MAY CONTAIN NUTS
Search Shorpy
SHORPY ART
Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Join and Share
Ad-Free Shorpy
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
Social Shorpy!
Recent comments
- Baldwin 62303
- Baldwin VO-1000
- Cold
- No expense spared
- Tough Guys
- Lost in Toyland
- And without gloves
- If I were a blindfolded time traveler
- Smoke Consumer Also Cooks
- Oh that stove!
- Possibly still there?
- What?!?
- $100 Reward
- Freeze Frame
- Texas Flyer wanted
- Just a Year Too Soon
- WWII -- Replacing men with women at the railroad crossing.
- Yes, Icing
- You kids drive me nuts!
- NOT An Easy Job
- I wonder
- Just add window boxes
- Icing Platform?
- Indiana Harbor Belt abides
- Freezing haze
- Corrections (for those who care)
- C&NW at Nelson
- Fallen Flags
- A dangerous job made worse
- Water Stop
Member Photos
Photos submitted by Shorpy members!
The Shorpy
Print Emporium
Print Emporium
Search Shorpy
Search results -- 30 results per page
- Tiller Girls: 1926
- New York, 1926. "Tiller girls." Arriving from England, 16 chorus girls in the troupe originated ... musical-theater impresario and precision-dancing pioneer John Tiller. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain. View full size.
... Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 12:40pm -
![New York, 1926. "Tiller girls." Arriving from England, 16 chorus girls in the troupe originated by British musical-theater impresario and precision-dancing pioneer John Tiller. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain. View full size.
Titanic ProportionsThe ship in the photos is most likely the RMS Berengaria of the Cunard Line. She was originally the German ship Imperator and in 1913 had the distinction of being the first ship larger than the ill-fated Titanic to make her maiden voyage.
One of the reasons Titanic was shy of lifeboats was because they would block the view of the ocean. By 1913 the lesson was learned, and the boats here are stacked so tall they actually form a wall.
[Based on shipping news items in the New York Times, the boat seems to be either of the Cunard liners Carinthia or Samaria. - Dave]
Tiller girlsMy grandmother was in the Tiller girls, but 25 years earlier than this. She moved from Ireland to London as a teenager and got a job on the stage as a dancer. She met and married an older businessman.
By 1926 her son was 19, and at sea in the merchant navy. My mother was 9 years old. Uncle Thomas died from TB at 21, and Grandmother left her husband for her son's best friend, Uncle Bill.
Sweet SixteenLooks like they are ready for rousing game of crack-the-whip!
Some Like It HotTiller Girls, eh? I see Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon dead-center of that lineup!
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, G.G. Bain, NYC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/39166u.thumbnail.jpg "Tiller Girls: 1926")
- The Dancing Dozen: 1925
- New York circa 1925. "Tiller girls." Arriving from England, 12 chorus girls in the troupe originated ... musical-theater impresario and precision-dancing pioneer John Tiller. 5x7 glass negative, Bain News Service. View full size.
... the poster who supplied the Wikipedia link. Wikipedia says John Tiller, the founder of the troupe, died the year of this photo, in New ... Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 5:25pm -
- Sunshine Girls: 1923
- ... originated by the British musical-theater impresario John Tiller. View full size.
The Shoes Check out them shoes! The third ... Posted by Dave - 04/23/2020 - 12:32pm -
- The Roofettes: 1923
- ... D.C., July 1923. "Sunshine Girls." Also known as the Tiller Girls , a dance troupe originated by the British musical-theater impresario John Tiller. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full ... Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 12:21pm -
- U.S.S. Onondaga: 1864
- ... smoking a pipe is the one who actually has a hand on the tiller. As far as the three objects handing over the starboard gunwale, they ... The "monitor" was a radical new warship design by engineer John Ericsson during the US Civll War. The standard high-sided wooden warship ... Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 5:20pm -
![1864. "James River, Virginia. Monitor U.S.S. Onondaga; soldiers in rowboat. From photographs of the Federal Navy, and seaborne expeditions against the Atlantic Coast of the Confederacy." Wet plate glass negative. View full size.
HangersDoes anyone know what the three objects hanging over the side of the boat are?
Appropriate HeadgearFor once, someone's wearing a boater in a boat. . . .
