sold through a NYC Packard dealership was a personal communication with Harrah's restoration foreman.  Most of the Advertising hype for the 12 and 13 model years is unsubstantiated and I suspect very few were produced.

[1912Staver]

I am always amazed when I hear that a reasonably well known Brass Era car like the Garford has a solitary survivor .  Any idea of how many Studebaker Garfords additionally exist ?

The depression must have been catastrophic for the scrapping of higher quality cars . Millions of desperate people looking to bring in whatever cash necessary to survive.

Long obsolete cars with a fair amount of brass and aluminum would have been ripe targets.

 

Greg in Canada

[oldcarfudd]

Eric Edwards in Ontario has a 1906 Studebaker.  I presume it's Garford-built.

[Robert G. Smits]

 

13 hours ago, oldcarfudd said:

Eric Edwards in Ontario has a 1906 Studebaker.  I presume it's Garford-built.

Garford built the chassis for Studebaker in Elyria, Ohio and Shipped them to Southbend where the bodies were manufactured.  This ended around 1911 when Studebaker  obtained controlling interest in EMF.  The Flanders 20 and 30 were rebadged and sold as Studebakers

Edited April 21, 2020 by Robert G. Smits
correction (see edit history)

[Terry Bond]

1 hour ago, 1912Staver said:

I am always amazed when I hear that a reasonably well known Brass Era car like the Garford has a solitary survivor .  Any idea of how many Studebaker Garfords additionally exist ?

The depression must have been catastrophic for the scrapping of higher quality cars . Millions of desperate people looking to bring in whatever cash necessary to survive.

Long obsolete cars with a fair amount of brass and aluminum would have been ripe targets.

 

Greg in Canada

From the internet - By 1910, however, chassis production was increasingly favoring Garford's own vehicle brand, and Studebaker was forced to take steps to reassert its contractual rights. Grudgingly, Garford accommodated Studebaker, but the relationship between the two companies became tense. However, by 1911, E-M-F's engine and chassis plant was bought out by Studebaker and the two firms ended their tenuous relationship.

Garford would continue producing its own cars, but without a distribution network firm, failed to produce a volume sufficient to make the organization profitable. In 1913, Garford was purchased by John North Willys and merged into Willys-Overland.

 

The above certainly implies that there were specific "Garford" automobiles made in addition to the Studebaker/Garfords.   Additional detail is found on the American Automobile Emblems website. 

http://www.americanautoemblems.com/2019/09/garford.html

Apparently, Garford breached their contract with Studebaker by marketing their own automobile in 1907 and there is a photo of a Garford branded automobile participating in the 1909 Glidden Tour, however all images of existing automobiles I can find are Studebaker/Garfords except for Roberts 1912.  That is most likely the only survivor.  Still wondering though, what was the total production number of Garford specific automobiles. 

It's been fascinating learning about these rare cars.

Terry

[Terry Bond]

Looks like our posts crossed in cyber-space Robert.

Do you have a Garford advertising watch fob in your collection?
Terry

Edited April 20, 2020 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Robert G. Smits]

Studebaker was in the wagon business for 50 years before they produced their first Electric automobile was produced around 1902. Because of this they had a massive sales network throughout the  world.  When their relationship ended  Garford  was left without a  sales network.  Garford also produced the chassis-engine for Andsley, Gaeth, Cleveland, Royal and Rainier automobiles.  According to Harrah's literature they were unable to find any remaining 1907 models and my research hasn't turned up any either

 

In 1908 EMF was incorporated  with the intent of producing a medium priced automobile.  Studebaker liked the idea and purchased a third of the stock and obtained the right to sell the EMF through their vast sales network as Studebaker-EMF"s   During the first year Studebaker sold 8132 Studebaker-EMF cars. Interestingly Electrics were not discontinued until 1911 when the company was refinanced and incorporated as The Studebaker Corporation and ended its relationship with Garford.

 

[Robert G. Smits]

54 minutes ago, Terry Bond said:

 

Unfortunately I don't have a watch fob.

[BucketofBolts]

Such an Ugly vehicle. 

[Joe in Canada]

5 hours ago, 1912Staver said:

Long obsolete cars with a fair amount of brass and aluminum would have been ripe targets.

