Here's another-Early auto ID

[Chris Paulsen]

It's a studio prop, but must be based on a real car. Notice the louvers in the hood. I actually have two cards showing this same car. Must be a year or two apart, because the car has gone down hill. The horn is bent further down, fo0r one thing.

What kind of car is it?

Thanks,

Chris

[Terry Bond]

Maxwell. Shape of the hood gives it awaw. I think about 1909/10.

Terry

[Varun Coutinho]

On 3/2/2006 at 7:59 AM, Chris Paulsen said:

It's a studio prop, but must be based on a real car. Notice the louvers in the hood. I actually have two cards showing this same car. Must be a year or two apart, because the car has gone down hill. The horn is bent further down, fo0r one thing.

What kind of car is it?

Thanks,

Chris

1909 Cartercar 22-24Hp Model G Gentleman's Roadster

[28 Chrysler]

Compare the rear seats of the two photos.

[Gunsmoke]

I agree with VC that both are circa 1909 Cartercars, and we do see several variations, rear seat, tank on running board, windshield, side lamps, etc, not to mention background mural. Interesting that driver and passenger look like same people, just switching places. Could these be staged for a dealer selling Carter cars over a couple of years? Some other reason same 2 guys wanted a staged photo?  

[8E45E]

6 hours ago, 28 Chrysler said:

Compare the rear seats of the two photos.

Also windshield/no windshield, cowl-mounted lamps on the, and not the other, and no pinstriping on the car in the second photo.

 

I wonder if the car in the second photo is a lower-trim (and engine hp) level car than the top one.

 

Craig

[wayne sheldon]

It is possible that these two photos were the same car, in spite of numerous differences. The mural backgrounds make it most likely that this is a photo booth car. It could have even been a dummy with no engine anymore. Many photographers made a good living traveling the countryside with a running car, a camera, and multiple backdrops. They would go from town to town, set up a temporary stand someplace, and for a few days make some bucks taking pictures of people in his car. Whole communities of people that had never ridden in a car might show up to get their picture in one! 

Other photographers might have a dummy car, usually one that had a blown engine not worth repairing, and they would strip a lot of the heavy stuff off of it, and ship it by railroad from town to town. The stripped car would be light and easy to move about.

Most such photographers would set up at county fairs whenever they could make the connections.

 

It could easily be that the car has a couple options for rear seat for different numbers of people wanting in the picture. A photographer might use a car for several years, change details, remove lamps, touch up the paint or change colors. He might use the car for traveling for a few years, then when the car became unreliable, set up a studio somewhere and keep it as a set-piece for customers to choose.

 

Photos like these are rather common, most of us have probably seen more of them than we think, and just not realized the photo was a setup? As many era photos as I have looked at over the years, I have probably seen at least fifty such photos! I have about a dozen of them on my computer.

 

Just another little tidbit of automotive history.

 

 

Edited March 6 by wayne sheldon
I hate leaving typos! (see edit history)