LOT 209
1915 Ford Model T C-Cab Calliope Truck Engine no. 4601046
Sold for US$31,360 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 209
1915 Ford Model T C-Cab Calliope Truck
1915 Ford Model T C-Cab Calliope Truck
Engine no. 4601046
Engine no. 4601046
177ci OHV Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
Single Carburetor
20bhp at 1,600rpm
2-Speed Epicyclic Transmission
4-Wheel Transverse Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear-Wheel Mechanical Brakes
*Offered from the Estate of Robert L. Byers
*Charming and entertaining Model T C-Cab fitted with Tangley 'Calliaphone'
*Pioneering mobile music machine
*Perfect entertainment for family outings or parades
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
The variety of practical (and impractical) uses that Model Ts were tasked to do is virtually innumerable. If it could put it on the frame of the T, or power it with its robust engine, someone probably did it. Case in point is this mobile music truck. When the truck was built, and for some time after that, if you wanted to listen to some tunes while on the move, about the only way to do that was to hire a band to join you on your drive—or at your destination. Recorded music was still a relatively new, and fragile, thing. The ability to listen to recorded music, outside of whatever was on the radio while underway was all but impossible until the invention of tapes like the 8-track and the cassette.
One solution, however, was a Calliope. A virtual mobile band, it had an organ (and sometimes bells) that could play off a record in the form of hold-punched paper scrolls or pinned metal cylinders. This Ford Model T, built in 1915, was later fitted with a calliope 'Calliaphone' built by Tangley Miner Manufacturing Company of Fort Madison, Iowa, and a C-Cab truck body made to display and advertise its music player. One of the premier makers of calliopes, the Tangley Manufacturing Company featured their exclusive Calliaphone organ pipes and could play music from recordings or on a keyboard. The unit fitted on the vehicle here is one such calliope, offering automatic, recorded music or original scores to be played on the keys. Purchased by the late Robert L. Byers for his impressive collection in 2010, the calliope truck is offered with various tracks to play. Perfect for family outings or parades, it would surely be a fun and exciting edition to any collection providing both driving and aural excitement!
Single Carburetor
20bhp at 1,600rpm
2-Speed Epicyclic Transmission
4-Wheel Transverse Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear-Wheel Mechanical Brakes
*Offered from the Estate of Robert L. Byers
*Charming and entertaining Model T C-Cab fitted with Tangley 'Calliaphone'
*Pioneering mobile music machine
*Perfect entertainment for family outings or parades
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
The variety of practical (and impractical) uses that Model Ts were tasked to do is virtually innumerable. If it could put it on the frame of the T, or power it with its robust engine, someone probably did it. Case in point is this mobile music truck. When the truck was built, and for some time after that, if you wanted to listen to some tunes while on the move, about the only way to do that was to hire a band to join you on your drive—or at your destination. Recorded music was still a relatively new, and fragile, thing. The ability to listen to recorded music, outside of whatever was on the radio while underway was all but impossible until the invention of tapes like the 8-track and the cassette.
One solution, however, was a Calliope. A virtual mobile band, it had an organ (and sometimes bells) that could play off a record in the form of hold-punched paper scrolls or pinned metal cylinders. This Ford Model T, built in 1915, was later fitted with a calliope 'Calliaphone' built by Tangley Miner Manufacturing Company of Fort Madison, Iowa, and a C-Cab truck body made to display and advertise its music player. One of the premier makers of calliopes, the Tangley Manufacturing Company featured their exclusive Calliaphone organ pipes and could play music from recordings or on a keyboard. The unit fitted on the vehicle here is one such calliope, offering automatic, recorded music or original scores to be played on the keys. Purchased by the late Robert L. Byers for his impressive collection in 2010, the calliope truck is offered with various tracks to play. Perfect for family outings or parades, it would surely be a fun and exciting edition to any collection providing both driving and aural excitement!
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