The WHITNEY MOTOR WAGON CO. Builders of Self-Propelling Vehicles of All Styles and for All Kinds of Service. 1897.
Boston: The Barta Press, [1897]. 1st printing. Presumed to be the first printed brochure issued by Whitney for his recently formed "Motor Wagon Company." Unpaginated, though 4 pages. Pages 1 & 4 with specs & performance date. Pages 2 & 3 each with a b/w photographic image, depicting the Whitney 'motor wagon'. Oblong format: 3-1/4" x 5-3/8". Printed card-stock, folded once vertically. Now housed in a clear archival mylar sleeve. Light signs of use. A bit of age-toning. VG+. Item #40478
"George Eli Whitney, an early pioneer in automotive history, 'was tinkering with steam cars before the turn of the 20th century. While others turned their attention to the new-fangled gasoline engine, he stayed with steam, founding the Whitney Motor Wagon Company. He designed and built a succession of steam-driven carriages, starting with, he believed, the first steam-driven car ever built. Many of the ideas that found their way into the steam automobile are attributable to him. The Stanley Brothers, famous founders of the Stanley Steamer, sought advice from him and used some of his ideas in their first cars.'" [Whitney Research Group].
According to Britain's Society of Automotive Historians, Whitney "completed his first automobile in 1896 and founded the Whitney Motor Wagon Company the following year. Five cars had been built by the end of 1897, and although all his steamers had the common feature of a vertical two-cylinder engine attached to the boiler, because Whitney was an 'inveterate tinkerer' no two were exactly the same. He devoted more of his energy to patenting his inventions and pursuing others over alleged infringement of his ideas than he did to actually making automobiles and he left the industry soon after the turn of the century."
No "Whitney Motor Wagon" listings found on OCLC. No George Whitney literature found in Romaine.
A rare item documenting early American automotive history.
Price: $275.00