A lot of firsts, but are they? (Update: about dating the car)

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At their next auction at the Quail Lodge Bonhams will be offering this rare 1895 Buffum. It is true that H.H. Buffum was an exceptional engineer who produced a lot of firsts, among them the world's first production American V8 (although it is open to debate whether the Hewitt beat him to it). When writing about an virtually unknown car like this Buffum we always have a look at our Standard Catalogue of American Cars, which is sort of a bible to us. The Catalogue states that the Buffum was first made in 1901. Bonhams claims this 1895 Buffum 4-Cylinder Stanhope to be the first Buffum automobile produced, the oldest four-cylinder car in the world, the oldest American car ever offered at auction, and the oldest gasoline-powered American car in private ownership to be from 1895 and is a sort of precursor to Buffum's production models. It has been in the collection of Princeton Auto museum in Massachusetts for a long time, so we cannot imagine that Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark jr, who wrote the Catalogue, had not been aware of this earlier Buffum. So we still have our doubts, yet history is a living thing and new evidence can always come to light. But whatever the date, 1895 or 1901, this sure is a rare car which comes with a lot of history.
(photos courtesy Bonhams, who will offer this Buffum on August 16-17 at the Quail Lodge sale in Carmel, California)

UPDATE: as a response to our article we received information from Bonhams that we like to share with you.

"The car being offered at auction was not a production vehicle; it is the earliest known pre-production prototype built by Buffum, years before he incorporated his company in 1901 and began his production models. In addition to numerous secondary sources supporting its dating to 1895, the technology used on this prototype car itself speaks volumes.
The technology besides Buffum's advanced motor is highly primitive. The car has no radiator just a boiling tank cooling system, a primitive industrial transmission, a completely scratch built, blacksmith made chassis (by 1900 scores of off the shelf chassis components were available). It lacks many early technologies such as Ackerman steering and its fuel capacity is a mere 1 gallon. Why would a designer as brilliant as Buffum ignore all the technologies of the day and build a car wildly obsolete in 1901?
In 1901 Buffum produced a production car as sophisticated as anything available at the time. Powered by a horizontally opposed four-cylinder front mounted engine with proper transmission and dual chain drive, the car had a large front mounted radiator and exhibited the state of the art technologies of the day. One does not come up with an advanced car like that overnight. His 1901 production car is so far beyond his first prototype, the idea of such developments occurring in less than a year is ridiculous.
What we are offering is the first in a string of six known pre-production prototype cars Buffum produced in his spare time while running the machinery company. Pictures exist of one or two others, each showing a development in technology over the course of years of tinkering. Numerous research publications and documents, including works by L. Scott Bailey, William McAlvain, Hayden Shepley and others, date this prototype car to at least as early as 1895. In fact, the date is considered conservative by some who have thoroughly researched the subject and found Buffum's car work to have begun even earlier.
Bonhams stands behind its cataloguing of this remarkable car and invites any doubters to view this superb early prototype and its extensive file in person at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, CA during auction previews August 15th - 17th."
 

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