Back in December I had a visit from Kent Floro. We looked through the old pictures to see if there was anybody he could recognize. He did manage to identify some of the images for me and offer clues on some others. While we were going through the pictures he was paying great attention to any little detail in hopes of being able to help in some fashion. When we came to this picture we were trying to narrow down information by looking at the car. Sadly we were unable to identify the car or find any information on it. However, Kent did point out something in the background. I had thought that wide bar behind the men was a flaw in the photograph. Kent asked if I had been able to narrow down the building in the back. Building?! If you look at the bottom you can see a small platform and a fence around it. On a hunch I looked up the Perry's Monument.
Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial was under construction from 1912 to 1915. Although mostly completed in 1915 the builders ran out of funds. In 1919 the federal government assumed control of the building, supplied the funding required and completed the project. If you run a quick Google image search for the monument/memorial you will see that it is centered on a round platform with the fence around it. Is this possibly taken on the island?
As far as the car goes we have a hand crank in the front, center. In 1903 a patent was issued for an electric starter, although the Ford Model-T's used a hand crank through 1919. If you look closely you will see a bulb horn mounted on the steering wheel, they became popular in the United States in the early 1900's. It appears to have electric lanterns since automobiles either had oil lanterns, acetylene flame and "electric". I see something in the lanterns that appears to be much bigger than a wick, I don't see any acetylene tanks around the lanterns which leaves "electric". The electric headlamps were first added to cars in 1898. There is no convertible top fan in the back so I assume this model was an "open car". The body type is referred to as "touring" and was very popular until the 1920's.
Timeframe: Judging by the information regarding the car and the mens clothing I believe this was taken in the mid or late 1910's. If any of you car buffs can narrow down the vehicle I would be very grateful but between 1900 & 1930 there were over 1800 car manufacturers in the United States alone.
Where It Fits: I haven't the foggiest. Can anybody narrow down who the four gentlemen are? Has anybody heard any stories about a relative with a fancy or nifty car? Do we have relatives that helped build Perry's Monument/Memorial? On a side note I have to brag a little. This is the 100th post!!!
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