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The Brass Car Era

The Brass Car Era featured cars and trucks built between 1890 and 1918

Antique Car Era - Vintage Car Era - Classic Car Era - Muscle Car Era - Hot Rod and Roadster Era


Horseless Carriage

The Brass Car Era marks the start of automotive history, when steam engines had fancy brass fittings and brass lanterns were a natural addition to the new 'horseless carriage'. Brass cars were typically built with carriage wood and forged steel, and fitted with electric motors or steam engines. The Brass Car Era began with the sale of the first commercial vehicle in the 1890's and lasted until the early 1900's, when mass production and gasoline engines started the Antique Car Era.

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.

1904 Packard

Nevertheless, 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.

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:

1910 Hudson

Brass Era 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)
1911 Pope Hartford
  • - 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)
Brass Radiator
  • - 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)

Brass Era Vehicles

  • - AL (automobile)
  • - ALC
  • - AMC (automobile)
  • - Aachener
  • - Aerocar (1905 automobile)
  • - Ageron
  • - Ajax (1906 automobile)
  • - Alba (1907 automobile)
  • - Albany Runabout
  • - Alesbury
  • - Alfgang
  • - All-British
  • - All-Velo
  • - Allen (1913 Ohio automobile)
  • - Allen (1913 Philadelphia automobile)
  • - Allen Kingston
  • - Alliance (1903 automobile)
  • - Alliance (1905 automobile)
  • - Allright
  • - Alpena (automobile)
  • - Altena (automobile)
  • - American (1902 automobile)
  • - American Chocolate
  • - American Electric (1899 automobile)
  • - American Electric (1913 automobile)
  • - American Simplex
  • - American Underslung
  • - Ames (automobile)
  • - Amherst (automobile)
  • - Ampère (car)
  • - Anasagasti
  • - Anchor Buggy
  • - Anderheggen
  • - Anderson Electric
  • - Anglada
  • - Anglian automobile
  • - Anglo-Dane
  • - Anhut
  • - Ansbach (automobile)
  • - Antoine
  • - Antoinette
  • - Apollo (1910 automobile)
  • - Apperson
  • - Arbee
  • - Ardsley (automobile)
  • - Argus (automobile)
  • - Arista (1912 automobile)
  • - Armadale (automobile)
  • - Armstrong (automobile)
  • - Arno (automobile)
  • - Ascot (1904 automobile)
  • - Asquith (1901 automobile)
  • - Atlas (automobile)
  • - Attila (automobile)
  • - Auburn Automobile
  • - Aultman
  • - Aurora (1904 automobile)
  • - Austin (1901 automobile)
  • - Austral (automobile)
  • - Autocar Company
  • - Baker Motor Vehicle
  • - Berg Automobile
  • - Buffalo Electric Carriage
  • - Columbia (automobile)
  • - Compound (automobile)
  • - Courier (automobile)
  • - Covert (automobile)
  • - Crestmobile
  • - Duryea Power
  • - Eldredge (automobile)
  • - Elmore (automobile)
  • - Franklin (automobile)
  • - Fredonia (automobile)
  • - Grout (automobile)
  • - Haynes-Apperson
  • - Holley Motor Car
  • - Jeffery (automobile)
  • - Knox Automobile
  • - Locomobile
  • - Mors (automobile)
  • - National Motor Vehicle
  • - Northern (automobile)
  • - Oldsmobile Curved Dash
  • - Orient (automobile)
  • - Owen Magnetic
  • - Peerless
  • - Phelps Motor Vehicle
  • - Pope-Robinson
  • - Pope-Toledo
  • - Pope-Waverley
  • - Premier Motor Manufacturing
  • - Royal Motor Car
  • - Smith and Mabley
  • - St. Louis Motor Company
  • - Stearns (automobile)
  • - Stevens-Duryea
  • - Stoddard-Dayton
  • - Studebaker-Garford
  • - Thomas Motor Company
  • - Thrige (automobile)
  • - White (automobile)
  • - Wilson Automobile
  • - Winton Motor Carriage Company
  • - Woods Motor Vehicle
  • - Yale (automobile)

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