Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 9
1915 Mercer Series 22-70 Sporting Chassis no. 2236 Engine no. 2199
Sold for US$156,800 inc. premium
Lot 9
From the Estate of Andrew W. Edmonds
1915 Mercer Series 22-70 Sporting
1915 Mercer Series 22-70 Sporting
Audrain Concours Auction|29 September 2023, 16:00 EDT|Newport, Rhode Island, International Tennis Hall of Fame
1915 Mercer Series 22-70 Sporting
Chassis no. 2236
Engine no. 2199
Chassis no. 2236
Engine no. 2199
298.2ci Side-Valve 4-Cylinder Engine
Single Updraft Carburetor
70bhp at 2,800rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear Mechanical Drum Brakes
*Very rare 1915 example of this model
*Iconic American brand
*Ex-Harrah Collection
*Former multiple Concours and AACA National Award Winner
THE MERCER 22-70
If ever there was object, irrefutable proof that the concept of the sports car originated in the United States, it is the Mercer Raceabout. First built in 1911, Mercer's Raceabout, with its thundering T-head four-cylinder engine, standard exhaust cutout, round bolster tank, monocle windshield and rudimentary seating for only a driver and a brave passenger, was the first automobile successfully built in series for the sole purpose of going fast and winning races.
Between 1911 and 1915 the Roebling brothers (whose father had designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge) and their engineer Finley Robertson Porter built some 800 Raceabouts which their customers could take straight from the factory to the race track - with a good chance of winning. Barney Oldfield and Ralph de Palma raced Mercers. Spencer Wishart bought one, drove it right to a dirt track in Columbus, Ohio and won the 200 mile feature, while setting four dirt track records in the process.
Mercer continued to build T-head, four-cylinder cars through 1914, then introduced a new line of L-head fours designed by Eric H. Deiling. When the Roeblings died within a year of each other, ownership of the company passed to a New York investment syndicate that put Emlen Hare, former manager of Packard's New York branch, in charge. Hare proceeded to add Locomobile and Simplex-Crane to the company that, in the post WWI recession, proved to be more distraction than his management skills could handle. By 1921 control of Mercer was back in the hands of the founding families.
Through it all Mercer continued to build high quality, fast cars in its Trenton, New Jersey factory (in Mercer County, from which it took its name). Production estimates vary, but none exceed 1,000 per year and some sources believe fewer than 5,000 Mercers in all were built between its inception in 1911 and the end of production in 1924.
The Deiling-designed Mercers introduced in 1915 were powered by a 298 cubic inch side-valve four-cylinder engine with single ignition and drove through a 4-speed transmission. The 3 3/4" bore engine was rated 22.5 NACC horsepower and its earliest versions were said to make 70 brake horsepower. Brakes were installed only on the rear wheels. Suspension employed live axles at both ends, suspended from semi-elliptical leaf springs. Deiling was one of the first American designers to add Houdaille lever action friction shock absorbers to the suspension, a feature that vividly illustrates his desire to enhance Mercers' ride, comfort and handling.
Alongside the second generation of Mercer Raceabouts, Mercer coachwork options included one of the most elegant sports touring cars of its day, which they termed simply - the 'Sporting'. Its design was typically advanced, a lightly barrel sided body perfectly extending the line of its hood and radiator, bringing with it both aesthetic and aerodynamic benefits.
THE CAR OFFERED
This well-known and very rare 1915 Mercer is offered from the Edmonds Collection where it has resided for the last 24 years continuing a succession of ownerships in which it has been held in great esteem and care. Its charted history stretches back to immediately after the war when it was owned by Placido A. Ervesun, a New York based car collector, who participated with the car on the 1952 Glidden Tour.
From Ervesun the car passed to Bill Harrah, then in the early days of his legendary collecting foray. It was a marque and model that he had a particular interest in and was one of a number of these cars that would pass through the collection over the years. In the case of this one, it was not retained beyond the 1970s and instead passed to Quentin Craft, the noted Texas collector.
Its next owners came in the mid-1970s, the car moving to Harold Crosby and then to Jack Passey. Its immediate past owners, Robert and Linda Sohl of Santa Cruz, California purchased the car from Mr. Passey in 1976 and submitted the Mercer to a complete restoration which is said to have cost more than $100,000 40 years ago. Not surprisingly, it emerged in spectacular condition and would propel the Sohls to a series of successes at concours level through the 1990s, beginning with display in their most local event at the 1991 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it took 3rd in the Antique Class. 1st in Class would follow at a whole host of events including Silverado, Palo Alto, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara and Hillsborough, and even Best in Show at the 1994 Coalinga and Lafayette Concours d'Elegance. It also participated in a full series of AACA events, garnering a National Award, AACA Cup and Grand National First Prize. By 1999, with much achieved the Sohl's elected to sell the car by auction in Tarrytown, NY where it passed to Andrew Edmonds.
Over the course of the last 2 decades or more the Mercer has been maintained by Harbor Auto Restoration of Pompano Beach in Florida, ensuring that its now 40 year old restoration has been able to stand the test of time well. Today, even after all these years it is clear to see why it was so successful at Concours level in the 1990s. Accompanying the car is an original 22-70 Sales Brochure, a variety of material relating to the model and invoices for work carried out in this ownership.
