Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer's Automobiles

1918 Chevrolet "Four-Ninety" Roadster

The Chevrolet "490" was initially made to compete with the Ford Model T, which was priced at $495 at the time. Although it was nicknamed the “490” series because of its initial $490 price tag, the price had gone up since it was started in 1916. In 1917, the “490” Roadster cost $535, and the “490” Touring cost $550. In 1918, this "490" Roadster initially cost $660, dropping to $625 later in the manufacturing year, while the “490” Touring initially cost $685. This "490" Roadster weighs about 1,820 pounds, has 4 cylinders and a 3 11/16” x 4” bore and stroke. This particular "490" was made at the Chevrolet Motor Company factory in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Chevrolet Motor Company was co-founded on November 3, 1911, by William Crapo Durant, the co-founder of General Motors and founder of Durant Motors, and Louis Chevrolet, a well-known Swiss race car driver, mechanic, and automobile designer. Durant co-founded this company about three years after co-founding General Motors and about a year after being removed from the company. An ambitious pioneer of the automobile industry, Durant managed to acquire a majority of the stock in General Motors by 1915, and resumed his position as leader of the company.
In that same year, 1915, Louis Chevrolet sold his interest in his company as well as his name to Durant, leaving Durant in sole control of the Chevrolet brand. As the director of both General Motors and Chevrolet, Durant was in a position to merge the two companies, which he did on May 2, 1918, around the time the company produced Stuhr Museum's Roadster. By 1921, however, Durant had upset a number of people within the company, including stockholders, and he was removed from the company a second and final time.

If you look at the front of this Roadster and the other two Chevrolets in Stuhr Museum's exhibit, you will see the familiar Chevrolet logo. Where that logo originated is a mystery, although Durant put forth the most widely accepted story of its start. Before co-founding Chevrolet, Durant traveled the world, visiting Paris in 1908. While staying at a hotel there, he took note of a certain wallpaper design he saw. As he stated himself, he tore off a piece of that wallpaper, which had a "bow tie" design very similar to the future Chevrolet logo repeated over and over again. Durant used that design as his inspiration for the Chevrolet logo which he introduced in 1913.

Notes

A great resource for information on Chevrolet is Richard M. Langworth and Jan P. Norbye, The Complete History of General Motors, 1908-1986 (Skokie, IL: Publications International, Ltd., 1986).

c. Late 1910s to 1920s Tokheim Gas Pump

This gas pump, with a Standard Oil logo on its side, was made by the Tokheim Oil Tank & Pump Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Built with wheels, it was moved around and used to dispense gasoline. It has a small lever that allowed the service station attendant (or other person operating the pump) to adjust the amount of gas being dispensed, either a pint, a quart, a half gallon, or a full gallon.

The Tokheim Oil Tank & Pump Company was initially established by John J. Tokheim in 1901 as the Tokheim Manufacturing Company, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Tokheim, who ran a general store in Thor, Iowa, saw the increasing demand for more gasoline and oil as more people with automobiles made their way onto the prairie. In response to this demand, especially to the need of stores to carry more than just a few gallon containers of fuel, Tokheim invented a domed oil pump that could store up to 50 gallons of fuel in 1898. Following up his success with this early pump, Tokheim established his company in Cedar Rapids, and his business quickly boomed. The Tokheim Manufacturing Company made a wide variety of tanks and pumps for gas and oil.
When a group of investors from Fort Wayne, Indiana, purchased the company in 1918, they moved the company to Fort Wayne and changed the name to the Tokheim Oil Tank & Pump Company. Stuhr Museum's Tokheim gas pump must have been made after the company's name change in June 1918. After the change in name and location, the Tokheim company continued to be successful, even expanding into traffic signal manufacturing from 1926 to 1938. Tokheim not only survived the Great Depression but went on to make bombs for the U.S. and Britain during World War II.

Notes

Information on Tokheim can be found in Jack Sim, An Illustrated Guide to Gas Pumps: Identification and Price Guide, 2nd ed. (Iola, WI: Krause Publication, 2008), p. 22.

For additional information on Tokheim and his role in the development of the gas pump, see Scott Benjamin and Wayne Henderson, Gas Pump Collector’s Guide (Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Company, 1996), p.5.

c. 1930s to 1940s Phillips Oil Pump

This oil pump, often referred to as a lubester, was made by the Phillips Pump & Tank Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. It stored up to 60 gallons of oil. This particular oil pump has a "Diesel 300 oil" label. It may have been set up at a service station or at a general store.
In order to operate this oil pump, a person turned the crank (which is facing the wall) nearly two full turns while holding a glass container up to the spout, which is at the end of the extended arm at the top of the pump. The two turns would dispense a quart of oil into the container.

