Did you know that West Virginia once produced a luxury car that was five to six times more expensive than a comparable Ford of the same era?
We recently unearthed these incredibly rare photographs in our library, depicting a Renault, in the mid-1920's, seemingly doing the impossible, navigating the streets of Paris, without an operator at the wheel.
It is said that Carl Benz was the world’s first commercial automobile manufacturer. His first effort, the Benz Patent Motor Wagon was released and offered for sale as early as 1888. At the time, this newfangled technology befuddled many of its operators, and it was soon decided that some sort of instruction manual needed to be produced to assist with their operation. Before you is an extraordinarily rare publication that was devised to suit this purpose.
Early automotive brochures were influenced by a lot of different factors, including nature it seems.
Based on our research, we think this might be the oldest surviving automotive oil can in the world. We believe that this very clear image is that of an 1897 DeDion Bouton. The clarity is remarkable, especially when you consider that this particular object will most likely be 125 years old next year.
Dr. Simeone tells the story.
We all think that hybrid cars are a novel invention, but did you know that hybrid automotive technology has been in use since as early as 1905?
Sales brochures have become an important part of the history of the automobile. Among our collection of great sales brochures, we have found one which we find very puzzling.
This is one of the most successful advertisements in the history of advertising and represented an entirely new way to approach marketing the automobile.
Our library collection contains two well-produced brochure which appear to be selling a car, but were more likely an early example of a designer conducting market research.
The motorcycle got off to a bad start and for its first decade was generally considered a fun object for daring men.
Harry John Lawson was a British entrepreneur who sought to create an early monopoly on petrol-driven cars through the acquisition of multiple patents. His end goal never included vehicle production, rather he aimed to exploit the patents he purchased by charging royalties to manufacturers that produced vehicles from the patents he owned.
The 1924 Delaunay Belleville is one of the most bizarre pieces of literature that Dr. Simeone has ever seen.
