It’s been a couple years since I’ve been to the Philadelphia Auto Show. It was in the city over the last week and closed yesterday amid the 28 inches of snow that trounced the place. You won’t find any of the beauties from the auto show at my auction houses, but you can find replicas from the past – on paper.
There’s nothing like the real show, however. Sliding into a nice sleek Mercedes, touching the supple leather and turning the wheel was always like magic. And it was the closest I knew that I’d ever get to a $65,000 car.
The replicas? Those were the magazine ads I came across with drawings of vintage cars. In fact, I have a stack of old Life magazine covers whose inside pages contained cars from around a century ago.
The first significant car show was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1900, according to history.com. The owner of the Packard, James Ward Packard, brought three of his cars (he’d built his first Packard the year before), and several new car companies were introduced, according to the site. The show included automotive demonstrations, and the cost of admission was 50 cents. (The cost for tickets for the upcoming New York International Auto Show in April is $14 for adults.)
The North American International Auto Show, held in Detroit each year, was started in 1907. According to Wikipedia, it is among the largest in North America. The first Chicago show was in 1901.
This is the time of year for car shows. Along with Philadelphia, Houston just ended its show, and Detroit and Washington had theirs in January. Chicago and Cleveland are holding theirs this month.
I thought this was a good time to pull out some of the ephemera I had stashed away of cars from the early 1900s. The date listed after each car below is the magazine publication date. Enjoy the ride.
Detroit Electric, Aug. 11, 1910. This car was produced by the Anderson Carriage Co. in Detroit. Production began in 1907. It was sold mostly to women and doctors who didn’t want to do the hand-cranking.
Klaxon horn, Jan. 20, 1910. This vintage ad boasted that the president – William Howard Taft at the time – used the Klaxon horn on his official White Steamer, the White House automobile. Is that him in the back seat in the picture?
Willys Knight Touring Car, July 20, 1916. Cost: $1,125; Roadster $1,095. Made by Willys-Overland Co., Toledo, OH.
Lozier, Aug. 10, 1911. This car was a 1912 model: 6-cylinder $5,000; 4-cylinder $4,700. It was sold as a luxury car for the wealthy and for a while, was the most expensive car sold in the United States, according to Wikipedia. In comparison, Cadillacs sold for $1,600 and Packards for $3,200 at that time.
Lexington, Oct. 25, 1917. This car was assembled from parts provided by different suppliers. It was manufactured by the Lexington Motor Co. in Connersville, ID. One of the most popular Lexingtons was this one: Minute Man Six. Cost: $1,585.
The White, Nov. 26, 1914. This car was produced by the White Co. of Cleveland. The company also made trucks, taxicabs, bicycles, roller skates and sewing machines.
Packard, Jan. 7, 1909. Everyone knows the luxurious Packard. Need I say more.