An interesting bit of trivial knowledge, especially for fans of the blues: John Lee Hooker, who lived in Cincinnati in the 1930s, worked at the Phillips Pump & Tank factory during the day and played the blues at night.

Notes

The information on John Lee Hooker is from Steven C. Tracy, Going to Cincinnati: A History of the Blues in the Queen City (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993).

1903 American Model A Runabout

Jumping into the very young automobile market, the American Motor Carriage Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1901. Like many automobile manufacturers at the time, the American Motor Carriage Company struggled to compete for buyers. The short-lived company only produced automobiles in 1902 and 1903. This particular runabout, built in 1903, is identified as Number 047.

From The Horseless Age, Vol. XI, No. 11 (March 18, 1903).

On the front of this American automobile are two Neverout Lamps made by the Rose Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A maker of lamps for bicycles in the late 1800s, the Rose Manufacturing Company moved into carriage, automobile, and motorboat lamps during the early 1900s.

From The L. A. W. Bulletin and Good
Roads, vol. XXV, no.16 (April 16, 1897).

1935 Chevrolet Standard Two-door Coach

This Standard Two-door Coach was made by Chevrolet under the umbrella of General Motors Corporation. The 1935 Standard Two-door Coach initially cost $485. The 1935 Standard line included the Coach, Coupe, Sedan, Roadster, and Phaeton.

The Chevrolet Motor Car Company was co-founded on November 3, 1911, by William Crapo Durant, the co-founder of General Motors and founder of Durant Motors, and Louis Chevrolet, a well-known Swiss race car driver, mechanic, and automobile designer. Durant co-founded this company about three years after co-founding General Motors and about a year after being removed from the company. An ambitious pioneer of the automobile industry, Durant managed to acquire a majority of the stock in General Motors by 1915, and resumed his position as leader of the company.
In that same year, 1915, Louis Chevrolet sold his interest in his company as well as his name to Durant, leaving Durant in sole control of the Chevrolet brand. As the director of both General Motors and Chevrolet, Durant was in a position to merge the two companies, which he did on May 2, 1918. By 1921, however, Durant had upset a number of people within the company, including stockholders, and he was removed from the company a second and final time.

If you look at the front of this Standard Coach and the other two Chevrolets in Stuhr Museum's exhibit, you will see the familiar Chevrolet logo. Where that logo originated is a mystery, although Durant put forth the most widely accepted story of its start. Before co-founding Chevrolet, Durant traveled the world, visiting Paris in 1908. While staying at a hotel there, he took note of a certain wallpaper design he saw. As he stated himself, he tore off a piece of that wallpaper, which had a "bow tie" design very similar to the future Chevrolet logo repeated over and over again. Durant used that design as his inspiration for the Chevrolet logo which he introduced in 1913. For more on the mystery of the logo, including a couple of other possibilities for its origin, visit the Chevrolet page here.

Notes

A great resource for information on Chevrolet is Richard M. Langworth and Jan P. Norbye, The Complete History of General Motors, 1908-1986 (Skokie, IL: Publications International, Ltd., 1986).

For a 1935 Chevrolet information packet, including specifications and a price list for parts, provided as a pdf by the GM Heritage Center, click or touch here. Scroll down when you open it; the first page of the pdf is blank.

For a more detailed description of the 1935 Chevrolet Standard, click or touch here.

For a description of Chevrolet automobiles, including a narrative of its early history, visit Chervolet's page here.

1940 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe Four-door Sedan

This four-door Sedan was made by Chevrolet under the umbrella of General Motors Corporation. The 1940 Master DeLuxe series came in business coupe, two-door town sedan, four-door sport sedan, and sport coupe models, ranging in price from $684 to $766. This Sedan initially cost about $725. In 1940, Chevrolet restyled the Master Deluxe since the previous year, calling its new style “Royal Clipper.”

The Chevrolet Motor Car Company was co-founded on November 3, 1911, by William Crapo Durant, the co-founder of General Motors and founder of Durant Motors, and Louis Chevrolet, a well-known Swiss race car driver, mechanic, and automobile designer. Durant co-founded this company about three years after co-founding General Motors and about a year after being removed from the company. An ambitious pioneer of the automobile industry, Durant managed to acquire a majority of the stock in General Motors by 1915, and resumed his position as leader of the company.
In that same year, 1915, Louis Chevrolet sold his interest in his company as well as his name to Durant, leaving Durant in sole control of the Chevrolet brand. As the director of both General Motors and Chevrolet, Durant was in a position to merge the two companies, which he did on May 2, 1918. By 1921, however, Durant had upset a number of people within the company, including stockholders, and he was removed from the company a second and final time.