Brass and steel for the war effort. One of the reasons Barney Pollard built the building to hid his cars from the government.  Barney also scraped many early trucks to please the government for some sort of quota for the scrap war drive. I also remember in the article people were breaking into the buildings stealing brass parts I would guess for scrap. 

AACA ran an excellent series of story's on Barney Pollard a few years ago. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by Joe in Canada (see edit history)

[Joe in Canada]

4 hours ago, oldcarfudd said:

Eric Edwards

That is a name that is not to popular with some. I do not know the fellow but almost got kicked out of a vending stalls at Hershey  a couple of times saying that name. I refrain from bringing up his name at any time now. 

[oldcarfudd]

I've heard all the same stories you have, and have no reason to doubt them.  But it does appear that he owns a rare car, and that's all I had in mind when I answered the question.

[wayne sheldon]

About thirty to fifty years ago, I knew a fellow by the name of David Dudey. He was considered by many people in the hobby as the top expert West of the Mississippi on all things Studebaker. Not a wealthy man, but a hard working businessman, he managed to have and restore quite a number of Studebaker cars and trucks from horseless carriages to Avantis. He had Studebakers from I think every decade from the '10s into the '60s. He also had a great deal of literature and memorabilia for them. Before his untimely death (1989) at much too young an age (55?), he was working on a book about Studebaker history. It was never quite finished, and never published.

David D had the remains of a Garford. I never saw it. I don't know what year or model it was. Worse, the garage it was stored in was burned nearly to the ground. A few people that I knew, that had seen it, told me that the fire probably didn't hurt it very much. It was in pretty bad shape before the neighbor set the building on fire. But it DID exist. I have no idea whatever became of it. His widow awhile later moved to either Arizona or New Mexico I was later told. David fully intended to restore the Garford, and was quite proud of the fact that he had one of only a few left in the world, in any condition. Had he not died so young (a sad story), I have no doubt that he would have restored it probably within another ten or fifteen years.

 

On to another bit. I happen to have an owner's (or shop? perhaps parts book? No operating instructions so most likely parts book for a shop?) manual for a Studebaker-Garford 30 H.P. model C. Hand written in pencil inside says "1910", but I cannot say for certain what year it is for. I stumbled onto it at a swap meet shortly after David Dudey passed. I bought it on a lark, partially in David's memory. And I still have it. I have no real use for it at this time, so I would be willing to move it along. Frankly, I don't know what I would want for it. (I never do, I hate selling things!) If someone with a particular interest in the Garford wants it? I need a few things for my '15 Ford runabout. I would likely be willing to give it to a proper home, maybe someone with a Garford? Otherwise, I may add it with a few other nice pieces I don't need and donate them to the HCFI or AACA library.

I would call the book in "fair" condition. About 36 pages, most in good shape. A friction tape repair to the stapled spine. the name "A. B. SNYDER" is rubber stamped on several pages inside as well as on the front cover a few times. The name "J W Leavitt Co" is penciled inside the back cover, along with a San Francisco address. "Studebaker" and serial and chassis numbers are written inside the front cover in ink. The covers show signs of having been folded a long time ago. Covers are worn somewhat, and the rear cover has a series of small holes that look to be worn through from the outside and in a couple of pages. That damage is not very bad. A few pages have small tears, the edges of the pages have some finger grease stains.

There are no pictures of a whole car. But lots of detail drawings of the engine, transmission, axles, and steering. A short section in the back has drawings of parts special to the runabout.

[TG57Roadmaster]

Over at the National Automotive History Collection, here's a Syracuse, NY Cole dealership dualled with the Garford Co. in a circa-1910 photo.

https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A173056

Edited April 21, 2020 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)

[TG57Roadmaster]

A favorite image from a friend's private collection is this from the 1911 Glidden Tour,  with Charles J. Glidden

riding in the back seat of the AAA President's car, a new 1912 Garford at an unknown location.

 

The owner of the Chiquola Hotel in Anderson, SC participated in the 1909 New York Herald - Atlanta Journal Good Roads Tour,

the 1910 Atlanta Journal - New York Herald Good Roads Tour and the 1911 Glidden Tour. The hotel owner, Robert R. "Bob" King

fielded a a 1911 Mitchell Four in the '11 Glidden Tour, and after each of the tours ordered official photos for his scrapbook.

