Moving On...Changing My Focus

It was on July 18, 2010, 15 years ago today, that I first posted something on my blog site.  I have regularly published posts regarding historical, food, family, travel and restaurant experiences for most of the past many years.  At one point I was posting to the site 3 times every week.   Most recently, it's been twice a week.

I've decided to cease any regular publications/posts to the site.  Not gone...still will publish something from time to time as the spirit moves me, but my focus is moving elsewhere.  I want to spend more time researching our family histories and I've gotten much more involved with a local Knoxville collector's club.  I do enjoy the time spent in that endeavor...even with the work involved. 

What follows are a scattering of the many photos dating as far back as last October...a sampling of those taken near the conclusion of our long road trip through parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia.  I'd never completed the Virginia portion of the trip...

This is the entrance to the Reeves Museum of Ceramics at Washington and Lee University in Lexington Virginia.  The Reeves collection showcases one of America's best collections of Chinese export porcelain as well as European and American ceramics made between 1500 and 1900.

FYI, Washington and Lee University is the 9th oldest college in the USA.  Originally known as Liberty Hall Academy, it was renamed Washington Academy in 1796 and Washington College in 1813.  A gift of stocks from George Washington had saved the school from financial ruin.  Robert E. Lee, who had led Confederate forces throughout the Civil War, had previously been the Superintendent of the West Point Military Academy.  A few months after the war, he became President of Washington College and he helped build the university for the future.

In today's highly charged political atmosphere, Lee's name being attached to this University has been controversial.  For the university's outlook on this subject, go to https://www.wlu.edu/about-w-l/university-history/university-namesakes.

During our visit, there was a exhibition of ceramics adjacent to artwork with blank spaces in the paintings that are related to the ceramics.  I still don't get it...but both Laurie and I do love ceramics and this plate was a stunner!

I just had to include this 'fowl' piece of porcelain in my post.  Love the brilliant colors involved!  

Then there was this gorgeous brown and yellow teapot with raised decorations.  This teapot from the Yixing Dynasty teapot dates somewhere between 1725 - 1775.

This stunning hard paste porcelain 'tea pot' from China didn't start its life as a tea pot, but rather as a wine pot.  The English later repurposed it as a teapot.  Note the 'bamboo bundle' shape that was created by a master ceramics maker sometime between 1700 and 1720.

Moving on down the road, it was time to find a place for dinner.  Research had revealed the possibility of a fine German dinner near Staunton Virginia.  The Edelweiss Restaurant is a log structure in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The family that built it came from Karlsruhe Germany.  The menu is loaded with German specialties, something one doesn't see very often.

While Edelweiss is well rated on the Internet, Laurie and I weren't feeling it... The food was decent but not great and the service was rushed.  This restaurant is popular with long waits for customers so maybe our lack of enthusiasm isn't typical.  Check it out and give Edelweiss a try.  Let us know what you think... Website: https://edelweissvirginia.com/.

I love taking photos like this and imagining what might have been... Located at the eastern foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains on US Hwy. 60 in Amherst County Virginia, Forks of Buffalo refers to the place where the North and South Forks of the Buffalo River come together.

Since I like researching places, I came across this photo from the Forks of the Buffalo area, showing the Myers' Cash Store, United States Post Office and Esso Gas Station.  Perhaps the early to mid-1960s, the store opened in 1937.  Unfortunately, I also came across another photo from December of 2024, only 2 months after I took that first photo, now showing that the front of the old building had fallen down... Timing is everything.

This well preserved and restored railway depot is located at Amherst Virginia.  Amherst was founded in 1807 and it is the county seat for the county of the same name.  The town's population has never been much higher than its current level of about 2,200 residents.

Amherst was first known as Dearborn and the first depot here was completed in the late 1800s for the Orange and Alexandria Railroad.  It was replaced in the late fall of 1913 by the Southern Railway.  As was typical, the ticket booth extended outward from the center facing the tracks, with waiting rooms on each side...one for black folks and the other for white folks.  Three passenger trains stopped at the depot every day until the mid-1940s.  Passenger service was completely discontinued during the 1960s and finally freight service ceased in the mid-1970s.

