William Wallace Austin Standing with the 1865 Roper Steam Carriage, 1905
THF729333 / William Wallace Austin Standing with the 1865 Roper Steam Carriage, 1905
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Artifact Overview
Sylvester Roper built several self-propelled, steam-powered vehicles from about 1863 to 1895. One of his machines, made in 1865, was sold to William Wallace Austin of Lowell, Massachusetts. Austin's steam carriage was in the possession of a Lowell car dealer when it came to Henry Ford's attention in 1930. Ford acquired the vehicle for his museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Photographic print
Subject Date
1905
Creators
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
2011.0.26.6
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Technique
Gelatin silver process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 8 in
Width: 10 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.