If you look at the front of this Sedan and the other two Chevrolets in Stuhr Museum's exhibit, you will see the familiar Chevrolet logo. Where that logo originated is a mystery, although Durant put forth the most widely accepted story of its start. Before co-founding Chevrolet, Durant traveled the world, visiting Paris in 1908. While staying at a hotel there, he took note of a certain wallpaper design he saw. As he stated himself, he tore off a piece of that wallpaper, which had a "bow tie" design very similar to the future Chevrolet logo repeated over and over again. Durant used that design as his inspiration for the Chevrolet logo which he introduced in 1913.

Notes

A great resource for information on Chevrolet is Richard M. Langworth and Jan P. Norbye, The Complete History of General Motors, 1908-1986 (Skokie, IL: Publications International, Ltd., 1986).

For information on the Chevrolet Master series, click or touch here.

For the 1940 Master DeLuxe Sedan's specifications, click or touch here.

1922 Dodge Brothers Touring

This Touring was built by the Dodge Brothers Company of Detroit, Michigan, in 1922, after the deaths of the brothers who founded the company, John and Horace Dodge. The initial price for this Touring at the beginning of the model year was $985. By February 1922, about halfway through the model year, the price was reduced to $880.

John Francis (b. 1864) and Horace Elgin (b. 1868) Dodge were two of three children (the other was Delphine) born to Daniel and Maria, residents of the small town of Niles, in southwest Michigan. Daniel was a machinist who specialized in internal combustion engines for marine use, and John and Horace learned a great deal about machinery and the business from him. After leaving Niles in 1886, the two brothers moved to Battle Creek, then to Port Huron, and finally to Detroit where they worked for a time at the Murphy Boiler Works.
In 1894, they made their way across the border to Windsor, Ontario, where they became machinists for the Canadian Typography Company and where they gained experience in making precision metal products. Within a few years, Horace had patented a bicycle ball bearing, and the brothers teamed up with Fred S. Evans to form the Evans & Dodge Bicycle Company in 1897. In 1900, the brothers decided to cut their ties with Evans, selling their share of the company before returning to Detroit.
Back in Detroit, the brothers used their money from selling their interest in the bicycle company to establish a machine shop. They started with twelve employees but grew quickly. One of their first customers was Ransom E. Olds, one of the founding fathers of the automobile industry in Detroit. The brothers supplied Olds with engines and transmissions, making a strong impression on him and others with their well-constructed parts. By 1902, another automobile pioneer, Henry Ford, was looking to the brothers to supply chassis and other parts for his soon-to-be-established Ford Motor Company.
In exchange for many of their initial supplied parts, the brothers received one-tenth of the shares in Ford's company when it was incorporated on June 16, 1903. During the first several years of Ford's existence, the brothers not only made money by supplying parts to Ford, but they also made money through their stocks. John Dodge even became director and vice president for the Ford Motor Company, helping lead the firm to great success. The Dodge brothers may have even supplied the chassis and other parts (but not the later-built engine) to the 1914 Ford Model T here at Stuhr Museum.
In 1910, the Dodge Brothers Company grew large enough to require more facilities, and the company built its famed Hamtramck plant at this time. When Ford built his new facilities to manufacture Ford cars, and sought to renew his contract with the Dodge brothers, John and Horace decided it was not wise to continue a contract with a single company, even if that company had become the largest automobile manufacturer in the country. Instead, the brothers decided to start their own company in 1914. In August of that year, John stepped down as vice president of Ford, and the brothers ceased to be play a managing role in the company.
Venturing out on their own, the Dodge brothers met with quick success. Their reputation for quality products had preceded them. By 1920, after about six years of building automobiles, Dodge had moved all the way up to second among American manufacturers, trailing only Ford. The year before, in 1919, Ford bought out his fellow stockholders, including the Dodge brothers, in order to take full control of the Ford company. The brothers reportedly received $25,000,000 for their interest. The brothers' fortunate circumstances, however, would not last. 1920 would turn out to be a crucial year for the brothers and their company.
On January 14th of that year, John Died in New York of pneumonia. Near the end of that year, on December 10th, Horace died in Palm Beach, Florida, of cirrhosis. The brothers' widows kept the company going with the help of Frederick J. Haynes. It was during this period that the company produced Stuhr Museum's 1922 Dodge Brothers Touring. Although the company's production continued to grow, they were well short of Ford's output, and their share of the market began to slip. On May 1, 1925, the Dodge heirs sold the company for $146 million to a group of investment bankers in New York: Dillon, Read & Company. About three years later, on May 29, 1928, Dillon, Read & Company sold the Dodge Brothers Company for $170 million to Walter P. Chrysler, and the Dodge automobiles became part of the Chrysler line of products.
On a side note, the explorer and naturalist, Roy Chapman Andrews, took five Dodge Brothers automobiles with him and his team as they ventured into the Gobi Desert of a series of expeditions from 1924 to 1928. Andrews chose Dodge automobiles because he saw them as reliable vehicles that could withstand the harsh conditions of the desert.

