Brass Era car
The automotive Brass Era is the first period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It extends from the first commercial automobiles marketed in the 1890s down to about World War I. These cars are also often called by the name they were originally known by, "horseless carriages."
In the United Kingdom, this era is split into two periods:
Such very old vehicles present special challenges to today's collectors. Replacement parts must nearly always be handmade and basic documentation such as wiring diagrams and specification sheets are often nonexistent. The huge variety of companies and technologies represented during this formative period is also a complicating factor—it has been estimated that there were well over 1,000 manufacturers in the U.S. alone.
Neverthess, an active collector community exists for these vehicles, which when well restored can be extremely valuable. The very, very rare original-condition survivor can be even more so.
The early Ford Model T is an example of a Brass Era car for the mass market, and the early European Hispano-Suiza models are fairly typical of expensive models of the time.
The gold-tone trim which is occasionally added to modern luxury sedans is a reference back to autodom's great Age of Brass.
Examples
In January, 1904, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine cataloged the entire range of automobiles available to the mass market in the United States. This list included the following manufacturers:
- American Darracq Automobile Company (New York, New York)
- Apperson Brothers Automobile Company (Kokomo, Indiana)
- Auburn Automobile Company (Auburn, Indiana)
- Autocar Company (Ardmore, Pennsylvania)
- Automobile Exchange and Storage Company (New York, New York)
- Baker Motor Vehicle Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Berg Automobile Company (New York, New York)
- Buffalo Electric Carriage Company (Buffalo, New York)
- Cadillac Automobile Company (Detroit, Michigan)
- Central Automobile Company (New York, New York)
- Clodio and Widmayer (New York, New York)
- Columbus Motor Vehicle Company (Columbus, Ohio)
- B. V. Covert and Company (Lockport, New York)
- Crest Manufacturing Company (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
- Daimler Manufacturing Company (Long Island City, New York)
- Duryea Power Company (Reading, Pennsylvania)
- Eisenhuth Horseless Vehicle Company (Middletown, Connecticut)
- Electric Vehicle Company (Hartford, Connecticut)
- Elmore Manufacturing Company (Clyde, Ohio)
- Ford Motor Company (Detroit, Michigan)
- Societe Franco-Americaine d'Automobiles (New York, New York)
- H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company (Syracuse, New York)
- Fredonia Manufacturing Company (Youngstown, Ohio)
- Grout Brothers (Orange, Massachusetts)
- Haynes-Apperson Company (Kokomo, Indiana)
- Holley Motor Car Company (Bradford, Pennsylvania)
- Thos. B. Jeffery Company (Kenosha, Wisconsin)
- Kirk Manufacturing Company (Toledo, Ohio)
- Knox Automobile Company (Springfield, Massachusetts)
- Locomobile Company of America (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
- National Motor Vehicle Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
- National Sewing Machine Company (Belvidere, Illinois)
- Northern Manufacturing Company (Detroit, Michigan)
- Olds Motor Works (Detroit, Michigan)
- Packard Motor Car Company (Detroit, Michigan)
- Panhard-Levassor (Paris, France)
- Peerless Motor Car Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Phelps Motor Vehicle Company (Stoneham, Massachusetts)
- George N. Pierce Company (Buffalo, New York)
- Pope-Robinson Company (Hyde Park, Massachusetts)
- Pope-Toledo Company (Toledo, Ohio)
- Pope-Waverly Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
- Premier Motor Manufacturing Company (Indianapolis, Indiana)
- Renault (New York, New York)
- Rochet-Schneider (New York, New York)
- Royal Motor Car Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Sandusky Automobile Company (Sandusky, Ohio)
- K. A. Skinner (Boston, Massachusetts)
- Smith and Mabley (New York, New York)
- St. Louis Motor Carriage Company (St. Louis, Missouri)
- Standard Automobile Company of New York (New York, New York)
- Stanley Motor Carriage Company (Newton, Massachusetts)
- F. B. Stearns Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company (Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts)
- Studebaker Brothers Company (South Bend, Indiana)
- E. R. Thomas Motor Company (Buffalo, New York)
- Waltham Manufacturing Company (Waltham, Massachusetts)
- White Sewing Machine Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Wilson Automobile Manufacturing Company (Wilson, New York)
- Winton Motor Carriage Company (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Woods Motor Vehicle Company (Chicago, Illinois)