So...just where is this old structure located?  Our next significant stop was at the Appomattox Courthouse National Historic Park at the village of Appomattox Courthouse...redundant I know.  This is not the original Appomattox Courthouse, but rather a reconstruction.

In the 1800s the original courthouse gave its name to the village around it.  As many of us know, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army here in 1865.  I always thought that Lee had surrendered to Grant at the courthouse but the courthouse was closed that day so the surrender took place in a nearby home.  In any case the village was already in a state of decline in the 1850s.  The original courthouse burned down in 1892 and the county seat was relocated.  This structure was rebuilt in 1964 and it now serves at the Visitor's Center for the more than 1,700 acre Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park.

So this is the house...or an almost exact replica of the house...where Lee surrendered to Grant, virtually bringing America's long and painful Civil War to an end.  This is the McLean House at the Appomattox Courthouse National Historic Park and it was chosen for the surrender as it was the most substantial home or building in the Village.

The McLean House was originally built by Charles Raine in 1848.  It had served as a tavern/inn and it was sold to Wilmer McLean in 1863.  In an interesting historical quirk of fate, the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) took place on McLean's farm.  Seeking to avoid the war, and too old to serve in the Confederate Army, McLean moved here to 'avoid the war'.

This is a recreation of the setting where Lee formally surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant.  The original furniture is in the possession of the Smithsonian and the Chicago History Museum.

The terms of surrender were: "The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the government of the United States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their commands,"... neither "side arms of the officers nor their private horses or baggage" to be surrendered; and, as many privates in the Confederate Army owned horses and mules, all horses and mules claimed by men in the Confederate Army to be left in their possession.

As for the McLean house, Wilmer McLean was broke as all his money was in Confederate dollars, which he'd accumulated by running sugar through the Union blockade during the war.  Ownership passed from one person to one scheme or another.  At one point it was disassembled and labeled for possible reconstruction as an attraction in Washington D.C.  That project never got off the ground and much of what was left of the house was pilfered over the years.  The re-built house was opened to the public on April 9, 1949.  Over 5,000 of the home's original bricks were used in the construction.

To learn more about the Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park and to plan a visit, go to https://www.nps.gov/apco/index.htm. 

This is the Booker T. Washington National Monument near Hardy Virginia.  Booker T. Washington was born a slave on the 207-acre farm of James Burroughs in April of 1856.  Following the Civil War, he became the first principal of  the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School.  Later, as an advisor and confidant of President Theodore Roosevelt, an author and orator, he became the most influential African American of his era.

Booker T. Washington (1856 - 1919)

To learn more about Booker T. Washington, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington.

This National Monument preserves portions of the tobacco farm where Booker T. Washington was born and where he lived for the first 9 years of his life.  The facility also provides interpretation of Washington's life and achievements as well as an interpretation of slavery and farming in the 1850s through the use of buildings, gardens, crafts and animals.

You can learn more about The Booker T. Washington National Monument at https://www.nps.gov/bowa/index.htm.  

The last stop on our long but interesting and relaxing road trip was of course, dinner on the last night of the trip.  We were tired and looking forward to getting home.  The decision was made that we should go casual for our final meal on the road so we picked JJ's Restaurant and Sports Bar in Abingdon Virginia from my list of dining options.  Laurie stuck to soup and cornbread and I went for fried catfish, beans, coleslaw and cornbread.  The food wasn't gourmet but it was tasty, reasonably priced and satisfying.

JJ's Restaurant and Sports Bar is located at 115 Charwood Drive in Abingdon Virginia.  Open daily for lunch and dinner.  Phone: 276-525-4999.  Website: https://www.eatatjjs.com/.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I'll be back from time to time and I'll also check in on those who I've been following...

Just click on any of the photos you'd like to enlarge.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care...and, as the saying from the 50's (the era of 45 rpm records), "I'll see you on the flip side".