Notes

You can find out more about the Dodge brothers, their interests and personalities by reading an article provided by the Chrysler Group here.
For a brief narrative of the Dodge brothers' history up until their first car was built in 1914, visit the Meadow Brook page here. Meadow Brook was the large estate built by Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of John Dodge.
For a more thorough history of the Dodge Brothers' Hamtramck plant, including a narrative of the company's history, read an article provided by the Department of the Interior here.

1926 Hudson Model O Super Six Sedan

This Sedan (serial #578484) was made by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. The company was incorporated on February 20, 1909, with Joseph L. Hudson, Hugh Chalmers, Roscoe Jackson, Howard Coffin, Frederick Rezner, Roy Chapin, James Brady, Lee Counselman as the main stockholders, and Goerge W. Dunham as the chief engineer. Dunham had previously been chief engineer for the short-lived American Motor Carriage Company (represented by a Runabout here at Stuhr Museum) from 1901 to 1903, and for the more successful Olds car company from 1907 to 1909.
Slowly getting off the ground, Hudson built about 1,100 of its Hudson Twenty cars in 1911. During the 1910s and 1920s, however, the company grew, moving in among the top American automobile manufacturers. In 1925, the company made nearly 270,000 Hudson and Essex automobiles, ranking the company third behind Ford and Chevrolet. Over these years, Hudson made several models, including the Hudson Twenty, the Hudson Six, the Hudson Super Six (introduced in 1916), and the Essex (introduced in 1919). The Hudson company merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors Corporation in 1954.
On a side note, a 1926 Hudson Super Six is featured in the John Steinbeck book, The Grapes of Wrath, and the same model of Hudson was used for the film based on the book. You can read more about this bit of trivial knowledge on Old Cars Weekly's page here.

Stuhr Museum's 1926 Hudson Sedan has a series of patent dates: April 28, 1908; May 18, 1909; May 28, 1912; August 6, 1912; October 22, 1912; November 18, 1913; April 24, 1917; December 11, 1917; December 17, 1918; February 18, 1919; June 2, 1919; September 20, 1921 (2 patents issued on this date); November 8, 1921; December 27, 1921; and September 18, 1923. It was also licensed under the Jensen patents.

If you look closely at this Hudson's hood, you will see what looks to be a hood ornament. That hood ornament on this Hudson is actually a Boyce Moto Meter, a device used to measure the temperature of the car's radiator. Before the radiator's temperature gauge was placed on the dashboard of automobiles, many automobiles had their gauges on the hood. Dominating the market for these radiator gauges, or "motor meters," the Moto Meter Company of Long Island City, New York, which made Boyce's gauges, reportedly sold over 10,000,000 of them by 1927. The company continued making them until the early 1930s. Stuhr Museum's 1926 Star also has a Boyce Moto Meter on its hood.
Stuhr Museum's 1926 Hudson's Boyce Moto Meter has a series of patents, including:

1090776, assigned on March 17, 1914, which you can access as a pdf here.
1272002, assigned on July 9, 1918, which you can access as a pdf here.
1272367, assigned on July 16, 1918, which you can access as a pdf here.
And 1275654, assigned on August 13, 1918, which you can access as a pdf here.

Notes

Information on Hudson’s founding can be found on Old Cars Weekly's website which you can access here.
An informative source for Hudson's history is Charles K. Hyde, Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, and American Motors (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2009).

1926 Star Model M Two-door Coach

This Star coach (serial #L360256) was built by the Durant Motor Company at its Lansing, Michigan, plant. It was reportedly used to market Hamm's Beer at one time.
Durant Motor Company was the third automobile maker founded or co-founded by the energetic and ambitious William Crapo Durant. Created in 1921, the year after Durant was removed from his position as head of General Motors, the Durant Motor Company made multiple lines of vehicles for the automobile market, including the Star, the Flint, and the Durant.
Although the company became somewhat successful during the 1920s, Durant's involvement in the stock market at the time of the 1929 stock market crash brought about the company's demise. The company closed by 1933, and Durant declared bankruptcy by 1936. Durant never recovered from this financial downturn. He suffered a stroke in 1942, and died in 1947, the manager of a bowling alley in Flint, Michigan.

