History Photos taken before WW2 - history in black and white

Bob, good point. I don't think the old man got involved in cars too much, though he did come up with the "silencer" for guns and the prototype for the automobile muffler.

Father and son had similar names, so they are easily confused. Both, though, were inventors. And the son is well remembered as the father of the Radio Relay League (RRL) and the chief proponent of HAM radio, in main part for civil defense communication and for disaster relief communication. HAM (not HAMB! LOL) served for decades as a reliable system, before commercial satellites started regularly whirling around in space. My dad-in-law was well known in our community as an RRL licensed member and often provided the quickest way for a wife or family to commuicat to and from a soldier, sailor or airman in Vietnam.

Ironically, the junior Maxim was affectionately known throughout the RRL family as "The Old Man."

I love this thread, as I wish folks would continue to dig into the facts of the great folks in history -- giants and ordinary folks, too.

 

Looked it up, and his SON inventer the silencer. Setting the record straight.

 

The complex Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (1840-1916). Though Maxim counted
the ubiquitous MOUSE TRAP among his many inventions, he was undoubtedly
knighted by Victoria for the machine gun, which helped conquer British holdings
in Africa, among other places.



MAXIM .303 fully auto gun, mounted on a Dunonald carriage, by this time
probably called Vickers, Son & Maxim. Both pix are in public realm, but I
THANK the WikiMedia Commons project and always ask HAMBers to send
these great folks some dough each year, even if five bucks. Great resource
and FREE.

 

This has previously been posted, but, it's a great photo fro 1899 and the link is worthy of a look -



http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/GreatBritain/British-OtherVehicles.html


PS It gives a whole new meaning to "a deadly treadly".

 

http://www.oocities.com/fatalsteps/hist110a/timeline_txt.html

 

http://www.gunhistoryindia.com/2008/12/camel-cavalryman-on-camel-with-mounted.html

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XdP6Lp2ceqY/SwoGn34Ti5I/AAAAAAAADvs/x7hDsrpGWhs/s1600/gun.jpg

 

Getting away from big guns for a moment...

From the 1920s to the 1960s my Grandfather worked for Elliott & Waddington Auto Parts in New Castle, PA. In 1931 they moved to a new location in a former Cadillac dealership (check out the glazed tile front with the Caddy logo behind the sign), shown in the group shot from their Grand Opening in April of that year.

In 1941 to celebrate E & W's 25th Anniversary Granddad worked on a window display listing all the current and defunct U.S. car manufacturers along with significant events in auto (and E. & W.) history.

The detail shots show photos displayed in the window of E. & W.'s original location along with one of an early Buick dealership.

 

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=225

 

http://oldphotosbombay.blogspot.com/2011/01/bombay-taxi-1850-to-2000.html

 

http://www.machadoink.com/Burgate Street.htm

 

http://www.lafire.com/fire_apparatus/TouristFireEngines_Burnham/TouristFireEngines_Burnham.htm

 

Hiram Percy Maxim (1869-1936), THANKS to the WikiMedia Commons project!


I didn't want anybody to think I'd forgotten about Maxim, the younger.
But it's hard to get your arms around a legendary figure like this. When
you read of all his broad interests, numerous inventions and visionary
world view, well, I'd put him on par with his contemporary renaissance
man, Charles Brady King (first man to put a gas car on Detroit's streets,
in March 1896 -- weeks before Henry Ford).

In fact, I was aware of Maxim's tremendous achievements as co-founder
and pilot of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), but I hadn't much
examined his, perhaps, even greater contributions to early development
of the American automobile! Here's just a sample, for now.




Here's a photo of Percy Hiram Maxim with his invention, grafting a gasoline engine
to a Pope-made Columbia tandem tricycle. Because Pope was keen on breaking
ground in new markets to maintain his massive manufacturing footing, he hired
the young engineer Maxim in 1895 to head product development in Pope's new Motor
Carriage Department, leading to the first Columbia auto in spring 1896, an electric per
Pope's wishes. Fast work, Percy! THANKS for the Maxim photo go to kcstudio.com!


SCADS of fascinating detail, plus more pix here:
The Columbia Cars are Born... Pope Manufacturing - Columbia cars
www.kcstudio.com/colha98.html

Also, the book Bob mentioned in Post # 7141, Horseless Carriage Days,
is amazing and, at times, quite humorous. To read an EXCELLENT (and SHORT!)
review, search:

Amazon.com: Horseless carriage days: Hiram Percy Maxim: Books
www.amazon.com/Horseless-carriage-Hiram-Percy-Maxim/d...


There's also a good bio at:
Hiram Percy Maxim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Percy_Maxim

 

Rockport trolley 1908

 

Seagrave boss hoss replacements...

 

I'm thinking this is R.E. Olds' first steam car, ca. 1890. That's
Ransom on the tiller. Anybody know this photo? Some details
of early auto development came from the following tight and
well-written AACA article: Car Fun Facts local.aaca.org/north-
eastflorida/car_fun_facts.htm - THANKS, AACA!

 

http://saskava.wordpress.com/

 

Perhaps Olds 2nd model? The one that sank while being shipped to India? The first, in 1887, was a three wheel wagon -
http://info.detnews.com/pix/autos/2010/oldsmuseum10/87oldssteamer.jpg

(The vehicle on the link is a reproduction and the photo is in colour - hence the link)

 

http://steam-locomotives-south-africa.blogspot.com/2010/07/nababeep-locomotives-of-namaqualand.html

 

http://patentpending.blogs.com/patent_pending_blog/page/20/

"Amedee Bollee Sr. inherited a bell foundry in Le Mans France. Working with his foundry machine shop, he built several steam carriages that were remarkable in their craftsmanship. His 1873 steam carriage L'Obeissante (the Obedient One) had a roof with windows and curtains, sat 12 passengers, had a cruising speed of 30 km/ hr, and a top speed of 40 km/hr. It burned coal to fire the steam boiler, and used 50 kilos of coal per hour. It was built very solid, and weighed in at 5 tons!!"

 

http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/photopolis/1916photo.htm

 

http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/htm/article/80.htm

 

http://www.lindapages.com/wags-ohio/trolley/trolley-train.htm

 

http://www.searlecanada.org/sunderland/sunderland014.html