His daughter shared the scrapbook with me about 15 years ago and was delighted to learn more about the images it contained.

 

 

The AAA 1911 Glidden Tour official rules and route book can be seen in the breast pocket of Mr. Glidden's duster.

The New York Public Library has a copy of the rule book in their Maps Collection, but I'm sure there are many in private hands.

 

 

This above photo is also in the National Automotive History Collection's Digital Library.

https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/search/catch_all_fields_mt%3A(garford) OR catch_all_fields_et%3A(garford)?page=1

 

Another NAHC image shows the Garford on N. Main Street next to the Hotel Chiquola, taken either October 20 or 21 in Anderson, SC.

Press accounts name the gentlemen in the Garford when it arrived in Anderson for a Night Stop at the Hotel Chiquola on October 20, 1911.

 https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A246944

 

It's a fascinating area of study, particularly how they impacted communities like mine and have been almost completely lost to history.

 

TG

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

2 hours ago, TG57Roadmaster said:

Over at the National Automotive History Collection, here's a Syracuse, NY Cole dealership dualled with the Garford Co. in a circa-1910 photo.

https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A173056

 

 

That's a great looking Speedster / racer. Too bad it is inside the building with lots of window reflection. A factory  racer ? Any other known photo's with a clearer image ?

I just followed your link and answered my own question. Lots of great Cole images. Thanks !

Greg in Canada

Edited April 21, 2020 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[TG57Roadmaster]

5 minutes ago, 1912Staver said:

 

 

That's a great looking Speedster / racer. Too bad it is inside the building with lots of window reflection. A factory  racer ? Any other known photo's with a clearer image ?

 

Greg in Canada

 

There's another image at the NAHC, not much better...

https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A173531

[Terry Bond]

It's an interesting history for sure.  All my digging turned up some interesting info that I'm sure Robert has already mentioned. 

Periodicals of the time provide bits and pieces.  I uncovered a July 13, 1911 issue of Motor Age reporting “one of the most interesting announcements had been made – it was agreed that the formation of the Willys-Garford Sales Company would dispose of the entire output of Garford automobiles."   Negotiations to sell the company to Willys had been underway for some time.

The creation of that Willys-Garford Sales Company arrangement specifically did not affect the existing relationships that Garford had with some of their New York distributors, although those agencies were few.

It was the lack of Garford dealers that actually helped seal their fate once Studebaker dropped them following acquisition of EMF.  Garford supplied Chassis to Studebaker and had no need to develop their own dealer network, so when they found themselves on-their-own, it was only those individual dealer arrangements that remained to help  distribute cars of their own name. 

The Garford was apparently a great car - expensive, but great.  They participated in Glidden Tours from 08-11, and indeed, the President of AAA used his own personal car in the 1911 event.  A Garford chassis supplied to Ranier automobiles was also a Glidden performer--piloted by noted lady driver Joan Cuneo in the 1908 Glidden Tour.

In the Standard Catalog of American Automobiles, Beverly Rae Kimes reports the entire production of Garfords in 1912 was 3000 units.  That included all models and body styles.  The "cyclops" car,was newly introduced but the production numbers for that car were not broken out separately so it remains a mystery as to how many were actually built or sold.  It's possible some orders were taken, but as was mentioned, the car display was a left-over 1912 with a mocked up front featuring the new Cyclops style headlamp. Whether those orders turned into delivered cars or not is unknown.  With Garford at the end of the line it's a possibility they were never built and that one proto-type was it. 

That would mean that any advertising for that particular car was short-lived and advertised a car that was never produced or sold.

If there are any other Garfords out there, I'm reasonably certain they are not "one-eyed Garfords."

I certainly never expected to learn as much about these cars as I have-all because I just wanted to know a bit more about an old pin for my collection.  In this hobby, you just never know where the road will lead.

Terry

[1912Staver]

A double thanks for the link ! I have in the past looked in that archive for Staver Chicago photos . There were  some there but not very good quality. However I was just very pleasantly surprised to see they have added a 

race car photo since I was last there with a very nice photo I have not seen before with a Staver race car in the background. What is the car in the foreground  ? Pierce Racine ? The emblem is of a familiar shape.

Greg in Canada

 

Greg in Canada

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

If a single headlight is good enough for the Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive, its good enough for our Garford!