Big Daddy Dave

Luray Caverns Virginia - Heritage Village (Not Just Caverns #4)

...continuing on our tour of The Shenandoah Heritage Village at Luray Caverns.  We took even more photos as we explored the exhibits in the Luray Valley Museum...part of the Heritage Village complex.  I edited the remaining photos...or perhaps the term should be I curated the remaining photos and picked 3 that were more unusual of perhaps just more interesting to me...

This is a Henkel Proofing Press...ca. 1840 from Ohio.  Basically, proofing presses help identify errors in design or print placement before committing to a larger print run, saving time and money.  That big typeset case at the left brings me back to my youth when I helped in the family rubber stamp and printing operation.  I spent a lot of time setting type and spacers in forms for printing.  That big inked roller 'ball' would be rolled over the type and the paper creating a document or page for a book.

In  1806 the Henkel brothers started one of the first German language presses in the South.  Their father was a prominent Lutheran minister.  Many of the people living in the Shenandoah Valley shared a German heritage and early Henkel materials were printed in German...and then later in English.  The Henkel Press became an important source for devotional materials, newspapers, song books and children's books.  The press was more than a business venture as it was a way to preserve the German culture, language and religious beliefs.

This is a flax brake. (ca. 1750 - 1800) Flax brakes were used to soften stalks of the flax plant to make the material to make linens.  Flax was widely grown in the 1700s and early 1800s.  Flax was eventually replaced by southern cotton.

Producing linen yarn from the flax plant is both labor-intensive and time consuming.  To begin, the hard outer coating of flax stems is removed by rotting, drying and then breaking to extract the useable fibers inside the stems.  A flax brake was the tool used to 'break' or remove that outer coating.  Bundles of flax stems are repeatedly pounded between the hinged upper and lower bars of the tool.

This photo shows a Civil War Camp Shower.  These units were developed in the 1850s but this one was discarded and then found on the battlefield after the Fredericksburg campaign.  It was likely only used by high-ranking officers...as the average soldier either bathed in a pond or stream...or just didn't bathe for long periods of time.  

This camp shower could be used with either hot or cold water and it's height could be adjusted to fit the officer who was taking the shower.  The unit actually has retained some of its original canvas.  A true luxury indeed as in the 1860s very few homes even had indoor plumbing.  As compact as it is, it looks like a tight fit for any 'plumpish' officers.

This is the Shenk Farm House.  It is original to the site.  The back portion of the house was built in 1876 and the front was added in 1901.  Before 1899 the land was owned and farmed by an African-American family, the Perry family.  The Luray website states that this particular home isn't open to the public as it needs restoration.

If this photo isn't from the kitchen inside the Shenk farmhouse, then my photos are totally 'out of wack'!  Perhaps the home has been closed since we visited back in early October.  In any case, this kitchen is certainly appropriate for an early 1900s farmhouse.  The stove is a Home Comfort brand.  They were built by the Wrought Iron Store and Range Company of St. Louis between 1900 and 1920.  I also noticed the barrel style butter churn under the window.  I can't tell for sure, but it appears that a small jar type (Dazey) butter churn is located on the top shelf above the stove.

This Blacksmith Shop dates back to 1850.  The chestnut log building was moved intact from a farm near Lynchburg Virginia.  If you didn't have a blacksmith in your vicinity in the 1800s, life was much more challenging.  Blacksmithing was vital to everyday life before 1900.  Most iron tools, implements used in the homes and farms...including farm equipment and wagons, were made by blacksmiths.

This is the 1846 Meeting House at the Shenandoah Heritage Village.  This heavy timbered and brick structure was a meeting house for Mennonites and 'Dunkards'.  It was moved in one piece from a site 3 miles from its location in the Village.  I had no idea who the Dunkards were... I now know that they were also known as the Old German Baptist Brethren, a conservative Anabaptist denomination.