On the side of this Star is a small nameplate for the Hayes-Hunt Corporation, the maker of this coach body. Hayes-Hunt was incorporated in 1922 by William Durant to make closed bodies for Star automobiles. Durant teamed with J. Clarence Hayes and J. H. Hunt to found this company which opened its first plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

That fancy hood ornament on this Star Sedan is actually a Boyce Moto Meter, a device used to measure the temperature of the car's radiator. Before the radiator's temperature gauge was placed on the dashboard of automobiles, many automobiles had their gauges on the hood. Dominating the market for these radiator gauges, or "motor meters," the Moto Meter Company of Long Island City, New York, which made Boyce's gauges, reportedly sold over 10,000,000 of them by 1927. The company continued making them until the early 1930s. Stuhr Museum's 1926 Hudson also has a Boyce Moto Meter on its hood.

Two-page ad in The Horseless Age from May 15, 1918.

Although you probably cannot see the name on the headlights of this Star, the headlight lenses were made by the L. E. Smith Glass Company of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Beginning in 1907, the company made glassware, including glass mixing bowls, along with lenses for automobile headlights and other glass items.

Motor World, vol. LII, no. 13
(Sept. 26, 1917), p.99.

Notes

For a brief narrative of William Durant's life and his role in General Motors, you can access General Motor's Heritage page on Durant here.
A nice resource for Durant automobiles is the The Durant Motors Automobile Club site which you can access here.
An informative webpage on the Moto Meter, with images, can be accessed here. A nice Cartype webpage on the Moto Meter, with photographs, can be accessed here.
Links to Boyce's patents issued before and after the Moto Meter on this 1926 Star was made, can be found on the Model T Ford Forum here.

1914 Ford Model T Runabout

This Model T Runabout was built by the Ford Motor Company. It cost $500 at the beginning of the 1914 model year, which began at Ford in August 1913. For the 1914 model year, Ford also built a Touring body style, which cost $550, and a Town Car body style, which cost $750.

The Ford Motor Company was established on June 16, 1903, by Henry Ford and a group of eleven investors. The company's creation was not a foregone conclusion in the years leading up to that day. Ford had driven his first successful homebuilt car about seven years earlier, in June 1896. Despite this relatively early success, Ford got sidetracked by his development of race cars, especially his 999 and Arrow. Ford also co-counded two other companies, the Detroit Automobile Company and the Henry Ford Company, before either leaving or being removed from the firms. It was only after many ups and downs that Henry Ford got into the right manufacturing mindset and found the right investors to get the soon-to-be successful Ford Motor Company going.
Beginning in 1903, Ford's company made the first Model A – a second Model A, of which three examples are here at Stuhr Museum, was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Along with the Model A, the Models C and F became big sellers from 1903 to 1905. All had 2-cylinder engines under the seat. From 1906 to 1908, before the shift to the Model T, Ford's Models N, R, and S became popular cars in America. All of these models had 4-cylinder engines under the hood. When Ford came out with the Model T in 1908, it became perhaps his favorite model. It was the best-selling automobile in America throughout the 1910s and into the 1920s, and it made the Ford Motor Company the largest car manufacturer in the world for a time.

On the driver's side door of this Model T is a Spartan Echo Type F hand-operated horn made by the Sparks-Withington Company in Jackson, Michigan. Sparks-Withington was formed by Philip and Winthrop Withington and William Sparks. In 1900, the Withington brothers created the Withington Company to produce steel parts for Withington, Cooley and Company, a firm established in part by their father and former Civil War General, William H. Withington. In 1903, the Withington brothers teamed up with Sparks, an English immigrant to Jackson who turned out to be a great salesman and organizer for the company.
In 1909, the company began making radiator cooling fan assemblies for the rising automobile industry; and, by 1911, its engineers had developed the first all-electric car horn. Adopted as standard equipment by the Hudson Automobile Company, the Sparks-Withington car horn became very popular. Shortly after its introduction, the company called its car horn the “Sparton,” a combination of the names, Sparks and Withington, and a reference to the ancient Spartans. In 1913, it added the hand-operated horn to its product line. By the early 1920s, Sparton horns could be found on forty-two makes of automobile.
The Sparks-Withington Company did not just stop with its innovations of the car horn. In 1926, the company came out with the country’s first all-electric radio. Expanding alongside the growing radio market, the company made a wide variety of radios throughout the 1930s and 1940s. By 1929, it was Jackson’s largest company, employing about one out of every fifteen workers in the city. By 1939, Sparks-Withington began developing their own television, putting off further experiments with the television until after World War II. By 1948, the company had come out with a black and white TV; a few years later, it had come out with a color model. In 1956, the company officially changed its name to the Sparton Corporation. At this time, the company had shifted much of its energy toward producing sonobuoys to help the U.S. Navy track submarines. After changing over to newer products in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Sparton Corporation closed its Jackson plant in 2009 and moved its offices to Chicago and its manufacturing to Florida and Vietnam.

