Automobiles
Lewis Reed loved cars. Trained as a chauffeur early in his life, he later leveraged his knowledge of automobiles into founding one of the longest-lived and most successful car dealerships in the state of Maryland. Unsurprisingly, his love of both cars and cameras resulted in his taking numerous pictures of car culture as it developed from infancy to supremacy.
Lewis Reed loved cars. Trained as a chauffeur early in his life, he later leveraged his knowledge of automobiles into founding one of the longest-lived and most successful car dealerships in the state of Maryland. Unsurprisingly, his love of both cars and cameras resulted in his taking numerous pictures of car culture as it developed from infancy to supremacy.
Lewis Reed's daughter Mary Jane with her Uncle Sam in front of new cars
Line of brand-new cars stopped on Goshen Road on the way to the Reed Brothers dealership showroom. The car at the rear appears to be getting a helping hand to change a flat tire.
1910-1919
1910-1919
The touring car was one of the most common styles of automobile in the early decades of the 20th century. Nearly every auto manufacturer offered a vehicle in this style. Touring cars generally were denoted by an open body seating four or more people. Identified by the triangle logo on the grill and the number of passengers seated in it, the car at left appears to be a 1918 Hudson Super Six. This 7-passenger touring car was available for a test drive at the Reed Brothers tent, set up for the Rockville Fair.
The touring car was one of the most common styles of automobile in the early decades of the 20th century. Nearly every auto manufacturer offered a vehicle in this style. Touring cars generally were denoted by an open body seating four or more people. Identified by the triangle logo on the grill and the number of passengers seated in it, the car at left appears to be a 1918 Hudson Super Six. This 7-passenger touring car was available for a test drive at the Reed Brothers tent, set up for the Rockville Fair.
The touring car body style evolved from the two-seat roadster, shown at right in front of the original Rockville Garage, 1915. (St Mary’s Church is in the background, and Veirs Mill Road was unpaved dirt.)
The touring car body style evolved from the two-seat roadster, shown at right in front of the original Rockville Garage, 1915. (St Mary’s Church is in the background, and Veirs Mill Road was unpaved dirt.)
These early vehicles required a much higher road clearance than modern cars due to the poor state of roads and tracks, hence the large diameter "skinny tires" of the day. These were somewhat more effective at cutting through mud and snow to reach solid ground.
These early vehicles required a much higher road clearance than modern cars due to the poor state of roads and tracks, hence the large diameter "skinny tires" of the day. These were somewhat more effective at cutting through mud and snow to reach solid ground.
Early touring car with its top down. The folded top that laid behind the rear-seat passengers was known as the "fan."
The popularity of the touring car began to wane in the 1920s when cars with enclosed passenger compartments and fixed steel roofs became more affordable, and began to consistently out-sell the open cars.
This curious photo taken by Lewis Reed more than 100 years ago demonstrates how 18 men managed to cram themselves into a 1910-1911 Model 48 Pierce Arrow 7-passenger touring car. However, the photo does not reveal the reason 18 men needed to cram themselves into a 7-passenger touring car...
This curious photo taken by Lewis Reed more than 100 years ago demonstrates how 18 men managed to cram themselves into a 1910-1911 Model 48 Pierce Arrow 7-passenger touring car. However, the photo does not reveal the reason 18 men needed to cram themselves into a 7-passenger touring car...
It is also not known where this photo may have been taken, though the architecture looks like textbook Washington, D.C. neoclassical. Can anyone identify the building in the background?
It is also not known where this photo may have been taken, though the architecture looks like textbook Washington, D.C. neoclassical. Can anyone identify the building in the background?
On September 28, 1917 a draft for United States involvement in World War I began, and the first 40 men reported for duty at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Rockville. Montgomery County’s first recruits left by train for Camp Meade, Maryland on this same day. They each received a package of smoking tobacco and a rousing send-off from two thousand people after speeches at the courthouse, dinner at the Montgomery House Hotel, and a parade to the depot. This photograph shows the cars parked around the courthouse (now known as the Red Brick Courthouse, visible through the trees on the right) during the speech-making. About 160 Rockville men served in the war; one of them was Lewis Reed's brother, Edgar.
On September 28, 1917 a draft for United States involvement in World War I began, and the first 40 men reported for duty at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Rockville. Montgomery County’s first recruits left by train for Camp Meade, Maryland on this same day. They each received a package of smoking tobacco and a rousing send-off from two thousand people after speeches at the courthouse, dinner at the Montgomery House Hotel, and a parade to the depot. This photograph shows the cars parked around the courthouse (now known as the Red Brick Courthouse, visible through the trees on the right) during the speech-making. About 160 Rockville men served in the war; one of them was Lewis Reed's brother, Edgar.
