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"Woman in automobile circa 1915." From of a series of pictures showing National Photo owner Herbert E. French and friends on motor excursions in the D.C. area. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Pretty sure this is an early (1912-1913) Detroiter Automobile.
"Don't you dare take my picture right now! We've been on the road all day and I look like heck!"
Good thing she had no way of knowing that people would still be looking at this nearly a century later!
She just found out the car has no CD player - what a piece of junk!
Anyone embarking on a long-distance trip was well-equipped with tools and expecting to make repairs. Roughly speaking, one breakdown per trip was the norm.
Kinda cute and feisty but look at those teeth. I have those lamps and Prestolite tank on my 1917 Buick
Eric
There is quite a contrast between this one and Soccer Mom of 1908 from 2 days ago -- setting, cleanliness of the car, demeanour of the driver -- this one looks much more real.
The lady appears to be majorly annoyed about something. Probably because the men wouldn't stop and ask for directions.
Looking at all these fine pictures, I can't help comparing the dirty, mud-covered cars with the pristine specimens in today's museums, and realize that cars back then were not pristine and always clean, but covered in mud and dust. A very interesting contrast. I can hardly imagine what it was like to make a long-distance trip in one.
That looks like an acetylene bottle on the running board. If that's true, then the headlights have been converted from using calcium carbide to produce acetylene, to being fed from the bottle.
Interesting. I wonder why. Longer running time? More consistent flame/light?
[Convenience and reliability. Prestolite-style pressure tanks began replacing carbide generators around 1906. By the early teens they were standard equipment on many, if not most, cars with acetylene headlamps. - Dave]
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