On the sides of this Model T's windshield are Victor lamps made in Cincinnati, Ohio, by the Victor Lamp Company. On the front of this Model T are gas-powered headlamps made by the Corcoran Lamp Company, also based in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the driver's side of this Model T is a Prest-O-Lite tank which would have held gas to fuel the Corcoran headlamps. In 1914, both Victor and Corcoran lamps were standard lamps used on Ford automobiles.

In 1916, both companies became part of the larger Corcoran-Victor Company, a consolidation of the Corcoran Lamp Company, the Victor Lamp Company, the Corcoran Brothers Company, and the Victor Auto Parts Company.

Notes

A wonderful resource for the Ford Model T is Bruce W. McCalley, Model T Ford: The Car That Changed the World (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1994).
A nice website for information on Ford automobiles is the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village site. It has some great pages geared toward the model T. You can view these by clicking or touching here.

To find out even more about Ford Model Ts, you can search the Model T Ford Club of America's website, which you can access here; or The Model T Ford Club International's website, which you can access here.
Information on the Spartan Echo hand-operated horn, introduced in late 1913, can be found in Motor World, vol. XXXVII, no. 10 (November 27, 1913), p.29; and Horseless Age, vol XXXII, no. 22 (November 26, 1913). You can access a good web page for a narrative of the Sparks-Withington Company's history, including photographs, here.
Information on the creation of the Corcoran-Victor Company is from Moody’s Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities, vol. II (New York: Moody Manual Company, 1916), p. 4060, which you can access via Google Books here.
The Victor and Corcoran ads are both from The Automobile Trade Directory: A Classified Trade Directory of the Automobile and Commercial Vehicle Industries, containing the Names and Addresses of the American Manufacturers of Automobiles and Commercial Vehicles and of the Makers of Materials, Component Parts, Accessories, Machinery, Tools, Shop Equipment and Supplies. Contains also a Directory of National Trade Associations, Tables and Data and other pertinent information, vol. XIV, no. 1 (January, 1916), p. 295 (Victor) and p. 299 (Corcoran). Published in New York by The Automobile Trade Directory Incorporated.

1922 Ford Model T Coupe

This Coupe was made by the Ford Motor Company. A 1922 Model T Coupe cost $595 on September 2, 1921. On January 16, 1922, the price dropped to $580; and on October 17, 1922, it dropped again to $530. This particular Coupe's engine is #6304089, built on July 25, 1922.

The Ford Motor Company was established on June 16, 1903, by Henry Ford and a group of eleven investors. The company's creation was not a foregone conclusion in the years leading up to that day. Ford had driven his first successful homebuilt car about seven years earlier, in June 1896. Despite this relatively early success, Ford got sidetracked by his development of race cars, especially his 999 and Arrow. Ford also co-counded two other companies, the Detroit Automobile Company and the Henry Ford Company, before either leaving or being removed from the firms. It was only after many ups and downs that Henry Ford got into the right manufacturing mindset and found the right investors to get the soon-to-be successful Ford Motor Company going.
Beginning in 1903, Ford's company made the first Model A – a second Model A, of which three examples are here at Stuhr Museum, was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Along with the Model A, the Models C and F became big sellers from 1903 to 1905. All had 2-cylinder engines under the seat. From 1906 to 1908, before the shift to the Model T, Ford's Models N, R, and S became popular cars in America. All of these models had 4-cylinder engines under the hood. When Ford came out with the Model T in 1908, it became perhaps his favorite model. It was the best-selling automobile in America throughout the 1910s and into the 1920s, and it made the Ford Motor Company the largest car manufacturer in the world for a time.
For the 1922 model year, the Ford line included the following style options (and prices):
Touring – cost $355 beginning on September 2, 1921; $450 with a starter and demountable wheels. It cost $348 beginning on January 16, 1922; $443 with a starter and demountable wheels. And it cost $298 on October 17, 1922; $393 with a starter and demountable wheels.
Runabout – cost $325 beginning on September 2, 1921; $420 with a starter and demountable wheels. It cost $319 beginning on January 16, 1922; $414 with a starter and demountable wheels. And it cost $269 on October 17, 1922; $364 with a starter and demountable wheels.
Sedan – cost $660 beginning on September 2, 1921; it cost $645 beginning on January 16, 1922; and it cost $595 on October 17, 1922.
Fordor – cost $725 on October 17, 1922, having been introduced later in the model year.
Coupe – cost $595 beginning on September 2, 1921; it cost $580 beginning on January 16, 1922; and it cost $530 on October 17, 1922.
Chassis – cost $295 beginning on September 2, 1921; $390 with a starter and demountable wheels. It cost $285 beginning on January 16, 1922; $380 with a starter and demountable wheels. And it cost $235 on October 17, 1922; $330 with a starter and demountable wheels..
Truck – cost $445 beginning on September 2, 1921; $540 with a starter and demountable wheels. It cost $430 beginning on January 16, 1922; $525 with a starter and demountable wheels. And it cost $380 on October 17, 1922; $475 with a starter and demountable wheels.

