Greg O’s Garage: The first Automobile Publication; The Horseless Age-Part 1
Part one of a new series of posts examining the first American automotive publication, The Horseless Age.
Starting in 1895, The Horseless Age was created and started publishing monthly issues about the burgeoning automotive industry.
In the first of a series of posts we'll look at Volume 1, issues 1 and 2 of the first 12 issues contained in Volume 1 of the bound collection of 30 volumes.
Since this is from the earliest stages of automobile development in 1895, the amount of innovation and 'firsts' is staggering in the first volume alone.
Greg O.
In November of 1895, a new publication, a monthly journal called The Horseless Age, hit the newsstands with the sole purpose of keeping the public informed about this exciting, new quickly growing automobile industry. An industry so new, the term 'automobile' hadn't even been coined yet, and as evidenced by abundance of articles on the subject in the first few issues, there was much debate as what to call these new-fangled, motorized contraptions as we'll read later on.
The first article appropriately was a salutatory to the new readers extolling the virtues and importance of the new inventions.
"All signs point to the motor vehicle as the necessary sequence of methods of locomotion already established and approved. The growing needs of our civilization demand it; the public believe in it and await with lively interest its practical application to the daily business of the world."
The article immediately following the first takes it further.
"It is often said that a civilization may be measured by its facilities of locomotion ... the new civilization that is rolling in with the horseless carriage will be a higher civilization than the one we now enjoy."
Very grandiose statements from the new 25 cent per monthly journal that could also be subscribed to for 2 dollars a year.
With a new publication also comes the opportunity for companies to advertise.
The first ad being the unlikely recent collaboration between Daimler Motor Company and Steinway pianos with their new factory in Long Island City to produce the German motors and Daimler carriages here in the United States,
Another one of the first articles in issue #1 describes how, in 1888, William Steinway, the well-known piano manufacturer from New York, was traveling in Europe and learned of a new invention.
While there, Steinway happened to hear about a new gasoline motor that Gottfried Daimler was manufacturing in his hometown of Cannstatt, Germany.
Intrigued by the news of this new motor, Steinway set out to acquaint himself with Daimler. Being sufficiently impressed with Daimler and his new invention, Steinway secured the American rights to build Daimler's motors and new carriages in a new factory located in Long Island City.
By the time of the first Horseless Age issue in 1895, the Steinway/Daimler factory was booming from the need to supply the motors for the thousands of boat launches in and around New York City, as well as the motor carriages (as seen above) coming out the factory. Business was so good, that within the first few years the original plant needed to be expanded frequently to accommodate the demand.
The first and second 1895 issues had dozens of articles about the varying types of motor vehicles and the differing types of propulsion for those vehicles. In the early days, it seemed no idea was too outrageous. Whether it was gasoline, steam, electric, or even spring-loaded motors, they all were strapped to a 3-wheel tricycle, bicycle, carriage, boat and even a motorized sleigh seen here patented by inventor and mechanical engineer Reuben H. Plass of Brooklyn, NY.
Another notable invention found within the pages was called the 'Ames Motor Cycle'.
Invented by A.C. Ames of the new Ames Motor Cycle Company of Chicago, it consisted of nothing more than 2 bicycles with seating for up to 6 placed on top, it was powered by 2 small steam motors placed on the lower part of the frames. The oscillating motors pushed a rod thereby connected to the cranks and sprockets for propulsion.
Expected to start deliveries of their new motor cycle and farm traction engines in the first days of 1896, it's doubtful the company went too far with their products.
Another intriguing invention was a new testing apparatus for motor carriages to determine their power and speed for an upcoming contest sponsored by the Times-Herald in Chicago.
As only 3 autos were tested for the race, it still appears to be the first practical use of a dynamometer anywhere in the automotive industry.
In July 1895, the Chicago Times-Herald offered prizes totaling a then hefty sum of $5,000 (approximately $20,000 today) for one of the first races held in the country for the "...desire to promote, encourage, and stimulate the invention, development, perfection and general adoption of motor vehicles and motorcycles." to be held in November of that year.
A strategy Willie K repeated 9 years later by starting the Vanderbilt Cup Races on Long Island in 1904.
Part 2 and the following upcoming Horseless Age posts will share an amazing interview with Thomas Edison's views on the new motor carriages and will detail names for the new invention, more racing, and many starts of automotive companies that exist to this day.
Comments
Amazing how these volumes have survived and still intact 120+ years, while we’ve come a long way in automobile design/performance in just 120 years. Love the Ames’ simple double safety-bicycle design.
Frank- They are in amazing shape for their age. Most surprising is the collection is complete for the entire 30 year run of Horseless Age. Most likely the only complete collection outside of the Library of Congress.
This collection was originally part of the Walter McCarthy collection.
Sorry, typo. Meant to say 20 years.
Greg, Thanks for sharing the contents of the Horseless Age magazine. The very early issues are extremely difficult to find in any condition. Back in the 1980’s I attempted to put a run together and after 5 years or so gave up. Looking forward to more posts.
I know the collection well. Walter McCarthy got them from Henry Austin Clark Jr. , Austin had two complete sets and many loose copies ( loose copies kept in his basement on shelves and these were in a book case down in his basement as well -I have the book case here in my library) Austin had a full bound run of the Horseless Age and it went to the Henry Ford when he donated his library to them decades ago. I was Austin’s librarian in the early 1970s ( his only other librarian was in the 1950s name was Norris Hopping) and the information in the Horseless Age was used several times a year to look things up for people and when Austin used to write a regular column for Old Cars weekly.
Walt- I’ve been trying to discern why some volumes are bound differently. Are they from different publishing runs, printed by different publishers or something else?
The publisher of Horseless Age may have offered at the time to bind a set or sell a bound set at the end of the year. But many who subscribed to the magazine ( libraries, car companies, journalists etc) had their own copies bound by people they chose. Thus the variety of types, colors, etc of the bindings - bindings were everything from assorted cloth, leather etc. Austin had several runs of period magazines bound for his library, just easier to look things up and saved the magazines themselves.
Binding runs of magazines ( by year usually) was something that was often done pre 1960. especially pre WWII. I have a run of the French OMNIA magazine from 1920 to 1931 when it ceased publication. Some are bound some not, it was what I could find available when I was trying to put together a full set of all issues. It was a magazine that focused on car body design, building of same, salons that featured those cars etc. From what I have found /seen over the decades most uniform matching bindings were done by libraries that received /subscribed to the publication for reference. Rare to see an individual do this . It was the same era when book plates were popular and placed in these bound volumes as well as individual books. All before the instant world of finger touch computer history availability - print publications reigned. Heck volumes of newspapers ( daily, weekly etc) were hard bound! Vincent Seyfreid of Garden City ( he was the Garden City Historian for decades) had collected and saved bound volumes of daily newspapers that were being discarded by libraries when everything was being converted to be saved on film , those films then later converted to computers for saving. Vin Seyfried was quite a railroad historian, wrote books on the LIRR, his basement was packed floor to ceiling with shelves to save/hold bound volumes of newspapers that were placed at the curb for disposal 40 years ago. I knew him via the state historians society. Visited him often , drove over in my 1937 Packard super 8 limousine. Came back to my village with the rear floor of the car packed /loaded with bound volumes of newspapers from Floral Park where I live that went to the historical collection here in town. Vin tried to place the volumes he had saved from oblivion with people and organizations that cared about the stuff as much as he did.
Walt
Walt, thank you for your incredible insight!
Hopefully this collection will carry on for a long time. It will be fun documenting future volumes here on the blog!
Greg
I am always pleased to help ” add to the story” if I can. Many of the people who passed the information on to me decades ago are now gone. It is my desire to do what they did, carry on . Share the knowledge, especially here on this outstanding website that our friend Howard has taken care of and led many of us on some wonderful journeys. We share the same enthusiasm for history . It is our bond.
Walt