Low in the water.It would not take much to swamp this ship. Questions? Why were they built to ride so low? What is in those little bags tied next to the oars on the sides of the rowboat? I suspect the older man with the pipe at the stern using a rough stick is acting as a rudder. Interesting snapshot of life!
How Low Can You Go?Not a lot of freeboard on the good ship Onondaga.
[The Onondaga was, as noted in the caption, a monitor or ironclad. - Dave]
historical shipI looked the Ol' Onondaga up and she had quite a history. She was built in New York and sent to Virginia where she saw several important engagements. She was decommissioned in 1865 and sold to the French navy and refitted with rifled cannons of just over 9 inch. Replacing the 8 in smooth bore guns of American vintage. She was scrapped in 1902. Pretty impressive!
Buffers-low in the waterMonitors were built very low in the water in order to present as little as possible of a target to an enemy gunner. They were very useful in inland waterways, on the open seas, in any bad weather, they would be in serious danger.
My guess on the three bags on the launch is they are buffers to keep the wood of the boat's side from getting banged up when it is up against a wharf or another vessel in wavy water
BumpersThose, probably leather, bags over the rowboat's side are fenders/bumpers meant to protect the sides of ships when docking. Today we use plastic fenders which are plastic and much larger (shaped like a serious hot dog).
Ride So LowMonitors were river craft essentially floating gun platforms. They are not ships in the normal sense. Their freeboard (distance between the main deck and water line) was very small so they would present less of a target to opposition fire. Heavily armored above the main deck, they could withstand direct hits from the guns of the day without serious injury.
Boat FendersThe small round objects hanging over the side are boat fenders, used to prevent damage to the rails when the boat is moored alongside something like a dock or the Onondaga. These are probably made of leather, and if they contain anything, it's probably more leather padding or perhaps a disk of soft wood.
According to Wikipedia ....The good ship Onondaga was built in 1864, near the end of the Civil War and was sold to France after the war. She continued in service in the French Navy until 1903.
The delivery cruise to France must have been terrifying.
Interestinghttp://americancivilwar.com/tcwn/civil_war/Navy_Ships/USS_onandaga.html
Across the waves.The Onondaga was sold to France after the war. How did they deliver it? Surely they didn't sail her!
OnandagaThe bags on the longboats are probably bumpers, designed to keep the boat from being damaged when at a dock, or tied up alongside a ship with a low freeboard.
Monitors were designed by Ericsson to sit low in the water to improve stability by bringing the mass of the turret down, and to make them a far more difficult target to hit. The hull was protected by the water and it was hard to strike below the waterline. This made them maneuverable and hard to hit but could make them very unseaworthy in bad weather. Monitor - Ericsson's original "cheesebox on a raft" sank off Cape Hatteras in a 1862. Other monitors were designed to be more seaworthy. Onondaga hull was built entirely of iron rather than wood like earlier monitors.
As for Onondaga, she was sold back to her builder in 1867 and then sold to the French where she served as a coastal defense ship. She was scrapped by the French in 1904, making her the longest lived of the Civil War monitors.
Those hanging thingies ...look like bumpers to me. They are all at the right height.
Low FreeboardThe very low freeboard on this (and every other) monitor was designed to make the ship very hard for another ship to hit with cannon fire.
When the monitors were "cleared for action", everything but the turrets were stripped down and stored or thrown overboard. The rigging and life boats were eliminated, and the ship was steered from a small armored box only a few feet high. Even the funnel (chimney) was dismantled so that only a small stub protruded from the deck so as to present the smallest target possible.
Monitors worked fairly well in protected estuaries, bays, and navigable rivers, but monitors were notoriously poor sea-going ships. Many foundered and were lost, often with all hands, in heavy seas.
In every other nation, the monitors were regarded as a design fluke and were not widely copied. The U.S., however, continued to use monitors well into the 1880s and beyond....mostly because Congress refused to fund a modern navy.
Does anyone know what the three objects hanging over the side ofThey are fenders.
Why so low?Why were they built to ride so low?
To make a small target. Great in battle. Not so good at sea, as the original USS Monitor proved.
What is in those little bags tied next to the oars?
I was curious about that, too. I couldn't Google up an answer, but my guess is simple oarlocks. Place the oar in the slot, then flop the weighted line over the shaft.
The high-tech nature of the civil war continually surprises. Even though it was still a time of cavalry and slavery, there were also ironclads, telegraphy, balloons, Gatling guns and railroads.