Notes

1925 Ford Model T Runabout

This Runabout was built by the Ford Motor Company. The 1925 Model T Runabout cost $260 without a starter and demountable rims, and $325 with a starter and demountable rims. This particular Runabout's engine is #11785548, built on May 18, 1925.

The Ford Motor Company was established on June 16, 1903, by Henry Ford and a group of eleven investors. The company's creation was not a foregone conclusion in the years leading up to that day. Ford had driven his first successful homebuilt car about seven years earlier, in June 1896. Despite this relatively early success, Ford got sidetracked by his development of race cars, especially his 999 and Arrow. Ford also co-counded two other companies, the Detroit Automobile Company and the Henry Ford Company, before either leaving or being removed from the firms. It was only after many ups and downs that Henry Ford got into the right manufacturing mindset and found the right investors to get the soon-to-be successful Ford Motor Company going.
Beginning in 1903, Ford's company made the first Model A – a second Model A, of which three examples are here at Stuhr Museum, was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Along with the Model A, the Models C and F became big sellers from 1903 to 1905. All had 2-cylinder engines under the seat. From 1906 to 1908, before the shift to the Model T, Ford's Models N, R, and S became popular cars in America. All of these models had 4-cylinder engines under the hood. When Ford came out with the Model T in 1908, it became perhaps his favorite model. It was the best-selling automobile in America throughout the 1910s and into the 1920s, and it made the Ford Motor Company the largest car manufacturer in the world for a time.
When 1925 rolled around, Ford was beginning to lose business to General Motors and other automobile manufacturers. Despite the loss of the market, the Ford factories produced nearly two million vehicles in 1925. For the 1925 model year, the Ford line included the following style options (and prices):
Touring – cost $290, beginning on October 24, 1924; it cost $375 with the starter (which cost $65) and the demountable rims (which cost $20).
Runabout – cost $260; $345 with the starter and demountable rims.
Pickup – cost $281, beginning on March 4, 1925, when it was introduced.
Tudor – cost $580.
Fordor – cost $660.
Coupe – cost $520.
Chassis – cost $225; $310 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck chassis – cost $365; $450 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck with body – cost $485; $570 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck with stake body - cost $495.

Notes

1925 Ford Model T Touring

This Runabout was made by the Ford Motor Company. The 1925 Model T Runabout cost $290 without a starter and demountable rims, and $375 with a starter and demountable rims. This particular Runabout's engine is engine #11585674, built on April 18, 1925.

