The George N. Pierce Co. of Buffalo, New York made bicycles in
the 1850s, produced its first car in 1901 and was renamed Pierce-Arrow
Motor Car Co. in 1910. English-born David Furguson, who remained
with the company until 1921, designed the first light cars which
had single-cylinder De Dion-Bouton engines. The ‘Great Arrow’
of 1904 saw the arrival of a 4-cyl. Model, the 3770cc engine rated
at 24/28HP driving through a 3-speed gearbox with column-mounted
shift lever and shaft drive. It also introduced cast aluminium
sections to the Pierce-Arrow body structure, a feature which remained
until 1921 when the company went over to pressed aluminium sheet.
Th Pierce-Arrow quickly established itself as a prestige marque
and when in 1909 the White House dispensed with horse-drawn carriages
for everyday transport two of the Buffalow company’s models were
included in the first presidential motorised fleet. In 1910 rationalisation
saw the company concentrate on the upper end of the mushrooming
auto-mobile market with just three 6-cylinder models: the 36-UU
of 5866cc, the 48-SS 7424cc and the 66-QQ 11,700cc. Among the
body styles offered was a touring Landau, unveiled in January
1910 at Madison Square Garden N.Y., which could be fitted out
as a camper. Owners, of course, would still expect to be chauffeur-driven
on their expeditions into the great outdoors and there was a telephone
installed for communication between passengers and driver.
Built to order, the Camper came with a deluxe specification which
began with tooled leather upholstery. It has a water tank, toilet
and a washbasin built into the back of the front seat. There was
a rear boot for trunks, a roofrack and storage boxes were set
along the sides where normally would have been plain runningboards.
The basic price was $8,250 and first choice options included the
fitted set of trunks for the boot, $200, and the picnic set for
the sliding drawer under the rear seat, $65.
Pierce-Arrow’s President, George K. Birge, had one of the campers
with an interior specially designed by the company’s Herbert M.
Dawley and including a rear seat/bed conversion and hot and cold
running water. An owner from San Francisco substituted an icebox
for the standard washbasin, whilst others specified fitted Thermos
flasks and compartments for cutlery and crockery. A breakfast
cereal tycoon, Charles William Post, and his wife are reported
to have travelled extensively in their specially equipped P-A
Touring Camper which also had H & C on tap, a food storage compartment,
hampers, toilet, four trunks on the back plus two more on top.
It was painted an eye-catching combination of old coach yellow
and black. |
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