Notice that most of the cars have two license plates: at this time, you needed a separate tag to drive a car in the District of Columbia. There is also horse dung in the dirt road (E. Montgomery Avenue), suggesting buggies had been by recently as well. Barely visible in the background left is the Maryland National Bank building, which was demolished during urban renewal in the late 1960s.
Notice that most of the cars have two license plates: at this time, you needed a separate tag to drive a car in the District of Columbia. There is also horse dung in the dirt road (E. Montgomery Avenue), suggesting buggies had been by recently as well. Barely visible in the background left is the Maryland National Bank building, which was demolished during urban renewal in the late 1960s.
Back in the early part of the last century when the automobile was still new and a novelty, it was often used for Kodak moments. These photographs show the same two young women posing in the same car (a 1918 Oldsmobile Club Roadster) – one is Ethelene Reed, who married Lewis Reed in June 1920, and the other is her sister, Celeste Thomas Brown. Note the man working on an engine behind the car on the left. The photo at right was taken at the Clinton Clay Thomas family farm, located on Butterfly Lane in Braddock, Maryland.
Back in the early part of the last century when the automobile was still new and a novelty, it was often used for Kodak moments. These photographs show the same two young women posing in the same car (a 1918 Oldsmobile Club Roadster) – one is Ethelene Reed, who married Lewis Reed in June 1920, and the other is her sister, Celeste Thomas Brown. Note the man working on an engine behind the car on the left. The photo at right was taken at the Clinton Clay Thomas family farm, located on Butterfly Lane in Braddock, Maryland.
Overcoming the challenges of rough roads and mechanical breakdowns, women showed that they could be at home in the “masculine” domain of machines. Notable women motorists of the time included Edith Wharton and Emily Post, among many others-- some of whom undertook transcontinental car journeys even before World War I, when even more women (especially in rural areas) began to take the wheel during the war effort on the home front.
Overcoming the challenges of rough roads and mechanical breakdowns, women showed that they could be at home in the “masculine” domain of machines. Notable women motorists of the time included Edith Wharton and Emily Post, among many others-- some of whom undertook transcontinental car journeys even before World War I, when even more women (especially in rural areas) began to take the wheel during the war effort on the home front.
To be a successful motorist in the early 1900s, you needed to have mechanical skills. Alternatively, you simply hired someone who did. Rather than learn to do it themselves, wealthy people employed private chauffeurs not only to drive, but also maintain and repair their large, expensive automobiles. Chauffeurs would be in charge of everything to do with the owner’s motor vehicle including repairs, maintenance and cleaning: this meant that early personal chauffeurs had to be skilled mechanics. Lewis Reed worked as a chauffeur early in his life, receiving some of his training at the Pierce-Arrow factory in Buffalo, New York, whose cars he is pictured with below.
To be a successful motorist in the early 1900s, you needed to have mechanical skills. Alternatively, you simply hired someone who did. Rather than learn to do it themselves, wealthy people employed private chauffeurs not only to drive, but also maintain and repair their large, expensive automobiles. Chauffeurs would be in charge of everything to do with the owner’s motor vehicle including repairs, maintenance and cleaning: this meant that early personal chauffeurs had to be skilled mechanics. Lewis Reed worked as a chauffeur early in his life, receiving some of his training at the Pierce-Arrow factory in Buffalo, New York, whose cars he is pictured with below.
Pierce-Arrow was one of the most prestigious makers of luxury automobiles in the early 20th century. Their models could easily cost ten times the price of a standard touring car.
Pierce-Arrow was one of the most prestigious makers of luxury automobiles in the early 20th century. Their models could easily cost ten times the price of a standard touring car.
Chauffeur Lewis Reed (left) in the 1914 photo above poses with an unidentified family and their Pierce-Arrow Model 48.
Two ladies with parasols are sitting in the landaulet section of an early Pierce-Arrow limousine, while chauffeur Lewis Reed tends to the motor. The rear portion of the limousine is partitioned from the driver with a glass shield, and covered by a convertible top, which you can see is currently in the lowered position behind the ladies.
The photograph above evokes a sense of nostalgia for slower-paced times. Literally slower: the sign over the bridge entrance reads “$10 fine for driving faster than a walk.” That's equivalent to about $300 in today's money.
The photograph above evokes a sense of nostalgia for slower-paced times. Literally slower: the sign over the bridge entrance reads “$10 fine for driving faster than a walk.” That's equivalent to about $300 in today's money.
