£100,000

offers 0

1896 Whitney Two Cylinder Steam Runabout

Highlights

Eligible for the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run and one of the very oldest Victorians in the event
The very first steam car built by pioneering American engineer George Eli Whitney
Accompanied by a well-researched history spanning from 1896 to the present day
Offered in full running, driving order
See a YouTube video provided by the vendor here
Formerly owned by American Civil War veteran Charles Gibson - an accolade few cars can claim

The Appeal

Today’s electric vehicle manufacturers must think they’re very clever. But here’s a 129-year-old motor car that operates in near total silence. A paragon of smoothness and refinement, this 1896 Whitney Two Cylinder Steam Runabout was designed to be operated with just one hand on the tiller and one foot to work the brake. “Any one of ordinary intelligence can be instructed to operate one in one day”, its creator stated.

George Eli Whitney (1862-1963) came from illustrious stock. His great grandfather’s brother and namesake Eli Witney was the man behind the ‘cotton gin’, while his uncle Amos founded legendary American engineering works Pratt & Whitney. Engineering was very much in the blood, and George designed the first production engine for motor cars in the US auto industry in c.1890. Whitney’s steam engines were widely copied by the likes of Locombile and the Stanley Brothers over the next ten years or so. By 1896, Whitney finally completed his own steam-propelled carriage. This is it.

Car & Classic is delighted to offer George Eli Whitney’s very first motor car which he built in his South Boston works in 1896. Whitney sold the car in March 1896 to a fellow inventor by the name of Charles Gibson, a New York jeweller who had been looking to develop his own motor car. Upon discovering Whitney’s design was far greater than his own, Gibson bought the car for the then enormous sum of 2,500 dollars. Gibson drove it from Boston to Stonington Rhode Island and on to New York, fittingly by steam ferry, a widely publicised tour following which he’d then dismantle it and file various fraudulent patents, claiming the design to be his own. Whitney was understandably enraged by such skulduggery and successfully sued Gibson for 7,000 dollars. This was the subject of a huge news story at the time, which made its way into all the major US motoring papers. Whitney had learnt his lesson and his company would go on to file over 300 patents of its own in the years to come.

The steam car would remain with Gibson, however, passing to his wife until she died during the 1930s. During his tenure, he used it as a basis for his own inventions, including the replacement of the original Whitney vertical engine with a horizontal unit of his own design, marketed as the ‘Gibson Carbonic Acid Car’ in 1899. Cylinder valves were known to freeze, so Gibson opted for a compressed air design in which air was stored at 2,500 psi and reduced to an initial cylinder pressure of 150 psi via various reduction valves. This is the engine which remains in the car today and the vendor has a copy of the patent. Gibson even used the same photograph that promoted his ‘Acid Car’ - you could call it an example of early ‘fake news’!

High-profile television presenter, opera singer, actor and serial car collector James Melton became the Whitney steam car’s next custodian and its place in his collection is very well-documented, albeit the car was misidentified as an 'Ofeldt Steamer 4hp' because of words “F.W. Ofeldt and Sons” found on the replacement burner. It would crop up again when sold during the mid to late '50s and starred on the cover of ‘The Atlantic Auto Advertiser’ in July, 1962. UK registered since 1971, the car has subsequently had three registered keepers and the vendor acquired it at auction in 2003. It has taken part in the prestigious London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on numerous occasions, often heading up the pack as car number two or three and by far the most refined and capable of the Victorian entrants.

This early motor car is surely among the most significant surviving artefacts in American automotive history. Not only has it endured more than one and a quarter centuries, but it is still in full working order, driving exactly as its maker envisioned back in 1896. Complete with the all-important VCC dating certificate and a well-documented history spanning 129 years, this is perhaps the most historically significant automobile on the market today. It also happens to be the single oldest vehicle Car & Classic has ever had the privilege to offer at auction.

