1920 Stevens Duryea

[mshort]

A friend of mine purchased the 1920 Stevens Duryea at the recent auction in Hershey. I am trying to put together a history of the car. It is a model E roadster with engine number 210. Any help would be most appreciated. 

 

Thank you. 

 

Matt

[motoringicons]

Matt- Years ago, there was a Stevens Duryea registry that was started by Warwick Eastwood and later passed on to someone else. I do not know what the status of the registry is today.

 

BTW- That roadster is a fabulous and super rare car. Great purchase. 

Edited October 22, 2021 by motoringicons (see edit history)

[motoringicons]

For what it's worth: Just looked in the 1968 AACA Register of Antique Cars. Under Stevens Duryea, the final cars listed are a 1921 E #121 listed as a C (convertible) and a 1922 E #414 listed as a 5PT (five passenger touring). 

[alsancle]

Neat car.  

[mshort]

1 hour ago, motoringicons said:

For what it's worth: Just looked in the 1968 AACA Register of Antique Cars. Under Stevens Duryea, the final cars listed are a 1921 E #121 listed as a C (convertible) and a 1922 E #414 listed as a 5PT (five passenger touring). 

 

Thank you for checking, it is not currently listed with the HCCA. I am trying to track down the registry. I appreciate your help.

 

Matt

[CarlLaFong]

2 hours ago, motoringicons said:

Matt- Years ago, there was a Stevens Duryea registry that was started by Warwick Eastwood and later passed on to someone else. I do not know what the status of the registry is today.

 

BTW- That roadster is a fabulous and super rare car. Great purchase. 

It may have passed to his son Pete who often shows up at events in oCal in a Stevens

 

[3makes]

In the 2004 Stevens Duryea listing of known cars, the 1920 roadster, engine #210 is listed as having belonged to: N.M. Dyke Taylor, A.J. Howard and J.M. Redinger, and with no other information given. To my knowledge the 2004 register/roster was the last one published.

[mshort]

24 minutes ago, 3makes said:

In the 2004 Stevens Duryea listing of known cars, the 1920 roadster, engine #210 is listed as having belonged to: N.M. Dyke Taylor, A.J. Howard and J.M. Redinger, and with no other information given. To my knowledge the 2004 register/roster was the last one published.

 

Thank you so much. I appreciate the lead.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Just for everyone's reference in understanding

the car's history, and helping to recognize this

example, this is copied from the  RM Sotheby's

auction description:

 

"This grand and imposing Model E roadster is one of the scant few survivors from the approximately 200 Stevens-Duryeas produced in 1920. While in the care of its previous owner, it received an exhaustive, ground-up, nut-and-bolt restoration, attractively finished in a period-appropriate livery of light tan with vivid orange accents. It has seen only limited use in the time since it was completed and remains in excellent order throughout, with real presence thanks to its impressive size."

 

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf21/hershey/lots/r0037-1920-stevens-duryea-roadster/1159106

 

That the car sold for $71,500 shows how under-

appreciated cars of this era are.  Maybe more hobbyists

should be enticed to enter the 1916-1927-or-so era!

[mshort]

18 hours ago, 3makes said:

In the 2004 Stevens Duryea listing of known cars, the 1920 roadster, engine #210 is listed as having belonged to: N.M. Dyke Taylor, A.J. Howard and J.M. Redinger, and with no other information given. To my knowledge the 2004 register/roster was the last one published.

 In the roster, do you know the chronological order of the names that you gave?  Was Taylor first or last? Thank you. 

[Tom Boehm]

How is the name of this car pronounced? The part beginning with D

[CarlLaFong]

32 minutes ago, Tom Boehm said:

How is the name of this car pronounced? The part beginning with D

Dur Yay

[Tom Boehm]

thank you

 

[jeff_a]

Interesting car. It's weird to think that 25 years previous to this, Duryea was producing cars. When I lived in California, 1958-to-1961, my Dad took me to my first car show, held indoors at Knott's Berry Farm. There was an 1895 Duryea there....the only car I remember. IIRC, the owner was actor and car collector Ephrem Zimbalist, Jr., whom we met there.

 

Here is an early Duryea, the car that won the November 28th, 1895 Times-Herald Motocycle Race. For those into newer cars, this one is close to what the iconic AACA symbol looks like.

 

    

 

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

Also, for those less familiar with the really early "automobiles" and their history? jeff_a correctly referred to the 1895 race as the "Times-Herald Motocycle Race" (or motorcycle was sometimes used in those days?). The French word "automobile" didn't become common use in America until almost 1900. Prior to that, various other terms were used to describe what we generally call "cars" today. Along with the "Horseless Age" and "Motor", another of the early automobile periodicals was called something along the line of "Motorcycle Journal". Unfortunately, it has been decades since I actually saw a copy, and google has been no help showing one to me. So I am not certain of the actual title. However, it was more about what later became known as automobiles, than it was about what we think of as "motorcycles".

 

Again, the evolution of language.

 

Wikipedia may not be the best of all information sources, but they have a nice piece about the 1895 race.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Times-Herald_race

 

The second paragraph touches on the name issue.

[3makes]

The name of N. M. Taylor appeared first in the S-D register of 1982, showing engine #210, frame #1106 and a limousine body and living in New Port Richey, Florida. In the 1991 S-D register N. M. Dyke Taylor was listed as the owner and in the 1993 the car was shown as a roadster owned by N. M. Dyke Taylor. This name continued in the 1995, 1998 and 2002-2003 roster with names of A. J. Howard and J. M. Redinger added to the entry in the 2002-2003 and 2004 roster. No addresses were given for Howard or Redinger in the 2002-2003 or 2004 rosters. I do not believe there has a roster been published since 2004. Hope this has been helpful.

[edinmass]

That car went on one hell of a diet! From a Limo to a roadster.........I guess if you sand the body hard enough and in the right places, you can get it to turn from a sedan to a roadster.........very talented! 
 

And that’s why we say........no photos of any open car built pre 1942 from the 1950’s or earlier.........it isn’t real until you prove it. 

[alsancle]

I think at the price it hammered at the buyer is OK. With roadster Provanace I would expect that car to bring much more. 

[John_S_in_Penna]

1 hour ago, edinmass said:

And that’s why we say........no photos of any open car built pre 1942 from the 1950’s or earlier......it isn’t real until you prove it. 

 

Are you saying, Ed, that there are no photos

of a genuine Stevens-Duryea open car?

No photos from the 1950's or earlier?

That indicates to me that, if there are other

Stevens-Duryea open cars, they are all "recreations."

 

One of our local AACA members, now deceased,

had a Stevens-Duryea open car.  I believe it may be

this very example, now currently for sale:

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[edinmass]

John, my only comment was it went from being listed as a sedan to a roadster in the roster.........I don’t know anything other than what was posted here. Thought it was an interesting car in the auction listing.......and was watching what it sold for..........I like SD cars.....a lot. Always wanted one. 
 

As to ANY car, and especially pre 1916 cars.......they are all fake till proven beyond a doubt fake, assembled floor sweepings......many cars are now “washed” through time and considered  correct, when they are not. If your car is in the VMCCA publications from the 30’s and 40’s.........it will bring all the money, a 1975 “barn find” without any history......hard sell.

Edited October 24, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)