During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate soldiers found shelter in this building.  Proof of this is provided by the signatures and graffiti found on the interior walls of the structure.  A Union soldier from Indiana wrote "Passed through Luray at 4 PM.  Stopped for the night at the Dunker church.  Got straw for our beds.

This small looking home is full of surprises.  Dating back to the mid-1700s, the Willy House is an unusual surviving example of a 'townhouse' from the Colonial Shenandoah Valley.  It was originally located in downtown Woodstock Virginia but it was taken down to make way for an apartment complex.  It's named for Reverend Bernard Willy, a Swiss-Reformed Lutheran Church Minister who lived in the home from the late 1780s until 1810.   

This home is surprisingly large.  The photos above are from the main floor as viewed from the doorway.  There is another level above this one...probably used for a bedroom or bedrooms.  The furnishings are appropriate for the time period.  But, wait, there's more!

I failed to take a photo of it from the side or from behind the Willy House which really exposes the fact that it is a 3-level home!  (Sorry for this photo but the Internet wasn't friendly to this download).  So what was on the lower level of the home?

The lower level of the Willy house is revealed as a well equipped and expansive kitchen and work area.  It's safe to say that most work in the home was done in this area.  Plus in the winter it's easy to heat and being partially buried on 3 sides, it might have been a bit cooler in the heat of summer.   Although Laurie and I have toured many old homes, this is the first that we've seen that were designed like this one.

We did not tour this large home...or at least I didn't.  By this time, after all we'd seen, I was tuckered out.  If Laurie looked inside, she didn't take any photos.  This is the Bell House and it dates back to ca 1835.  This yellow pine log home, "Belleview", was built for his family by a local farmer named Reuben P. Bell.  Originally it was located in Kimball Springs near Luray.  

This home was moved piece by piece to its current site where it was reassembled.  Several years after the home had been built, the logs were covered by plaster and then siding.  I personally love it restored to its log cabin origins.  Coincidentally, the site the home is now on once belonged to the Bell family back in the 1800s.

We took photos of the old corn crib but we failed to take photos of the Hamburg Regular School or the "Switzer" barn...another structure that was moved to the Village and reconstructed.  The Switzer or "Burner Barn" now serves as the Heartpine Cafe.

We really enjoyed our time at Luray Caverns.  Even without touring the caverns themselves we had a great time!  While I appreciate our free admission to the non-cavern portion of the Luray Caverns attraction or park, I would have been more than happy to pay a reduced admission charge just to view what we did...

Visit Luray Caverns and its variety of attractions!  Luray Caverns is located at 101 Cave Road in Luray Virginia.  Phone: 540-743-6551.  Website: https://luraycaverns.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Luray Caverns Virginia - Heritage Village (Not Just Caverns #3)

...continuing with our Fall 2024 road trip and it's last 2 or 3 days, which were spent in Virginia.  After visiting Luray Cavern's toy exhibit and completing our pilgrimage through their great automobile collection, it was time to move on to our last attraction at the Cavern's complex.

This is the Shenandoah Heritage Village at Luray Caverns... The building visible through the arch is the Luray Valley Museum.  The Village itself is a 7 acre recreation of a small farming community from the 1800s.  It consists of restored historic buildings, some moved and reassembled, cottage style gardens and a small vineyard.  The setting is striking as well with an attractive mountain range in the distance.

The Luray Valley Museum focuses on the display of early decorative arts, clothing, early toys and varied artifacts of daily life ranging from the 1750s until about 1920.  The view above shows decorative side plates from early iron stoves.  I've always been fascinated by these apparently popular yet unnecessary bits of early decor from early European settlements.

This is a close up of one of those stove side plates.  This one came from a 5-plate stove that dated back to the 1740s in Pennsylvania.  It depicts a "Samson and Delilah' theme.  This ornate design is based on a German Bible wood cut that depicted Samson carrying the Gates of Gaza...and then to the left he's reclining on Delilah's lap.  

The wording across the bottom of the side plate is taken from the Book of Judges Chapter 10.  To quote "When at last Delilah learned how to overcome Samson's strength, she brought him to it on her lap".  I know the oft quoted story but the wording above is certainly vague and open to interpretation.   

