The Cole was a high quality auto made in Indianapolis. Before WWI there were only a few autos that had the unusual V8 engine. There were earlier V8s but it was Cadillac that developed in great secrecy and "revealed" the American V8 in 1914 (a little later used in Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets.

In '24 a Cole was the Indy 500 pace car but that was getting close to the end of the Cole company's life. There are about 60 Coles left in existence.

A friend of mine here in the Detroit area has what is an exceedingly rare auto, a 1915 Cole 4-40 touring car, which might be the only one left in the world. That is the original color - not every early car was black.

Always wanted to put a bumper sticker on it "Powered By COLE."

I'm surprised the photographer's shadow is so prominent. Guess I presume that professional photographers are more diligent about aspects like that - distracting things in foreground, etc. I'm guessing this shot wasn't used for any published purpose.

[Would be easily dealt with in preparing the photo for newspaper publication, as was the intent. Lighting, background and composition were more important factors for the shoot itself. -tterrace]