American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing
1905 Jackson Model CA Royal Tourist model US Army vehicle, circa 1906. The vehicle was the conveyance of General Frederick Funston (leftmost figure in the back seat).A 1911 K-R-I-T advertisementA Stanley Steamer racecar in 1903; in 1906, a similar Stanley Rocket set the world land speed record at 127.6 miles per hour (205.4 km/h) at Daytona Beach Road Course
The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when cars were often referred to as horseless carriages.
Elsewhere in the world, this period would be considered by antique car enthusiasts to consist of the veteran (pre-1904), and Edwardian eras, although these terms are really not meaningful outside the former British Empire.
Overview
Early automakers turned to brass for their vehicles for both its looks and function. It held up well against tarnishing and bad weather, but required regular polishing to maintain its appearance.[1]
Though the automobile was invented a few years before the start of the Brass Era, the 20 years that make up this era represent the beginning of the automotive industry. It was a period of small-scale manufacturing, experimental designs, and alternative power systems. The middle of this period saw the introduction of Panhard et Levassor'sSystème Panhard, a front-engine, rear-drive design that became the industry standard for decades.[2]
Through this period, electric, gasoline, and steam propulsion power were the powertrains of choice, though gas-powered internal combustion engines were dominant by the end of this period. Various body styles were also in vogue at the time, including the high-wheel motor buggy (resembling the horse buggy of before 1900), runabouts, tonneaus, and other more expensive closed bodies.[3]
The vehicles most closely associated with the Brass Era were larger, more expensive luxury vehicles, such as those built by Packard, Peerless, Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac, and other premium manufacturers.
1915, the agreed-upon cutoff of the Brass Era, was the final year the Ford Model T was available with brass fitments. At this point the style had also begun to be considered outdated, and by the 1920s few if any vehicles continued to employ brass in their designs.
Technology
In the early part of this period, steam-car development had advanced, making steam cars some of the fastest road vehicles of their day.[4] Electric cars also held a market share throughout the era.
Transmissions and throttle controls were widely adopted, allowing a variety of cruising speeds, though vehicles generally still had discrete speed settings, rather than the infinitely variable system familiar in cars of later eras. Safety glass also made its debut, patented by John Wood in England in 1905,[7] but would not become standard equipment until 1926 on a Rickenbacker.[7] Angle steel took over from armored wood as the frame material of choice, and in 1912, Hupp pioneered the use of all-steel bodies,[8] joined in 1914 by Dodge.[7]
Lists of North American manufacturers of this era
Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly 1904 list
In January, 1904, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine catalogued the entire range of automobiles available to the mass market in the United States. This list included:
I have already indicated how the early "craze" for horseless carriages caused automobile plants to spring up like mushroom growths all over the country, just as hundreds of locomotive plants had sprung up in the early days of railroading. In both instances, however, the great majority faded out of the picture once the industry had become firmly established. As late as 1917, there were 127 different makes of American automobiles on the market, as compared with little more than a dozen in 1947 [i.e. at the time of this writing]. For the sake of the completeness of the present record, and in order to aid future scholars and research workers, I should like to give the list of American automobiles current thirty years ago [i.e., 1917]:
