Stevens Duryea Automobile Company Magazine Ad Collection
Title
Stevens Duryea Automobile Company Magazine Ad Collection
Subject
Stevens Duryea Automobile Company
Description
The Duryea Motor Wagon, a one-cylinder four horsepower vehicle, was first demonstrated on September 21, 1893, in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is considered the first successful gas-engine vehicle built in the United States. In 1896, the Duryea brothers founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Co. and it became the first American company to manufacture and sell automobiles.
In 1901 Frank Duryea, who had split from his brother over financial differences, teamed with the Stevens Arms and Tool Company, located on the Chicopee River in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, to help expand the evolving business. The union resulted in the production of Stevens-Duryea automobiles, the first vehicle being shown in November of 1901 and available for sale in March of 1902. The vehicles were powered by 2 cylinder engines capable of producing five horsepower. As improvements were made the cars went from two cylinders to four to six and horsepower increased with each model, topping out at 50 horsepower in the later models.
There has been much speculation about the demise of the company and most of it points to the types of vehicles that were produced. Charles Duryea's vehicles were simple and resembled the buggy design of the horseless carriages. He felt that these vehicles were sufficient and needed little improvement. Frank Duryea's cars were the exact opposite. They were large, luxurious, expensive and powerful. Most were touring cars and limousines with a few roadsters making it into production, with only about 100 examples being produced per year.
By 1906 the Stevens Duryea Company had become independent and endured several bankruptcies and reorganizations partly due to mismanagement and escalating competition. In 1915 Frank Duryea left the company over a conflict dealing with the types of cars that were to be built. In 1922 the company was reorganized and the name was changed to Stevens-Duryea Motors Inc. In 1927, production of the Stevens-Duryea automobiles ceased altogether.
This collection of magazine ads is from the later years of the Stevens-Duryea company and concentrates on the more exclusive motor vehicles produced at the time.
In 1901 Frank Duryea, who had split from his brother over financial differences, teamed with the Stevens Arms and Tool Company, located on the Chicopee River in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, to help expand the evolving business. The union resulted in the production of Stevens-Duryea automobiles, the first vehicle being shown in November of 1901 and available for sale in March of 1902. The vehicles were powered by 2 cylinder engines capable of producing five horsepower. As improvements were made the cars went from two cylinders to four to six and horsepower increased with each model, topping out at 50 horsepower in the later models.
There has been much speculation about the demise of the company and most of it points to the types of vehicles that were produced. Charles Duryea's vehicles were simple and resembled the buggy design of the horseless carriages. He felt that these vehicles were sufficient and needed little improvement. Frank Duryea's cars were the exact opposite. They were large, luxurious, expensive and powerful. Most were touring cars and limousines with a few roadsters making it into production, with only about 100 examples being produced per year.
By 1906 the Stevens Duryea Company had become independent and endured several bankruptcies and reorganizations partly due to mismanagement and escalating competition. In 1915 Frank Duryea left the company over a conflict dealing with the types of cars that were to be built. In 1922 the company was reorganized and the name was changed to Stevens-Duryea Motors Inc. In 1927, production of the Stevens-Duryea automobiles ceased altogether.
This collection of magazine ads is from the later years of the Stevens-Duryea company and concentrates on the more exclusive motor vehicles produced at the time.
Publisher
Chicopee Archives Online
Date
1910-1922
Contributor
Joe Pasternak of Chicopee, Massachusetts.
Format
Print Magazine Ads
Provenance
Ad pages belong to Joe Pasternak of Chicopee, Massachusetts. Joe has allowed the Chicopee Public Library to digitize the collection and display it on Chicopee Archives Online.
Rights Holder
Chicopee Public Library; Chicopee Archives Online
Collection Items
The Landaulet as it is Today
A full page ad showcasing the Stevens-Duryea Landaulet and all its best qualities.
The First Successful American Automobile
A full page color ad with a seven passanger Model AA set into a country scene. Some of the passangers are seated and some are alongside the vehicle. In the center a man who is outside the car helps a standing woman exit the automobile.
Resposiveness to the touch
A full page ad showing a Stevens-Duryea Six surrounded by people dressed up and watching a variety of aircraft in the sky around the crowd.
Pioneer Builders of the American Sixes
A full page ad highlighting the Limousine and Berlines closed sixes style of Stevens-Duryea luxury automobile.
Motoring is ideal relaxation
A full page color ad showing a passanger filled Stevens-Duryea on a country road surrounded by colorful trees in the Fall.
Unique and Exclusive
A full page ad with a detailed drawing of the frame and engine of the seven passanger Model "Y" Six Cylinder luxury automobile. A small photograph of the whole vehicle is above the frame image. Text is about the three point power system unique to the…
A Thing of Beauty
A full page ad highlighting the Limousine and Berlines closed sixes style of Stevens-Duryea luxury automobile.
Power Plant Delivery
A 1/2 page ad comparing the ability of the Chicopee Falls Plant and the Three Point Unit Power Plant of the Model "X" automobile. Photographs of the plant in Chicopee Falls and the Model "X" engine are on each top side of the ad. Text reads: "Each…
All the Selling Points
A full page ad listing all the dealers across the United State who sell the Stevens-Duryea automobile. A small rendition of the Model "Y" 6-Cyl 40 Horse Power is at the bottom of the page.
Limousine Luxury
A 2/3 page Duryea Automobile Company print ad with text and images horses and carriages. In the center is a line drawing of a woman dressed for being out being helped out of the back of a Stevens-Duryea automobile by a man in a top hat. A driver is…
There is No Better Motor Car
A full page Duryea Automobile Company print ad with a framed depiction of the Three-Quarter Limousine and one line of text below the frame. The Stevens-Duryea logo and seal is below that.
Santa's Loaded and Ready
A half page Duryea Automobile Company print ad showing a depiction of Santa Clause getting into his Stevens-Duryea automobile. He has a Stevens rifle slung across his shoulder and the car is loaded with rifles for distribution to the "youth of the…
A Thoroughly Sound Engineering Production
A Duryea Automobile Company print ad detailing the new drive shaft design for their latest automobile. Text fills the center with an image of the drive shaft above. Intricate scrolling and a Duryea logo frame the ad at the edges.
The C-6. Why was such a car never built before?
A Duryea Automobile Company print ad featuring the new C-6 luxury car with three rows of seats filled with passangers driving past a mansion set back from the road.
The unique motoring ease with a Duryea
A two page Duryea Automobile Company print ad showing a idyllic view of a lake with mountains. Two different styles of Duryea motor-cars are on the road in the forground. One is parked and the two occupants are enjoying the view from the side of the…
The C-6 sets a new standard for the fine motor-car
A Duryea Automobile Company print ad showing a new C-6 motor-car, on the left, driving through a scenic farm-scape with a farmer and his two oxen watching. The farmer is waiting at the gate to the lane leading to the farm. A stone wall lines the…