There was a good reason to discourage speeding in the first decades of the 1900s, as there were no stop signs, traffic lights, lane lines, brake lights, driver’s licenses, or posted speed limits, to name only a few modern safety measures. Poorly maintained roads, untrained and inexperienced drivers, and potential speeds approaching 40 mph created the perfect catalyst for horrific accidents. The photograph below illustrates how fragile those early cars were.
There was a good reason to discourage speeding in the first decades of the 1900s, as there were no stop signs, traffic lights, lane lines, brake lights, driver’s licenses, or posted speed limits, to name only a few modern safety measures. Poorly maintained roads, untrained and inexperienced drivers, and potential speeds approaching 40 mph created the perfect catalyst for horrific accidents. The photograph below illustrates how fragile those early cars were.
The 1920s
The 1920s
This car, c. 1920s, is mostly open-bodied, with no windows and certainly no heat. Tire chains are on the rear wheels.
In our modern era, if the car is too cold you simply switch on the “heater” and soon your car will be warm. However, since many early cars were literally open to the elements, passengers would bundle up to go motoring, wearing heavy coats, gloves, and boots. This was not a completely foreign concept to people of the era, since many horse-drawn carriages and sleighs were also open-air vehicles. It wasn’t long, however, before car makers realized that a few comforts, like an enclosed passenger compartment and some form of heat within it, would help sell cars.
In our modern era, if the car is too cold you simply switch on the “heater” and soon your car will be warm. However, since many early cars were literally open to the elements, passengers would bundle up to go motoring, wearing heavy coats, gloves, and boots. This was not a completely foreign concept to people of the era, since many horse-drawn carriages and sleighs were also open-air vehicles. It wasn’t long, however, before car makers realized that a few comforts, like an enclosed passenger compartment and some form of heat within it, would help sell cars.
Early motorists weren’t afraid to drive in the snow; they just got out and did it. The c. 1920s car in the bottom left photograph, stopped on a snowbound road, is dwarfed by huge snow banks.
Early motorists weren’t afraid to drive in the snow; they just got out and did it. The c. 1920s car in the bottom left photograph, stopped on a snowbound road, is dwarfed by huge snow banks.
The line of new cars shown in this photo on the right are stopped along Goshen Road in rural Gaithersburg. The car prominent in this view with Maryland Dealer License Plate No. 618, appears to be a circa 1920 Hudson Six.
The line of new cars shown in this photo on the right are stopped along Goshen Road in rural Gaithersburg. The car prominent in this view with Maryland Dealer License Plate No. 618, appears to be a circa 1920 Hudson Six.
The 1930s
The 1930s
The two photographs below were taken on one of Lewis Reed’s many cross-country road trips. The car is a 1935 Dodge Touring Sedan with Maryland Dealer license plates and rear-hinged “Suicide Doors.” Cars of this era did not have seat belts, so there was nothing to hold a passenger in the car. The term “suicide doors” was used to describe the rear-hinged door configuration: if you opened the door when the car was in motion, you could be pulled out and fall to your death.
The two photographs below were taken on one of Lewis Reed’s many cross-country road trips. The car is a 1935 Dodge Touring Sedan with Maryland Dealer license plates and rear-hinged “Suicide Doors.” Cars of this era did not have seat belts, so there was nothing to hold a passenger in the car. The term “suicide doors” was used to describe the rear-hinged door configuration: if you opened the door when the car was in motion, you could be pulled out and fall to your death.
By the 1930s, automobiles were characterized by more rounded body contours and all steel roofs. It was during this period that fully closed bodies began to dominate, with the new sedan body style incorporating a trunk at the rear for storage. In 1935, with the addition of the turn signal, cars started to be able to indicate their intentions to other drivers.
By the 1930s, automobiles were characterized by more rounded body contours and all steel roofs. It was during this period that fully closed bodies began to dominate, with the new sedan body style incorporating a trunk at the rear for storage. In 1935, with the addition of the turn signal, cars started to be able to indicate their intentions to other drivers.
Lewis Reed, pictured above with his family on a typical road trip into the Montgomery County countryside, has provided us with rare and fascinating snapshots of the development of automobiles in the first few decades of the 20th century. But his photographs also illustrate an increasingly important aspect of the everyday life at a pivotal moment in history. Lewis Reed wasn't the only one who loved cars: America was only beginning its love affair with the automobile, one that would last well into the next century.
Lewis Reed, pictured above with his family on a typical road trip into the Montgomery County countryside, has provided us with rare and fascinating snapshots of the development of automobiles in the first few decades of the 20th century. But his photographs also illustrate an increasingly important aspect of the everyday life at a pivotal moment in history. Lewis Reed wasn't the only one who loved cars: America was only beginning its love affair with the automobile, one that would last well into the next century.