LOT 353
1916 Simplex Crane Model 5 46hp Limousine Coachwork by Brewster & Co. Chassis no. 2196 Engine no. 2099
Estimate: US$60,000 - US$80,000
Lot 353
1916 Simplex Crane Model 5 46hp Limousine Coachwork by Brewster & Co.
Collectors' Motorcars and Automobilia Auction|11 October 2020, 13:00 EDT|Philadelphia, Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum
1916 Simplex Crane Model 5 46hp Limousine
Coachwork by Brewster & Co.
Chassis no. 2196
Engine no. 2099
Coachwork by Brewster & Co.
Chassis no. 2196
Engine no. 2099
563ci L-Head Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
110hp at 2,900bhp
Single Newcomb Updraft Carburetor
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Semi-Elliptic Leaf Springs With Tubular Dampers
Double Acting Hand and Foot Brakes on Rear Wheels
*One of America's premier makes
*Formerly part of the Powers Antique Automotive Museum
*Restored by Neve Engineering
*Little used during this ownership
THE MODEL 5
Henry Middlebrook Crane graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1896, with degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering. He then joined the Bell Telephone Company, and later worked for their manufacturing subsidiary, the Western Electric Company. His Crane and Whitman Company of Bayonne, New Jersey, formed in 1906, evolved into the Crane Motor Car Company by 1910. In 1912, his design for the Crane Model 3 automobile was ready for production. It was a large, refined luxury car, but "production" it barely achieved, with some 37 cars built in three years.
In the autumn of 1914, the Simplex Automobile Company acquired the Crane firm, moving its equipment to nearby New Brunswick, New Jersey. The services of Henry Crane were included in the transaction, and in short order the Simplex Crane Model 5 was introduced, with Crane's refined 564 cubic inch six-cylinder engine in a 144-inch wheelbase chassis. Bodies were supplied by several well-known bespoke coachbuilders, including Locke, Derham and Holbrook, but most were, like this car, by Brewster. Production continued into 1917. The cars are sometimes incorrectly called "Crane-Simplex," perhaps confused with a short-lived 1922 attempt by Henry Crane to resurrect the business at Long Island City, after the Simplex company had been brought down by the Hare's Motors debacle.
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
A previous owner acquired the car in 2014 and has since spent some time researching its history, most importantly he was able to access the information from the Brewster and Company Records, held in the New York Public Library and through this we now know much of the car's original delivery and build details.
Dated January 6th, 1916, the order for its Double Enclosed Drive coachwork was made to Simplex Auto Co. by G. W. Canterbury Inc. for their client Francis L. Swift at a cost of $2,150 for the bodywork alone. Canterbury were one of the most esteemed agents in Boston, retaining agencies for high quality automobiles including Stevens-Duryea and Winton at various times. Detailed notes describe the body to have been a sedan format, with no formal division, simply a front bench seat, supplemented with a pair of occasional 'jump' seats behind. Interestingly, one line on the order book states 'The front seat is to be pushed back in the body as far as possible, practically to the rear door jams because Mr. & Mrs. S are very long legged and want all the room they can get there.' The process of construction continues from the initial order at the start of the year, through to November 1916, with additions and amendments to the specification along the way. Mr. Swift appears to have been an attorney in Boston.
The car may well have remained in the Northeast for most of its life, as it is known to have been the property of Ralph H. Powers, who for a number of years in the 1950s and 1960s ran the Powers Antique Automotive Museum in Southington, Connecticut, which would have been one of the pioneering publicly displayed collections of this era.
By the turn of the millennium, the car had left this continent for a near 2-decade sojourn in the UK. Over the course of this latter period, the Brewster car received some cosmetic refurbishment, and after a period of storage some mechanical refreshing. It has been used occasionally for events of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain. In 2018 the car returned stateside, where it has been with its current owner since.
The 'Crane-Simplex' truly deserves its reputation as one of the finest American automobiles of the industry's heroic, pioneering age, and this wonderful example should reward a future owner with many enjoyable miles and years of use.
Footnotes
This vehicle is titled under the model year 1915 and is currently located in The Netherlands. If you are an interested bidder outside of the US, please consult the department regarding import duty.
Saleroom notices
Please note, the title for this vehicle will be in transit.
The Simplex Crane in the Powers Collection
Additional information
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