An exemplary Mercer, above all it is its early year of build that makes it among the most desirable of these cars enabling it to participate in Brass events alongside its T-Head predecessors.
Single Updraft Carburetor
70bhp at 2,800rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear Mechanical Drum Brakes
*Very rare 1915 example of this model
*Iconic American brand
*Ex-Harrah Collection
*Former multiple Concours and AACA National Award Winner
THE MERCER 22-70
If ever there was object, irrefutable proof that the concept of the sports car originated in the United States, it is the Mercer Raceabout. First built in 1911, Mercer's Raceabout, with its thundering T-head four-cylinder engine, standard exhaust cutout, round bolster tank, monocle windshield and rudimentary seating for only a driver and a brave passenger, was the first automobile successfully built in series for the sole purpose of going fast and winning races.
Between 1911 and 1915 the Roebling brothers (whose father had designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge) and their engineer Finley Robertson Porter built some 800 Raceabouts which their customers could take straight from the factory to the race track - with a good chance of winning. Barney Oldfield and Ralph de Palma raced Mercers. Spencer Wishart bought one, drove it right to a dirt track in Columbus, Ohio and won the 200 mile feature, while setting four dirt track records in the process.
Mercer continued to build T-head, four-cylinder cars through 1914, then introduced a new line of L-head fours designed by Eric H. Deiling. When the Roeblings died within a year of each other, ownership of the company passed to a New York investment syndicate that put Emlen Hare, former manager of Packard's New York branch, in charge. Hare proceeded to add Locomobile and Simplex-Crane to the company that, in the post WWI recession, proved to be more distraction than his management skills could handle. By 1921 control of Mercer was back in the hands of the founding families.
Through it all Mercer continued to build high quality, fast cars in its Trenton, New Jersey factory (in Mercer County, from which it took its name). Production estimates vary, but none exceed 1,000 per year and some sources believe fewer than 5,000 Mercers in all were built between its inception in 1911 and the end of production in 1924.
The Deiling-designed Mercers introduced in 1915 were powered by a 298 cubic inch side-valve four-cylinder engine with single ignition and drove through a 4-speed transmission. The 3 3/4" bore engine was rated 22.5 NACC horsepower and its earliest versions were said to make 70 brake horsepower. Brakes were installed only on the rear wheels. Suspension employed live axles at both ends, suspended from semi-elliptical leaf springs. Deiling was one of the first American designers to add Houdaille lever action friction shock absorbers to the suspension, a feature that vividly illustrates his desire to enhance Mercers' ride, comfort and handling.
Alongside the second generation of Mercer Raceabouts, Mercer coachwork options included one of the most elegant sports touring cars of its day, which they termed simply - the 'Sporting'. Its design was typically advanced, a lightly barrel sided body perfectly extending the line of its hood and radiator, bringing with it both aesthetic and aerodynamic benefits.
THE CAR OFFERED
This well-known and very rare 1915 Mercer is offered from the Edmonds Collection where it has resided for the last 24 years continuing a succession of ownerships in which it has been held in great esteem and care. Its charted history stretches back to immediately after the war when it was owned by Placido A. Ervesun, a New York based car collector, who participated with the car on the 1952 Glidden Tour.
From Ervesun the car passed to Bill Harrah, then in the early days of his legendary collecting foray. It was a marque and model that he had a particular interest in and was one of a number of these cars that would pass through the collection over the years. In the case of this one, it was not retained beyond the 1970s and instead passed to Quentin Craft, the noted Texas collector.
Its next owners came in the mid-1970s, the car moving to Harold Crosby and then to Jack Passey. Its immediate past owners, Robert and Linda Sohl of Santa Cruz, California purchased the car from Mr. Passey in 1976 and submitted the Mercer to a complete restoration which is said to have cost more than $100,000 40 years ago. Not surprisingly, it emerged in spectacular condition and would propel the Sohls to a series of successes at concours level through the 1990s, beginning with display in their most local event at the 1991 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it took 3rd in the Antique Class. 1st in Class would follow at a whole host of events including Silverado, Palo Alto, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara and Hillsborough, and even Best in Show at the 1994 Coalinga and Lafayette Concours d'Elegance. It also participated in a full series of AACA events, garnering a National Award, AACA Cup and Grand National First Prize. By 1999, with much achieved the Sohl's elected to sell the car by auction in Tarrytown, NY where it passed to Andrew Edmonds.
Over the course of the last 2 decades or more the Mercer has been maintained by Harbor Auto Restoration of Pompano Beach in Florida, ensuring that its now 40 year old restoration has been able to stand the test of time well. Today, even after all these years it is clear to see why it was so successful at Concours level in the 1990s. Accompanying the car is an original 22-70 Sales Brochure, a variety of material relating to the model and invoices for work carried out in this ownership.
An exemplary Mercer, above all it is its early year of build that makes it among the most desirable of these cars enabling it to participate in Brass events alongside its T-Head predecessors.
Saleroom notices
Please note that the correct chassis number is 2366, and not as catalogued.
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