The Ford Motor Company was established on June 16, 1903, by Henry Ford and a group of eleven investors. The company's creation was not a foregone conclusion in the years leading up to that day. Ford had driven his first successful homebuilt car about seven years earlier, in June 1896. Despite this relatively early success, Ford got sidetracked by his development of race cars, especially his 999 and Arrow. Ford also co-counded two other companies, the Detroit Automobile Company and the Henry Ford Company, before either leaving or being removed from the firms. It was only after many ups and downs that Henry Ford got into the right manufacturing mindset and found the right investors to get the soon-to-be successful Ford Motor Company going.
Beginning in 1903, Ford's company made the first Model A – a second Model A, of which three examples are here at Stuhr Museum, was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Along with the Model A, the Models C and F became big sellers from 1903 to 1905. All had 2-cylinder engines under the seat. From 1906 to 1908, before the shift to the Model T, Ford's Models N, R, and S became popular cars in America. All of these models had 4-cylinder engines under the hood. When Ford came out with the Model T in 1908, it became perhaps his favorite model. It was the best-selling automobile in America throughout the 1910s and into the 1920s, and it made the Ford Motor Company the largest car manufacturer in the world for a time.
When 1925 rolled around, Ford was beginning to lose business to General Motors and other automobile manufacturers. Despite the loss of the market, the Ford factories produced nearly two million vehicles in 1925. For the 1925 model year, the Ford line included the following style options (and prices):
Touring – cost $290, beginning on October 24, 1924; it cost $375 with the starter (which cost $65) and the demountable rims (which cost $20).
Runabout – cost $260; $345 with the starter and demountable rims.
Pickup – cost $281, beginning on March 4, 1925, when it was introduced.
Tudor – cost $580.
Fordor – cost $660.
Coupe – cost $520.
Chassis – cost $225; $310 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck chassis – cost $365; $450 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck with body – cost $485; $570 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck with stake body - cost $495.

Notes

1925 Ford Model T Truck

This truck was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Although this particular truck's body is a 1925 style, its engine was built on February 17, 1926, leading us to believe that the engine was replaced at some point between the late 1920s and the early 1960s, before Stuhr Museum acquired the truck from John Thieszen. A 1925 Model T Truck initially cost $485 when it left the factory. If a buyer wanted the optional starter and demountable rims, the cost increased $85, to $570.

The Ford Motor Company was established on June 16, 1903, by Henry Ford and a group of eleven investors. The company's creation was not a foregone conclusion in the years leading up to that day. Ford had driven his first successful homebuilt car about seven years earlier, in June 1896. Despite this relatively early success, Ford got sidetracked by his development of race cars, especially his 999 and Arrow. Ford also co-counded two other companies, the Detroit Automobile Company and the Henry Ford Company, before either leaving or being removed from the firms. It was only after many ups and downs that Henry Ford got into the right manufacturing mindset and found the right investors to get the soon-to-be successful Ford Motor Company going.
Beginning in 1903, Ford's company made the first Model A – a second Model A, of which three examples are here at Stuhr Museum, was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Along with the Model A, the Models C and F became big sellers from 1903 to 1905. All had 2-cylinder engines under the seat. From 1906 to 1908, before the shift to the Model T, Ford's Models N, R, and S became popular cars in America. All of these models had 4-cylinder engines under the hood. When Ford came out with the Model T in 1908, it became perhaps his favorite model. It was the best-selling automobile in America throughout the 1910s and into the 1920s, and it made the Ford Motor Company the largest car manufacturer in the world for a time.
When 1925 rolled around, Ford was beginning to lose business to General Motors and other automobile manufacturers. Despite the loss of the market, the Ford factories produced nearly two million vehicles in 1925. For the 1925 model year, the Ford line included the following style options (and prices):
Touring – cost $290, beginning on October 24, 1924; it cost $375 with the starter (which cost $65) and the demountable rims (which cost $20).
Runabout – cost $260; $345 with the starter and demountable rims.
Pickup – cost $281, beginning on March 4, 1925, when it was introduced.
Tudor – cost $580.
Fordor – cost $660.
Coupe – cost $520.
Chassis – cost $225; $310 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck chassis – cost $365; $450 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck with body – cost $485; $570 with starter and demountable rims.
Truck with stake body - cost $495.

Stuhr Museum's Ford Model T Truck was reportedly used by the Staplehurst Flavo Flour in Staplehurst, Nebraska. Flavo Flour was a brand name used by The Anglo-American Mill Company since its creation in 1910 to sell its Marvel flour mills around the country. The company advertised to the local farmer, miller, or business entrepreneur who was willing to set up a mill to process local grain into flour and to sell that flour locally. By advertising its brand name, Flavo Flour, above its Marvel mills, the company was essentially advertising for the local population who purchased and used those mills. Competing with Pillsbury and other nationally known brands, the Anglo-American Mill Company was essentially attempting to reverse the shift that had been taking place in the early 1900s, the shift from local flour production to centralized, mass-production of flour by major corporations. The company did not make its money on the flour produced, but it made its money on the mills it built and sold, and on the Flavo Flour bags it produced to hold the flour. Perhaps Stuhr's truck was used to advertise for the local flour producers as it transported the locally made flour from a Marvel mill to area grocery stores. A great description of The Anglo-American Mill Company from 1918 can be found in Printers' Ink, vol. CIV, no. 6 (August 8, 1918), pp. 45-56, which you can access here.

Notes