Laurie and I both love these old cast iron stoves.  If time, money and space weren't obstacles, we'd collect both stoves and side-plates.  They really are utilitarian works of art.  

This is a Six Plate Stove with a heart and tulip motif.  Six Plate stoves were the earliest of American 'leg' stoves.  It's German-American and it came from the Warwick Furnace in Pottstown Pennsylvania.  Early stoves stuck to religious themes and the German reference above translates to "Eschew evil and do good".  Later stoves remained ornate but they contained less biblical imagery. 

Why another stove photo?  Mainly because I really like these decorative and purposeful creations.  This is a Ten-Plate Stove.  Built ca. 1808, it was made by the Isabella Furnace located at Pine Furnace Pennsylvania.  The phrase on the side plate reads "Liberty Be Thine", a popular phrase during the American Federalist period.

Laurie and I love stoneware but quality stoneware is just a bit pricy so we only own a couple examples of this craft.  But nothing stopped us from gazing at this handsome display and appreciating the variety and quality of the stoneware.

More stoneware...this time displayed in an antique corner cabinet.  Corner cabinets, with their triangular shape, were designed to fit into corners in the kitchen, thereby eliminating wasted space and providing needed storage.  Some were very fancy with glass panels at the top to secure 'better' china or flatware but many simpler versions were built for use by farmers and settlers.

This is a hand painted 'dower' chest, aka a hope chest or dowry chest.  They were once commonly used by unmarried young women to collect items, such as clothing and household linens, in anticipation of married life.  

This particular dower chest was painted in 1798 by Johannes Spitler. (1774 - 1837) He likely painted it for young Barbara Lionberger, a member of the local community in Page County Virginia.  Spitler is known to have taken traditional Swiss-German designs and then transformed them to more playful abstract designs.  His works were prolific from the mid-1790s until 1910 when he moved to Ohio.

Early painted dowry chests are very collectable and many can be found as part of art exhibits in major museums.  As collectables, you can find them on-line for anywhere around $600 or $700 up to $3,000 or more.

I like quilts but Laurie loves quilts!  She took this photo of a bevy of quilts in the museum.  Upper left: Album type applique quilt from ca. 1850 with 16 hand-stitched patterns.  Upper right: Shenandoah Valley tulip and rose quilt from ca. 1860.  Middle left: A quilt made in 1840 and donated from a local family.  Middle right: A quilt made between 1845 - 1848 that was given to a woman by her friends with 'well wishes' notes in each square.  Bottom left: A mid-1800s Blazing Star quilt donated by a local family.  Bottom right: Another mid-1800s quilt with coordinating pillow covers...also donated by a local family.

More stoneware but this time the varied pieces are displayed on one of the largest 'pie safes' I've ever seen.  The origin of the pie safe is traced back to the early 1700s in America.  It was probably introduced by German immigrants aka Pennsylvania Dutch and these pieces of utilitarian furniture was an important item in American homes through the 1800s.

The doors and sides of a typical pie safe were usually ventilated with tiny punched holes that allowed air to circulate, but protected bread, pies and other perishable items from insects and rodents.  As you can see in this example, the holes were often punched to produce a desired image.  This particular pie safe has a lot going for it from a collector's point of view.  It is large, it has the original paint and the punched pattern in the tin is very intricate.

Laurie took this photo.  The display is apparently dedicated to the ladies back in the day.  Note the dress or hoop form, the fancy blouse, that handbag, lots of needlework, a variety of hats or bonnets, the baskets, boots and more.  Of particular note is the clay pipe on the hatbox at the lower right of this picture. 

I'll end this post with a reminder of just how busy housewives were in the early days of the USA.  Premade clothing was too expensive for the average family so sewing skills were a necessity.  To make clothing one needed not only material but also thread.  This is easily the largest and most ornate thread display case I've ever seen.  I also discovered that there was a reason for it being so fancy...

