Handbill Advertising the Steam Buggy and the Steam Velocipede built by Sylvester Roper, 1864
THF277030 / Handbill Advertising the Steam Buggy and the Steam Velocipede built by Sylvester Roper, 1864
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Artifact Overview
Massachusetts machinist Sylvester Roper built several steam-powered carriages and motorcycles years before automobiles -- as we know them -- appeared. Roper never produced his vehicles commercially. Instead, they were exhibited at circuses and fairs, where crowds marveled at the self-propelled contraptions. Steamboats and steam locomotives were common, but steam-powered carriages were genuine novelties.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Negative (Photograph)
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
EI.1929.N.B.17099
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 5 in
Width: 4 in
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Related Artifacts
Artifact1865 Roper Steam Carriage
This vehicle is the oldest surviving American automobile. In the 1860s, a small steam carriage running under its own power -- without horses! -- was so startling that people paid to see it driven. It was a curiosity, not transportation. By the time its inventor, Sylvester Roper, died in 1896, new innovators were transforming horseless carriages from curiosities into practical vehicles.