Freeboard or Lack Thereof...If you look up the U.S.S. Onondaga on Google you will find that after the war it was decommissioned and then transferred to the French navy. With so little freeboard how did they get it to France?
I can understand the low freeboard patrolling the coastal rivers, but even there it probably had to enter the Atlantic to get from the northern ports to the southern ports.
How dey do dat?
Could the three objectsCould the three objects hanging over the side be fenders? That is: padding for when the bout bangs alongside the mother ship?
Lil' bagsThose little bags are in fact bumpers to protect the side of the row boat from damage.
FendersThey be fenders to protect the boat's planking when coming alongside I should think.
Those wooden things on theThose wooden things on the side of the boats are most likely to prevent scuffing and other damage, when the boat is moored. Unfortunately I have no idea, what is the proper English word for those. these days they are made of plastic, and resembles big, straight sausages....
Hanging ObjectsI think they are cushions, to keep the side of the boat from banging directly against the side of another vessell when boarding, disembarking etc.
FendersBoat fenders, that is, is what the little bags are.
Hangers maybeI'm thinking those are clean drinking water for the rowers.
I'd suspect the guy to theI'd suspect the guy to the left of the guy smoking a pipe is the one who actually has a hand on the tiller. As far as the three objects handing over the starboard gunwale, they might be fenders, although they do seem small.
As far as the freeboard goes, it is very low in the water. The Monitors were susceptible to being swapped as evidenced by the original USS Monitor, which went down in a storm off the coast of North Carolina.
FendersThe objects hanging over the side of the small boat(s) are probably fenders, meant to keep the painted wood from grinding against the edge of the larger boat - which would be particularly punishing given the low iron deck of the Monitors.
Hangers@GeezerNYC
Bumpers
Nautical KnowledgeThe hanging things on the boat are fenders, aka bumpers, that prevent rubbing and damage when alongside other boats and docks. They are still required gear for boats of all sizes, though of different design.
The gent with the pipe is probably putting his stick in the water. The tiller is more likely in the hands of the soldier in the aft. The boats in the background have rudders and tillers, so this should one as well.
Barrier?In the background, are those sunken ships forming a barrier?
I'd rudder not bump, if you don't mind.Following exhaustive research efforts, our crack Civil War historical artifacts team members have reached a somewhat tenuous conclusion. After sometimes heated discussions, it has been narrowly decided that the device held by the pipe smoking gentleman in the above photo should be rightfully placed under the "P.S." category of 19th century naval devices. In layman's terms the P.S. would simply designate this instrument as a "pushoff stick." Either that, or the man was an utterly misguided landlubber with a proclivity in providing great mirth to the more nautically savant.
In regard to the mysterious pouch-like objects hanging from the sides of the launch, the less than timorous artifacts team has proffered the suggestion that these would likely be called bumpers in today's parlance. Please note that our team does take all our suggestions quite lightly.
On monitors and freeboardsMonitors, throughout their history (Roughly the U.S. Civil War to WWII), were built to be coastal ships. A large freeboard (which means more ship to build, and a larger target) was not necessary because the ships were never intended to leave inland waterways or shallow coasts. This also worked well with U.S. foreign policy which was more concerned with its own waters. I'm sure many people are familiar with the story of U.S.S. Monitor (the original monitor) which was swamped and sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras.
Monitor FactoidsThe "monitor" was a radical new warship design by engineer John Ericsson during the US Civll War. The standard high-sided wooden warship with its "broadside" of guns was still designed for sail power and to repel boarders. He conceived a fully mechanized ironclad "ship-killer" that presented a much smaller target and had several much larger guns housed in heavily armored rotating turrets. This proved quite deadly against wooden ships especially in breaking through blockades. Although not totally seaworthy, most waves washed harmlessly over the low deck. The concept gradually evolved to larger more seaworthy battleships with "real" armor-plated hulls, but the large, turret mounted guns became the new standard. The "canteens" alongside the rowboat are fenders to keep its hull from scraping against the sides of the ship.
IDing the ObjectsThe things hanging over the side of the boat are called bumpers, buoys, or fenders. They're to stop the sides from hitting and scraping other boats and docks.
Hangers...Id say these are used to draw wather from boat. Sorry for my poor enlish :/
The Objectsare bumpers. Coiled rope inside tarred leather to keep from scratching the boat or the ship. Much like the rubber ones we have today.
She was a river monitorRiver monitors were not designed with high freeboard because it was needed. They were not supposed to put to sea, and the lower the freeboard the better because it made less of a target. HTH
Re:HangersMy best guess is they are bumpers to protect the wooden sides of the rowboat when
along side a ship or wharf.
Notice the other rowboats pictured have them as well. What I see here is the
bumpers were fitted for the average ship or dock and the ironclad, being so low
in the water, caused the scraping and damage to side of this rowboat below the
bumpers.
Built low for a reasonWonderful photo!
One of the ideas behind the Union's ironclads (called "Monitors" after the archetype U.S.S. Monitor) was that if little sticks above the water, there is little to effectively shoot at. Hence, the only things that are exposed are the (heavily armored) revolving gun turret(s). Note that this ship has two revolving turrets, in contrast to the U.S.S. Monitor, which just had one. Needless to say, though, these monitors were not the greatest thing to be used in rough open seas -- that's how the U.S.S. Monitor was lost.
The Confederates took an entirely different approach (as with the C.S.S. Virginia, née Merrimack). Their ironclad vessels were heavily armored structures built upon traditional wooden hulls. Because most of the Confederate ship stuck out of the water, it would have to employ a lot more armor plating which added weight and made it much less manueverable and less able to be employed in shallow areas.
Low FreeboardIndeed, as earlier comments note, this monitor has unusually low freeboard (not sure if they all did; certainly, all monitors had relatively low freeboard compared to "normal" ships.) The function of this feature was to reduce the target area that could be hit by shellfire, both to make hits less likely and to reduce the weight of armor required to cover the vertical side. (The deck was also lightly armored, since the technology of directing long range fire made a plunging, high angle hit very unlikely; the deck armor was enough to deflect a glancing hit whose angle of fall was only a few degrees).
What was neglected in this design compromise was the fact that there was hardly any reserve buoyancy...a leak too big for the pumps to control would result in the deck edge going under and the ship sinking in a rather short time...and in fact, this happened to the Monitor herself on an open ocean passage on the last day of 1862.
The objects dangling over the rail on the boats (both the manned boat in the foreground and the empty boats tied up to the ship) are probably fenders, although they look rather small for the purpose. Needless to say, protecting the side of a small, lightly built wooden boat coming alongside a vessel armored with iron was quite important.
Re: Hangers (@GeezerNYC)I'd think that the objects on the boat are fenders, to keep the boat from banging into docks or the ship.
MonitorThe Monitor-class ironclads like that in this photo were designed to offer as little a target to Confederate artillery as possible; most of their hull was kept below water, and practically the only structures above it were the chimney (those were steam-powered ships) and two revolving, armored turrets.
The most famous of these ships, the U.S.S. Monitor (which gave its name to this class of vessels) took part in the first battle between "ironclads", or ships made or covered on metal, which took place on march 9, 1862, and is known as the Battle of Hampton Road.
Quoting from an excellent article on Wikipedia: "...While the design of Monitor was well-suited for river combat, her low freeboard and heavy turret made her highly unseaworthy in rough waters. This feature probably led to the early loss of the original Monitor, which foundered during a heavy storm. Swamped by high waves while under tow by Rhode Island, she sank on December 31, 1862 in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. 16 of 62 crewmen were lost in the storm."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Monitor
Rubber Baby Buggy Boat BumpersMy guess on the 3 objects hanging off the side of the rowboat (and visible on some of the other rowboats in the photo) is that they are "Boat Bumpers" a.k.a. "Dock Fenders". These prevent the side of the boat from coming in direct contact with another boat or the dock when the boat is tied up.
FendersI took those things hanging from the gunwale of all the small boats in the photo to be fenders, used as a cushioning bumper when tied up against a dock or another hull. Modern versions:
http://tinyurl.com/m4jgzu
Somehow it crossed the Atlantic!According to Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Onondaga_(1864)
after it was decommissioned in 1865 it was sold to the
French navy and here's a photo of it in Brest
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/USS_Onondaga_60211.jpg
I can't imagine it out in the Atlantic, even on a very calm day!
objects on side of boatThey look like typical boat bumpers of the small variety..