The Brainerd-Armstrong Company was a silk mill based in New London Connecticut...so this wasn't your everyday cotton thread display.  The company made the finest thread, used for fancy clothing as well as embroidery.  I found references to this thread which is still coveted by those who love to embroider.  I was unable to find out much about the company, surprising given the size of the factories I did find photos of.

I found much more about Diamond Dyes...the fancy cabinet with the painted tin vignettes at the right of the thread display.  The company was a leading dye company in the late 1800s and into the early 1900s.  It was known for its prolific print marketing strategies and the company printed colorful chromolithographic trade cards, almanacs and pamphlets. Diamond Dyes was based in Burlington Vermont.  Their parent company was Wells Richardson and Company...which manufactured food colorants and wholesale drugs.  Both companies began to decline after the Federal government passed the Food and Drug Act in 1906 and operations ended completely in 1942.  The cabinets and marketing materials from Diamond Dyes are highly collectable today.

That's all for now... Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Luray Caverns Virginia - It's Not Just About the Caverns (3)

...continuing with our fall 2024 tour of the non-cavern attractions at Luray Caverns Virginia.  For those of you that aren't particularly interested in automobiles, the good news is that the post after this one will involve a non-automotive attraction at the Caverns.

This is a 1911 Hupmobile Roadster.  It has a bit of an unusual body design and it certainly has a 'sporty' look, especially for 1911.  It was manufactured by the Hupp Motor Car Company in Detroit Michigan.  With its upscale upholstery and it's 'look' it was the antique version of an 1960's MG sportscar.  It was promoted at the 'little car built better than the big ones.  It weighed 1,100 lbs., it had a 4-cylinder motor that developed 20 HP.

Hupmobile was a line of autos that were built between 1909 and 1939.  Like sports teams today, players frequently changed teams...or companies.  Bobby Hupp co-founded the Hupp Motor Car Company with Charles Hastings...who came from Oldsmobile.  Another key executive was Emil Nelson who had previously worked for both Oldsmobile and Packard.  Even after Bobby Hupp left the company, it was a strong competitor against Ford and Chevrolet.  By 1928, Hupp Motor Car Company's sales had reached over 65,000 units.  In the mid-1920s the company decided to build larger, more expensive autos.  In going for the higher-end market, Hupp forgot their established clientele.  The diversification meant that production of the many models became cost prohibitive as there weren't enough sales to support the variety offered.

This 'old-fashioned' looking auto is a Metz 1912 Roadster and it's another brass era automobile.  It featured something called a 'friction-type drive'.  A steel disc rotating in one plane/angle drove a fiber disc at a 90 degree plane to the steel disc.  The motor turns the steel disc and the fiber disc turns the drive wheel.  Too technical for me!  This roadster does feature a 'Mother-in-Law' rumble seat in the back.  The cost of this car was $475.00.  It featured a 4-cylinder engine that produced 22.5 HP.

The Metz Company began business in 1886 making bicycle parts.  Later as the company got involved with the automobile business, Metz did offer the first known "kit automobile" on an installment plan.  The buyer would buy 14 groups of parts on an installment plan for $27.00 each.  Then the customer could be put the auto together with the plans and tools provided.  Total price came to $378.00.  A factory-assembled automobile could be purchased for $475.00.  This plan continued until the kits couldn't compete with dealer-supplied Model T Fords.  Metz also produced light trucks but shortly after World War I the company folded.

This is a 1912 Ford Humpback delivery truck.  Made in Detroit and costing $700.00, it had a 2-speed transmission, a 4-cylinder motor that produced 20 HP.  Early on the Ford Motor Company produced Model T automobiles and or motorized chassis that other companies would outfit with whatever truck body the customer needed.  Some of these bodies were scratch-built at home but most of them were sourced from a known company or builder.  With the Ford Model T being so popular, it didn't take long for Ford to diversify into light trucks...cutting out most of the companies that were building specialty bodies.