The History and Paperwork

Highly detailed analysis by well-known steam car expert Stewart Gray confirmed this to be Whitney’s very first motor car
The vendor informs us that some components manufactured at the Pratt & Whitney plant
Whitney designed the first production engine for motor cars in the US auto industry in c.1890 for William Mason; subsequently used and copied by numerous horseless carriage makers
Sold for 2,500 dollars to Charles Gibson in March 1896
Gibson claimed to be a Civil War veteran and also belonged to the Secret Service and anti-Catholic American Protective Association
Civil War-era soldiers cap to be retained by the vendor, their homage to Charles Gibson
Gibson re-invented the car as the ‘Gibson Carbonic Acid Car’, using cylinders of compressed dry ice, replacing the Whitney vertical engine and boiler (1899) with a horizontal engine
Contemporary road test of Gibson’s Acid Car 1899 in 'The Horseless Age' newspaper. accompanies the car
Entered the prolific James Melton collection in the late 1930s, joining more than 100 cars across two museums, including Mercer Raceabouts and Mercedes-Benz SSKs
While he did later buy an older steam stagecoach, this was Melton's oldest car
A copy of a 1954 magazine with colour photos of the car in Melton's collection is included (see gallery below)
Most of Melton’s collection was sold off to the Rockefeller family, although the Whitney steam car was sold in the mid to late 1950s to Keith Oderkirk, who took it to veteran car meetings
The car also comes with correspondence from Melton’s daughter, Margo
Magazine cover photographed (1962)
Subject of numerous magazine articles and book entries
UK road registered since October 1971
Three UK registered keepers
VCC dating certificate finalised following visits to the USA, consulting leading experts as there had hitherto been some doubts over the car’s exact age
Owned for a time by M. Mutters and serviced by Jeff Theobald
Acquired by the vendor at auction in 2003
Boiler currently ‘out of test’, although 99 per cent new (replaced by the vendor)
The car was a frequent London to Brighton entrant, although has not been used for the past seven years
Exempt from road tax and MOT testing
Modern V5C present
“One of the most significant and historic steam carriages that remains in private ownership today” - Stewart Gray
The vendor is willing to assist any overseas buyer, share any information required and store the car

The Condition

Exceedingly original and well-preserved
Retains a period-style ‘pram’ hood in very good order
Delightfully patinated

It’s staggering to think just how incredibly old this Whitney Runabout is. It was built before the start of the Second Boer War, the same year as the first modern Olympics. Therefore, what’s even more remarkable is how well this car has survived. Certainly, there have been times when various components have required repair or replacement, but the Whitney remains exceedingly original overall and in superb condition considering how long it has existed.

As the photographs attest, there’s a delightful patina to the timber bodywork and leather upholstery. The chassis and running gear were previously painted red by James Melton, although they have now been returned to period-correct black. Some traces of the red remain. We’re not notified of any notable wear, corrosion or damage, and he vendor demonstrates the ‘pram’ canvas hood, (naturally not the original item), to be in full working order.

The Mechanics

Horizontal engine with two 4" X 1 15/16" pistons
14" firetube boiler suspended astride the fuel and water tanks astern of the boiler and within the box of the carriage
‘Major repair’ made to the boiler which is now 99 per cent new according to the vendor
Particular attention was made to replacement parts being indistinguishable from the original boiler; the vendor even studied the heads of the rivets in order to achieve an exact replication
The boiler is currently ‘out of test’ yet reportedly in superb condition
We're informed whale oil was originally used to fire the boiler, whereas heating oil has been used in more recent years
The pipes are not lagged at present so that the boiler can be inspected; replacing these would ensure heat retention and, therefore ultimate running efficiency
When it was new, the whole engine bay was enclosed; the vendor has those copper panels, which he assumes are complete
30" front and 32" rear wheels with pneumatic tyres
The vendor notes that the front spokes are laced correct although the rears are incorrect for the period; likely wheels were changed due to tyre availability
Included in the sale are two additional original rims and one unused tyre to go with the car; the vendor advises using these as one spoke is loose on one of the current rear wheels
Tubular steel chassis, braced along both sides
Chain and sprocket drive
Single contracting brake, the
Steering is pivoted at the hubs, and the steering gear fully compensates for all defects in the road, only the carriage itself being sprung

The Whitney Runabout is certainly a good deal simpler to operate than many motor cars some two decades its junior - a true testament to its creator’s aptitude for engineering. All controls, except the braking via the footbrake, are accessed via the tiller; the steering, speed, forward and reverse all controlled via one hand twisting, swinging, raising or lowering the tiller.

Although it has stood unused for the past seven years, the vendor used to drive this car a great deal, regularly completing twenty or so mile jaunts and taking part in the London to Brighton run on numerous occasions. They inform us they were able to build steam, go for a three-mile round drive and put the car back in its shed within the space of an hour - mightily impressive considering the limits of the technology!

Nobody alive today knows this car and its history anywhere near so well as the vendor, and they hope to see a new custodian take on its continued preservation. It’s the oldest vehicle Car & Classic has offered at auction and we’re honoured to be bringing such a significant piece of American automotive history to market.

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