Vintman Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 (edited) Hi Folks, saw this photo recently and wondered what the purpose of the headlight cover was. In UK we had them during world war 2 but this photo is apparently Topanga 1915?? Regards Vintman UK www.svvs.org Edited April 14, 2023 by Vintman (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 15, 2023 Share Posted April 15, 2023 The license plate appears to be a California USA plate for 1916. The car appears to be a 1915 runabout. That style of license plate was used in 1916 through 1919, by changing the metal tab in the upper right (viewer's left!) corner (under the headlamp). Tabs were a walking bear, a California Golden Poppy, a bell, and for 1919 a star. Difficult to speculate on why the odd shades on the headlamps. Japan wasn't really in that war, however, many Californians were worried about Japan's interests, and there were a few scares of Japanese ships off the coast. So the idea of blackout headlamps is not without some merit. The US wasn't even in the war yet in 1916, although a lot of Americans thought we should have been. I rarely ever see such shades or blackout headlamps in era photos on American automobiles during that war. However it has been recorded that a few coastal towns did encourage the idea. So I really can't say that it is what that is? But it may be? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Gregush Posted April 15, 2023 Share Posted April 15, 2023 The early electric lights just had a clear glass lens with no way to dim (LOL) the light. Up to when Ford started supplying the H style ribbed lens with high low brightness. Even Ford tried a flat glass lens with the upper part painted to help reduce glare for oncoming drivers. This is one type; Model T Ford Forum: ACCESSORY OF THE DAY 12/21/09 MACBETH EYEBROW HEADLIGHT LENS SET (mtfca.com) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now