Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 182 ¤
c.1904 Orient Buckboard 4HP Two Seater Engine no. 4HP – 1387D
Sold for US$8,400 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 182¤
c.1904 Orient Buckboard 4HP Two Seater
c.1904 Orient Buckboard 4HP Two Seater
Engine no. 4HP – 1387D
Engine no. 4HP – 1387D
35.3ci, Single Cylinder Side-Valve Engine
Single Carburetor
4hp
2-Speed Epicyclic Transmission
Front, Fully-Elliptic Leaf Spring
Transmission Brake only
*Offered from the Two Generations Collection
*Early American Automobile
*Barn find project for restoration
† Sold In Situ - Noted lot is being sold in situ and preview is available Tuesday and Wednesday May 30th and 31st. To make arrangements to view the lots and for further information please contact [email protected].
Please refer to the Buyer Information page for further information.
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
Marketed as "The Cheapest Automobile in the World – Everybody Should Have One", the Orient Buckboard was the product of The Waltham Manufacturing Co. of Massachusetts. That company had graduated from bicycle manufacture in the latter years of the 19th Century to producing an electric vehicle in 1899. Charles Herman Metz, the founder of the company, soon switched production to petrol-engined vehicles, initially adopting De Dion and Aster engines. By 1902 the company was manufacturing its own engines and when Leonard Gaylor joined the company in 1902 the Orient Buckboard came from his drawing desk. It was powered by a rear-mounted, vertical, single-cylinder engine of 4hp, weighed just 400 lbs, had a claimed top speed of 35mph and would climb a 1:12 hill in top gear. Steering was by tiller and the flexible hickory wooden platform provided the suspension.
Always intent on completing a London to Brighton in the UK, discoveries that might make that possible were of particular interest to these two collectors. The writer recalls the son asking many questions about his latest find being the car presented today. Formal dating was never pursued by the collectors and would be required to confirm its year of manufacture. Since production details didn't vary much until 1906 for these cars it would require considerable detailed investigation to establish this, but it is Bonhams understanding that one determining aspect for production years was the suffix of the car's engine number, with a 'D' suffix such as this car has relating to 1904.
Clearly having endured a hard life, the Orient Buckboard is nevertheless an authentic example of its breed. Undeniably a project and something that will be a labor of love to revive, it could potentially reward its next owner with a usable early motorcar here or abroad.
Single Carburetor
4hp
2-Speed Epicyclic Transmission
Front, Fully-Elliptic Leaf Spring
Transmission Brake only
*Offered from the Two Generations Collection
*Early American Automobile
*Barn find project for restoration
† Sold In Situ - Noted lot is being sold in situ and preview is available Tuesday and Wednesday May 30th and 31st. To make arrangements to view the lots and for further information please contact [email protected].
Please refer to the Buyer Information page for further information.
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
Marketed as "The Cheapest Automobile in the World – Everybody Should Have One", the Orient Buckboard was the product of The Waltham Manufacturing Co. of Massachusetts. That company had graduated from bicycle manufacture in the latter years of the 19th Century to producing an electric vehicle in 1899. Charles Herman Metz, the founder of the company, soon switched production to petrol-engined vehicles, initially adopting De Dion and Aster engines. By 1902 the company was manufacturing its own engines and when Leonard Gaylor joined the company in 1902 the Orient Buckboard came from his drawing desk. It was powered by a rear-mounted, vertical, single-cylinder engine of 4hp, weighed just 400 lbs, had a claimed top speed of 35mph and would climb a 1:12 hill in top gear. Steering was by tiller and the flexible hickory wooden platform provided the suspension.
Always intent on completing a London to Brighton in the UK, discoveries that might make that possible were of particular interest to these two collectors. The writer recalls the son asking many questions about his latest find being the car presented today. Formal dating was never pursued by the collectors and would be required to confirm its year of manufacture. Since production details didn't vary much until 1906 for these cars it would require considerable detailed investigation to establish this, but it is Bonhams understanding that one determining aspect for production years was the suffix of the car's engine number, with a 'D' suffix such as this car has relating to 1904.
Clearly having endured a hard life, the Orient Buckboard is nevertheless an authentic example of its breed. Undeniably a project and something that will be a labor of love to revive, it could potentially reward its next owner with a usable early motorcar here or abroad.
Additional information
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Lot symbols
| ¤ | No Reserve |
| Unless indicated by the ¤ symbol next to the lot number (or bearing an explicit statement such as "No Reserve" or "Without Reserve"), which denotes no reserve, all lots in the catalog are subject to a reserve. The reserve is the minimum hammer price that the seller is willing to accept for a lot. This amount is confidential and does not exceed the low estimate value. |
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