Dr. Evlyn Farris and her Electric Car in 1919

15 responses to “Dr. Evlyn Farris and her Electric Car in 1919”

1. 

   jurvetson

   Apr 30, 2012 at 3:17 am

   Meanwhile, south of the border, EVs were the primary use of electricity in 1900…
   

   "The years 1899 and 1900 were the high point of electric cars in America, as they outsold all other types of cars. One example was the 1902 Phaeton built by the Woods Motor Vehicle Company of Chicago, which had a range of 18 miles, a top speed of 14 mph and cost $2,000.

   Electric vehicles had many advantages over their competitors in the early 1900s. They did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars. Changing gears on gasoline cars was the most difficult part of driving, while electric vehicles did not require gear changes. While steam-powered cars also had no gear shifting, they suffered from long start-up times of up to 45 minutes on cold mornings. The steam cars had less range before needing water than an electric’s range on a single charge. The only good roads of the period were in town, causing most travel to be local commuting, a perfect situation for electric vehicles, since their range was limited. The electric vehicle was the preferred choice of many because it did not require the manual effort to start, as with the hand crank on gasoline vehicles, and there was no wrestling with a gear shifter.

   While basic electric cars cost under $1,000, most early electric vehicles were ornate, massive carriages designed for the upper class. They had fancy interiors, with expensive materials, and averaged $3,000 by 1910. Electric vehicles enjoyed success into the 1920s with production peaking in 1912." (history of EVs)

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2. 

   Jeffrey Wallace

   Apr 30, 2012 at 6:18 am

   Looks like a Baker Electric. I have seen Jay Leno do a video segment on his website about a later version that seems a bit more refined with headlights rather than lanterns.

   http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/cars/baker/the-100-year-old-electr...

   But now with more research I see a lot of electric car companies back then with very similar designs and I also see company mergers and other things so my confidence in my previous answer is wavering. A step in the right direction perhaps? 😉

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3. 

   rass999 denis laframboise

   Apr 30, 2012 at 11:51 am

   Yes Baker by Baker Motor Vehicle Company…..or a Woods Motor Vehicle

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4. 

   solerena

   Apr 30, 2012 at 2:03 pm

   So it was done right, initially… Full circle on this one.

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5. 

   RobThomasPhotography

   Apr 30, 2012 at 4:37 pm

   Blimey, Mike! Didn’t realise you’d been a photographer that long!

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6. 

   casrose1

   Apr 30, 2012 at 4:45 pm

   When I was researching years ago why USA did not have the speed railways connecting states like subways in cities allowing us to go up/down the USA Eastern seaboard on regular easy basis etc.. etc…I found the tire industry and auto industry combined forces to shoot down any independent forms of transportation in congress etc starting back after WWI.
   Just like Henri Bergson ( Creative Evolution/We are vital beings not the biological body etc) was the #1 draw for crowds at the turn of century into 1900 ~ He and his thinking got black listed and eliminated after WWI which appears was the electric car fate too !

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7. 

   LTIFar

   Apr 30, 2012 at 8:40 pm

   Lovely shot

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8. 

   jurvetson

   May 1, 2012 at 12:31 am

   Thanks @j_to_the_wall and @denis laframboise, that definitely looks like a Baker Electric:

   

   "The car shown is a ‘V’ Extension Front Coupe. It has shaft drive, tiller steering and right and left brake pedals. It uses 84 volts to produce eight horsepower, has six forward speeds and two reverse. It tops out at 23 mph, for up to one hundred miles. Seating for four is provided in wool broadcloth and finely appointed. The car also features locking steering and ignition, and a reverse lockout. The side windows drop down and the windshield pivots out to provide a completely open interior. Electric cars were prized for their crankless starting, smooth operation and silent running."

   And an interesting historical detail: the Baker EV was Thomas Edison’s first car. Which reminds me… as with so many things, Edison was confidently wrong about batteries too. Here’s a fun quote:

   "The storage battery is, in my opinion, a catchpenny, a sensation, a mechanism for swindling the public by stock companies. The storage battery is one of those peculiar things which appeals to the imagination, and no more perfect thing could be desired by stock swindlers than that very selfsame thing. … Just as soon as a man gets working on the secondary battery it brings out his latent capacity for lying. … Scientifically, storage is all right, but, commercially, as absolute a failure as one can imagine."

   

   And then he started a storage battery company himself in 1901 to power EVs:

   

   Edison’s nickel-iron batteries were used in the Baker Electric car, and the company was "quite profitable" (wikipedia)

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9. 

   Jim Rees

   May 1, 2012 at 3:26 am

   Edison also built an electric train powered by his nickel-iron cells:
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2423487746/

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10. 

    Chucil

    May 1, 2012 at 3:30 am

    Was Dr. Evlyn Farris a lawyer, too?

    Nickel–iron batteries do not have the lead or cadmium of the lead–acid and nickel–cadmium batteries, which makes them a lesser burden on human and ecological health.

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11. 

    Pieces of Eye

    May 1, 2012 at 7:00 am

    Looks kinda like a ‘Detroit Electric‘. going off the coach and front fender design.

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12. 

    jurvetson

    May 2, 2012 at 4:09 am

    So similar, like they copied the look and feel… Must be before the era of layers, pre-Nixon… but the Edison has a convex nose to the concave Baker. Here’s a front view of the Baker to compare.

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13. 

    chrisleegibbons

    Sep 12, 2012 at 2:20 pm

    Love to use this picture on my blog.

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14. 

    !MimosaMicheMichelle!

    Dec 5, 2021 at 4:43 pm

    This photo appears on Québec’s Météo Media channel in a short presentation on the 200th anniversary of the electric vehicule. Recently, I would hear it often while away from the television. A few days ago, I was in front of the television so I saw the photos shown. I chuckled when I saw this photo with your name credited at top left! I thought you would like to know that everyone who watches Météo Media sees it. Although the report is presented by a francophone québécois from Météo Media, it is possible that there is an anglophone version of the same report. I do not know. It would be presented for all of English speaking viewers on the Weather Network for all of Canada (same company, just in the anglophone version). I never watch The Weather Network (160) because it is only in HD not in UHD, because it is in English and because it focuses too much on all other provinces. Météo Media (21/621) is in UHD (621), is in French and is a little more for the province of Québec and for francophones. I thought you might like to know that your photo here and your name appear frequently these days on our Météo Media channel (chaîne)! Back to your parents’ former home! Tell your aunt to keep Météo Média (21/621) on for a while during a day but soon because who knows when the report will stop being shown. She might also enjoy seeing the UHD version (621). I am sure she understands and speaks French. I do not know if you can see this video. You can read and translate the full text. Your photo appears at the 28 seconds mark. http://www.meteomedia.com/ca/nouvelles/article/bon-anniversaire-...

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15. 

    !MimosaMicheMichelle!

    Dec 5, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    Here is a 2013 chonology of the electric vehicule, in French. http://www.lapresse.ca/auto/dossiers/dossiers-speciaux/la-revanc...

    Reply