Hangers Answer?Ballast, or bumpers.
It's a monitorYes, it would be easy to swamp this ship- it was designed for inlets and calm waters; it is a double turreted descendent of the Monitor- the famous ironclad that did battle with the Merrimack/Virginia. It sits so low in the water so as to be an extremely difficult target. The turrets, along with relatively petite size allowed the monitor vessels to be extremely maneuverable and effective- although the crew had qualms with living below the waterline- which is why there are so many canopies on deck. Johan Eriksson, the designer of the original Monitor was one of the first developers of the propeller, and on his signature ship he patented hundreds of brilliant inventions from a then state-of-the-art ventilation system, to the rotating gun turret, and the first operable marine toilet.
HangersCould be to scoop out water eh?
three objects"Does anyone know what the three objects hanging over the side of the boat are?"
Bumpers.
Re: Hangers, et al.The 3 little bags visible near the oars are the Civil War-era version of fenders. They were generally filled with corncobs or sawdust and served as spacers to prevent the wooden boat from brushing against the ironclad and becoming damaged.
Of more interest is the canvas coverings over parts of the ironclad. These signify that the monitor is in Union-held waters as they would never be used where there was a risk of battle. Ironclads were just that, iron plates laid over a wooden hull and still vulnerable to fire.
The Answer: Fenders!The bag-shaped objects are fenders, or as you land-lubbers would say, bumpers. You hang them over the side to save your paint job when you're tied up to the dock or to a ship. I'm guessing they're made of leather or rubber.
The Onondaga sits low in the water to decrease her vulnerability to enemy artillery fire -- by design, not by accident.
Re: U.S.S. Onondagathose little thingys are bumpers for pulling next to a stell ship with a wooden boat. This was definitly a 'Lessons Learned' device
From a River Far Far Away . . .The two circular towers that have awnings on them - they remind me of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge in Return of the Jedi. I'm just saying.
Monitor designThe design of the USS Monitor and follow-on ships such as the Onondaga were revolutionary for the time. The idea of mounting one or two guns in a rotating turret versus rows of guns along the sides of a ship enabled monitors to bring more accurate firepower to bear more quickly, and most importantly, independently of the direction of the ship's travel. While some earlier ships had turreted weapons, I believe the USS Monitor was the first to rely on its turret as its only weapons station.
Monitors were low to the water to provide a smaller silhouette for the enemy gunners. Most shipboard cannons at the time would have had rather low, flat trajectories, which would have slammed into the sides of opposing ships rather than higher trajectories which would have sent plunging fire through the decks. Obviously a ship that sat lower in the water would have presented a much more difficult target for other ships--it practically didn't have sides to hit! It also made them difficult to see--in the days before submarines, these were the original stealth ships.
These ships were generally designed to work in what are now called "littoral" operations, close to shore, in bays or rivers. In those environments, heavy sea states that would cause a problem with the low freeboard design were not a major concern. Riverboat steamers had similarly low freeboards.
As for the items hanging along the gunwales of the rowboat, the look like bumpers to protect the rowboat and its mothership from bouncing off one another. Today they're a rubbery plastic, but I don't know what they would have been back then, maybe cork inside a waxed canvas bag?
Re: Hangers>Hangers
>Submitted by GeezerNYC on Sat, 08/01/2009 - 10:29pm.
>Does anyone know what the three objects hanging over the >side of the boat are?
They look to be bumpers. All the boats in the background have them, or some form of them, too.
Low in the waterTo answer Woodchopper's question, Monitors (originally intended for harbor defense as floating batteries) were designed to expose as little of the ship above the waterline to minimize the target available to enemy gunners. With less to see, there is less to hit.
While naval architecture changed over the years, this design is coming back into vogue with naval designers in examples like the DD(X) programs.
BumpersUpon reading ALL the comments and not finding a clue and after a thorough and painstaking research I have come to the conclusion that those three objects hanging over the side of the boat are bumpers!
Now hold down the applause. You can thank me later.
More if you haven't googled yet...http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/onondaga.htm
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Civil War)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01513a.thumbnail.jpg "U.S.S. Onondaga: 1864")
- Detroit Opera House: 1904
- ... we do know is that it's an early brass era runabout with tiller steering, semi-eliptical leaf springs at each corner, and wooden spoked ... veteran as a member of Co. B, 85th Ohio Volunteers) and John Kay, who was born in Scotland. They were jewelers, opticians, importers ... Posted by Dave - 07/19/2012 - 10:23pm -
![The Detroit Opera House circa 1904, starring an electric runabout out front. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Detroit Conservatory MusicWhat, they were too cheap to spring for an "of"?
Digital sign againI've noticed that each time we've seen one of those "digital" signs it's been on or in front of a large theater, opera house or concert hall, the type of venue you'd expect the upper classes, rather than the hoi-polloi, to frequent. My speculation: it's something used to signal carriages for their ritzy patrons. Below: this one compared to ones at Philadelphia's Nixon Theatre and Academy of Music.
Update: Thanks to TomHe for confirming my speculation.
High Bridge?Look in the window of the Pennsylvania Lines shop. Is the picture on the easel that of the High Bridge of recent memory?
[Unfortunately, no. - tterrace]
Videochas PicThat's Horseshoe Curve, near Altoona, PA
Makes My Heart SingWhat a lovely building! I was born in the wrong era. I come to Shorpy everyday and I'm never disappointed with the photos here. I would hope this building is still standing. I absolutely love the honeycomb glass transom at the entrance door. I wish buildings of today had the details of old world craftsmanship. Sigh.
[Demolished 1966. - tterrace]
What is that thang?Sharp eyes as usual from tterrace, but I can't make out just how this configuration of three identical sets of light-bulb "dots" could be lit to form letters or numbers. The mysterious device's Academy of Music installation, at right, appears to include some kind of identifying signage on the end of the clapboard base beneath it. Dave, is your highest-res tiff file of this photo sufficiently clear to read that information?
[Not clear enough on the full LOC tiff, unfortunately. - tterrace]
Pennsylvania LinesThe Pennsylvania Railroad was a late arrival in Detroit, not gaining a direct entrance there until 1922, and then only by trackage rights on the Ann Arbor, Pere Marquette and Wabash Railroads. The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad was chartered in 1854 to build a line from Fort Wayne to the Straits of Mackinaw through Grand Rapids. It became part of the Pennsylvania Lines in 1869. It too had no direct connection to Detroit, relying on a connection with the Wabash in Ft. Wayne to get to the Motor City.
Identify car?Great picture! Can anyone identify that nifty little car?
The proverbial needleConcerning identifying the automobile, unless it was built by a select few makers, I doubt it can be positively identified.
During this period there were around a thousand automobile manufacturers in America alone. What we do know is that it's an early brass era runabout with tiller steering, semi-eliptical leaf springs at each corner, and wooden spoked wheels. That should narrow it down to about 50 manufacturers, some of which existed for only a few years.
Re: The proverbial needleI think I have identified the car. It's an AJAX ELECTRIC. I have attached a photo from an advertisement from 1903, for visual comparison.
[Here they are together. Among other differences, note the absence of front leaf springs. - tterrace]
Wright & KayThe jewelry firm of Wright & Kay (big sign atop building) was formed in May 1906 by Ohio native Henry M. Wright (a Civil War veteran as a member of Co. B, 85th Ohio Volunteers) and John Kay, who was born in Scotland. They were jewelers, opticians, importers and dealers in watches, clocks, diamonds, marble statuary, silver and plated ware and fine stationery, and they manufactured watches and other products under their own name. Recently some Wright, Kay & Company watches were auctioned at Christie's.
About that haystackMy first thought when I looked at the full-size image was Studebaker. After further research the answer will have to be no, they were building a Runabout with very similar bodywork and proportions in that era but it had major mechanical differences from this machine.
As BradL said, this was a time when literally hundreds of companies ranging from blacksmiths, to buggy shops, to established manufacturers of sewing machines and other mechanical equipment, all took a fling at the automobile.
MysterymobileI'm almost certain it's a Waverly Runabout, built in Indianapolis. I have a current-day photo but it's somebody's property. Note its steering is via a front tiller whereas the Studebaker has its tiller on the side.
Re: Digital sign againA carriage call indeed. Picture below shows numbers lit.
WaverleyDon Struke has it, I found a vintage Waverley advertisement that certainly seems to match the mystery car closely.