This is yet another version of a Ford Model T truck, this time serving as a milk delivery truck.  How many folks even remember home delivery milk trucks!?  When this 1914 Model T truck was refurbished for the museum, the original lettering could still be seen, making it easy to 'freshen up'.  The 4-cylinder 22.5 HP motor achieved about 20 miles for each gallon of gas.

1914 was the last year that Ford installed gas lamps/headlights on their vehicles.  It was also the first year that Ford actually fully assembled trucks on the assembly line...

Now for some more exotic automotive creations... This is a 1932 Rolls-Royce Shooting Brake and it was built in Derby England.  This special automobile originally cost $15,800 and it is equipped with a 6-cylinder motor producing 25.3 HP.  Top speed was about 50 MPH.

This vehicle's main function was to serve as a 'gentlemen's hunting wagon'.  This luxury vehicle was used to carry hunting or shooting parties along with their weapons, equipment and game.  There actually were 81 of these hand-built vehicles produced in 1932.  The coachwork by Crosbie and Dunn Ltd. of England, was constructed using Honduran and African mahogany. 

Hey!  This is an exotic vehicle too... There are different ways to define exotic!  This is a 1925 Graham Brothers "Black Maria", really a portable jail.  This 35 HP truck was rugged and simple...and it was a secure way to transport evildoers.  Love the Luray Caverns paint job!

The Graham Brothers started out producing kits to convert Ford Model Ts into trucks and to modify the newer Ford Model TT's (heavier duty) trucks.  Eventually they began building their own trucks.  From 1921 and 1929 the Graham Brothers manufactured all of the trucks for Dodge...using Dodge engines.  Actually, in 1925 Dodge purchased the Graham Brothers truck company and the Grahams were brought on board at Dodge as key executives.  As a subsidiary of Dodge, by 1926 the Graham Brothers were the largest company in the world that was dedicated to truck manufacturing.

Luckily for the reader, I'm not going to go into the history of Mercedes-Benz.  Nevertheless, this is indeed a Mercedes-Benz classic car.  This Model S Tourwagen was built Stuttgart Germany in 1928, and only 7 vehicles using this chassis were built.  The auto was designed by Ferdinand Porsche and it was built by Daimler-Benz.  This was one of the first autos built under the Mercedes-Benz name.  Costing $15,000, this was a fast car.  This beast of an auto weighed 5,511 lbs., and it was equipped with a 6-cylinder supercharged motor producing 220 HP.  It could reach speeds of 110 mph.

Cord automobiles are another luxury brand that I've expounded on previously.  This is a 1930 Cord L-29 Phaeton.  It features front wheel drive with the transmission mounted in front of the engine.  Strangely, the shift lever is mounted on the dash panel.  The motor is a water cooled Lycoming straight-8 cylinder that developed 120 HP.  It's original cost was $2,595.00

If you love automobiles or even just innovative design, a visit to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn Indiana.  Check it out at https://automobilemuseum.org/.  The website itself is chock full of great automobile photos...

I'll end this post with this 1935 Hispano-Suiza Drophead Coupe.  FYI, Hispano-Suiza refers to the original Spanish-Swiss collaboration that led to this line of automobiles.  This model was created for the 1935 Paris Auto Show.  It has a dual ignition system, an 8-cylinder motor that develops 132 HP and it cost $20,000 new.  The accent trim and other exterior appointments were made with solid brass and German silver.  The Hispano-Suiza Company had it's start in 1904 with plants in both France and Spain.  It didn't hurt the company's reputation that these autos had earned the affection of Spanish King Alfonso XIII. 

The Hispano-Suiza Automotive Company is still making automobiles today...over 120 years later.  If you have the resources, you can order a Carmen Sagrera...shown above.  There is only a 9-month waiting period before delivery.  This automobile is yet another effort to save the planet in that it is fully electric.  Developing 1,019 HP, it will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds.  Cost - $3,200,000 plus taxes.

On the other hand, you could pick up an older model for a more reasonable price.  In August 2022, a 1936 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet was purchased by someone in Monterey County California for a mere $1,050,000.

That's all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave