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30/07/2014 3:48 pm
The first 20 years of the automobile (PICS).
My receipt of the excellent 1902 Panhard B1 by Minichamps got me to thinking about how many REALLY old cars are in my collection. So here are most, but not all, of them. Excluded are competition cars (with one exception), multiple versions of the same car (1903 Cadillac), some commercial vehicles, and a few 1905 cars (I had that year covered pretty well). Incidentally, the real versions would all be eligible for the London to Brighton Run.
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Pre-1900: Carriages without a horse.
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On the front row are the Cursor Benz 3-wheeler and the Wiking 1886 Daimler (1:40). The 1885 Benz is perhaps the first gasoline-engine "car" but (aided by an article in Automobile Quarterly) I determined the Cursor represents an 1888 version. The Wiking has a posable front axle - being straight it had to be tough to steer!
On the second row there's the Rio #30 1894 DeDion Bouton. DeDion started off with this steam contrivance, obviously meant to be a "horse" to the carriage in tow, but switched to gas soon after. Opposing it is the Igra 1897 Tatra President in 1:36 scale, but it actually looks smaller than the DeDion scale-wise.
On the top row are two more Cursors, showing that commercial vehicles were not being overlooked in the infancy of automobiles. The Benz omnibus and truck both had rear engines.
5 of these 6 are plastic, and the Rio is actually part plastic. Back in the day, this material seemed to work best to capture all the fiddly little details on these early contraptions.
1901-1903: Beginning to get a handle on things.
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The 1902 Panhard is a jewel, and I hope my review makes it on the website soon (c'mon Rusty!) The 1903 Cadillac is every bit as nice, a resin model from EMC that came in several versions. Both of these are of the rear-entrance tonneau body style, which was briefly popular until cars got lower with more substantial running boards. Behind these is the 1901 Fiat, another Rio (#31). Note the mother-in-law seat behind. All of these had front-mounted radiators, but the brass surrounds would follow later.
1901-1905: Setting the layout for the 20th century.
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In the center is Distler's excellent replica of a 1901 Mercedes - probably a race version. The upright radiator with surround, raked steering column, front engine, rear drive all come together to define the basic layout of the 20th century auto. Panhard got some credit for this too, but theirs was a passenger auto. Anyway, Benz, Panhard, and Levassor all worked pretty well together in the early days.
Clockwise from left, two more Fiats, and 1902 and 1903, both by Rio. The first motorized fire apparatus is believed to be the 1904 Merryweather, this replica made by Matchbox for a series of vintage fire engines, all of which had engine detail.
On the right side all cars are from 1905 and depict the basic trend in layouts. In the front there's the Laurin & Klement by Abrex, followed by the lovely Rolls Royce by Top Marques, and the Fiat 60CV by Rio. This last one showed another trend - more horsepower.
My favorites? First would be between the new Panhard and the EMC. It's that good and, as Wayne suggested, a contender for Model of the Year. After that, in no particular order, the Top Marques RR, Matchbox Merryweather, and Distler Benz.
30/07/2014 4:20 pm
Excellent presentation
Well done. Thanks.
30/07/2014 7:04 pm
Great, Harvey. Here are a few (very few) more. (pic)
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I really, really like Harvey's post, and I just had a great few minutes wandering around my display areas, rather hopelessly looking for non-racing US cars to add to Harvey's magnificent EMC Cadillac. Those early years are represented primarily by Rio, Minialuxe, and just a few others, and their subjects are almost always European. The only way I could have expanded these from my holdings would have been by going far afield from 1:43 for the old Highway Pioneers by Revell.
Somewhere I must have missed Ford's first car or some other US "experimental years" products in our scale. Are there any out there?
Oh yes, I included the old plastic horse-drawn Conestoga wagon because many of them were made by the Studebaker brothers. Gotcha? Enjoy!
31/07/2014 5:43 am
Harvey, Excellent post. Love the auto history focus. Have found it interesting that automotive design reflects the expectation (paradigm) of the time. Get ahead, i.e, too modern, and the design is often rejected. Am looking forward to your next installment.
If memory serves, the "modern" layout of the 1901 Mercedes not only had a radiator with a brass surround but more importantly it was the 1st of the contemporary hollow core type. The total number of advanced features 1901 Mercedes arguably bestow upon it the honor of being considered the automotive archetype for almost all that followed.
BTW - IMHO that eMc Caddy is absolutely tops from a modeling standpoint. Have not seen the new Panhard yet though it is on order. Glad to hear of your high remarks concerning it, thus my purchase. 
Cheers and Happy Collecting,
Steve
31/07/2014 6:46 am
Great pics Harvey, two in particular that are not included, perhaps you don't have are the Dugu Fiat 1899 (the very first Fiat) and the Ixo Benz 3 wheeler which I think is from 1886 and compliments the Cursor one very well. With the news about the Louwman Collection coming from Matrix perhaps they might include a few models from the 1885- 1919 era even if they only include a couple of models as I know they are not popular but that museum has some wonderful vehicles from that era. Thanks again.
31/07/2014 1:15 pm
Popularity....
Like Kenneth has stated these brass era vehicles may not have a large following but, they are certainly of interest to many. I know that this is the one weak spot in my American vehicle collection. Well actually there are two but, the other is by choice, not by lack of availability. I'm definitely looking forward to the release of the Stanley Steamer 1911 and Ford Model T 1915 announced a short while ago. And I do have most of the Danbury Mint pewter models (early) which I hope to paint and detail, eventually. And of course I have some from several of the manufacturers already mentioned ( few American) like Rio, Brumm and Minialuxe. So, the arrival of the Panhard is definitely a plus. Hoping to see more American cars from this era, perhaps just wishful thinking?
Topic starter
31/07/2014 2:15 pm
David - There were also several Rami diecasts from this period, and...
...a brand not heard of too often these days was Safir. They made several pre-1905 cars but the only one I ever got was a 1902 Renault Paris-Vienna racer.
And if EMC decides to make a curved dash Olds, I'd be in line for one.
Topic starter
31/07/2014 2:16 pm
Thanks Al!
Topic starter
31/07/2014 2:37 pm
I believe you will like it Steve. Have a magnifying glass handy when you get it!
Topic starter
31/07/2014 2:45 pm
Ixo or Vitesse also did an 1899 Opel Lutzmann, which more recently made it into...
...Altaya's Opel Collection partwork. I never had the Dugu, and have avoided them because of their dreaded wheel melt problem (interaction between plastic wheel and vinyl tire).
Topic starter
31/07/2014 2:48 pm
I could go for the Stanley, but Henry's T has been done to death (PIC)
By Corgi, Ixo, and Minichamps:
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01/08/2014 5:44 am
PIC - I have access to my pictures now. 1901 Mercedes
Harvey,
Thought you might like seeing the label I use with this large Distiller model.
The 1st "modern" car was basically a buggy underneath but with normal architecture.
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Hmmmmm - just noticed a grammar error.
Happy to see your pics on a large screen now. Great post.
Cheers,
Steve
01/08/2014 5:55 am
I have just checked my Dugu
1899 Fiat and the 1911 Fiat mod 4 which I've had since 1970 and the wheels/tyres and everything else is fine, I guess I have been lucky.
01/08/2014 6:39 am
PICS - Rare 1903 Caddy delivery
Harvey,
Was entranced by the Caddy so bought three versions.
Hope you enjoy seeing them as displayed
Solo. The flash lightened the paint's color.
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All three including the top up rear-entry tonneau in a row
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A bit of the room for context
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01/08/2014 8:35 am
Superb Steve
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