HorsesCalm and unaware that they were about to be unemployed in very short time.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Performing Arts)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_4a11547a.thumbnail.jpg "Detroit Opera House: 1904")
- Diplomatic Pooch: 1915
- ... Wilson's new Secretary of State, with her poodle at the tiller of an electric car. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View ... Foster, daughter of the late Secretary of State and Mrs. John W. Foster, came to Washington in 1881 with her parents.
At the time ... Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 3:43pm -
![Washington, D.C., 1915. "Mrs. Robert Lansing in auto." Eleanor Foster Lansing, wife of Woodrow Wilson's new Secretary of State, with her poodle at the tiller of an electric car. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
E.F.LNote her monogram on the door. Very elegant. Most electric cars of that era were marketed for women, as gasoline had become the motive power of choice. No messy gasoline, oil spray, obnoxious noise or that dangerous starting crank for M'Lady.
[Probably the main selling point for women was no clutch and no gears to shift. - Dave]
Two Tillers?Anyone have a rundown of the function of the two tillers.
[Speed and steering. - Dave]
Such FunI would love to have this car for my infrequent, short trips around town. Naturally, I would dress appropriately but without the dog. What a stir it would make. Are amy of them still out there, perhaps in the hands of classic-car lovers?
[NYT article on Jay Leno's Baker Electric. - Dave]
Bipartisan Romance
Death Comes at Summer Home
To Former Secretary's Wife
Mrs. Robert Lansing, widow of Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State, died at Henderson Harbor, N.Y., of heart disease.
Mrs. Lansing has been ill more than a year, critically so for the last year. Death came at the summer home, where she had spent her summers for the last 40 years.
Daughter of one Secretary of State and wife of another, Mrs. Lansing, as Miss Eleanor Foster, daughter of the late Secretary of State and Mrs. John W. Foster, came to Washington in 1881 with her parents.
At the time Secretary Foster was an international lawyer of renown and the Foster home soon became a rendezvous of social Washington. In 1883 Mr. Foster became American minister to Spain and Miss Foster went with her parents to that country. They returned to Washington in 1885, and save for several journeys to China, which Mr. Foster represented legally, Mrs. Lansing has lived here almost continuously since that time.
On January 15, 1890, she married Robert Lansing, then a member of the firm of Lansing & Lansing, and like his father-in-law engaged in international law practice. Their romance interested all Washington society, as she came of rock-ribbed Republican stock and he was a New York State Democrat. Their marriage was a brilliant event of the Harrison Administration.
It was often said that as a young girl and young matron of the National Capital, Mrs. Lansing was one of the most beautiful who have presided over a Washington home. Even when she grew older she retained the slender graceful figure of her youth and, though the late years her had grown gray, the "widow's peak," one of her distinguishing signs of beauty, still was evident.
In 1892 Mr. Foster became Secretary of State in Harrison's Cabinet. Mrs. Lansing aided her mother in the social duties incumbent upon her as a cabinet member's wife. When her mother became one of the early presidents general of the National society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mrs. Lansing took over more of her social duties in order to free Mrs. Foster for these patriotic activities.
House Was Treasure Trove
For many years Secretary and Mrs. Lansing lived at 1323 Eighteenth street northwest with former Secretary and Mrs. Foster. The house was a treasure trove of objects of art gathered from the four corners of the earth by the globe-trotting Fosters. After Secretary and Mrs. Foster's death the Lansings continued to live in the historic home during Secretary Lansing's term of office as President Wilson's Secretary of State. Many brilliant social events were held there, as well as historic conferences during World War days.
Mrs. Lansing's favorite mode of dressing was in gowns of black velvet and rare old lace. She was regarded as one of the best-dressed women in Washington and a gracious and cultured hostess.
...
Washington Post, Aug 20, 1934
That hatis awesome! I wonder if Jay Leno has it too!
No Crank EitherEven more than no clutch and gear shift, no cranking was needed to start them.
[Which we already mentioned below. By 1915 you could get your car with an electric starter if you didn't want to crank it. - Dave]
No pesky broken bones either!Electric cars skipped that pesky crank that could break a wrist or arm. Since they were whisper quiet they didn't upset the neighbors or the horses. What a fabulous first breath of independence for a woman of means who couldn't handle riding a bike or horse into town.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Dogs, Harris + Ewing)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/06196a.thumbnail.jpg "Diplomatic Pooch: 1915")
Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.