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Een Adelphia droom
Het vinden van een unieke auto is iets waar we allemaal van dromen, maar dan komt de realiteit en wil je de auto op de best mogelijke manier restaureren. Maar informatie is schaars en andere, vergelijkbare auto's zijn niet gemakkelijk te vinden. Dit is min of meer de status van Jonny Eriksson uit Zweden die een ongewone auto heeft die Adelphia heet. Auto? Wel, het is op dit moment nog een roestig chassis met een radiator, motorkap en stuurwiel. Jonny is op zoek naar meer informatie en hoopt dat er ergens ter wereld een overlevende is die hem kan helpen, zodat hij de carrosserie, en ook andere onderdelen, nauwkeuriger kan namaken.
Adelphia
In de zomer van 1920 kondigde de Winfield Barnes Company uit Philadelphia hun Adephia aan als een auto die indruk zou maken met zijn luxueuze en toch krachtige uiterlijk. Volgens hun verkoopbrochure investeerden ze een groot deel van hun fortuin in experimenten en wegtesten voordat ze tevreden waren om de perfecte auto te produceren. Dit resulteerde echter in geldgebrek, en de eigenlijke productie en levering duurden een paar maanden langer dan verwacht. Snelle levering was niet de enige belofte die ze maakten en niet nakwamen. "Een demonstratie overtuigt u er meteen van dat de Adephia uw soort auto is", schreven ze, maar het bracht duidelijk niet het succes waarop ze hoopten.
Herschell-Spillman motor
De auto kreeg de naam Model 48 (dit was ook het enige model dat werd geproduceerd) met de radiateurstijl van een Rolls-Royce en werd aangedreven door een 39 pk Herschell-Spillman viercilinder motor (3 ½ " bij 5 "). Herschell-Spillman was vooral bekend om hun draaimolens, maar produceerde ook motoren voor diverse automobielen, zoals Dixie-Flyer en Abbott-Detroit. Hij had een versnellingsbak met drie versnellingen naar eigen ontwerp en remde op enkel de achterwielremmen om de Goodrich 32" banden op artilleriewielen te laten stoppen. Er werden slechts enkele Adelphia's geproduceerd voordat de productie een jaar later in 1921 werd stopgezet en de fabriek in juli van dat jaar werd geveild.
Jonny's Adelphia werd in 1921 door American Express in Stockholm ingevoerd en drie jaar later, in 1924, verhuisde hij 100 km noordwaarts naar de stad Gävle. In 1928 werd de auto uit het register geschrapt en er is minder over bekend. Hij bleef in een schuur op het platteland staan en heeft de tand des tijds niet geheel ongeschonden doorstaan. Tachtig jaar gingen voorbij voordat iemand weer van de Adelphia hoorde. En nu, 15 jaar later, is hij uit de schuur verhuisd naar de liefdevolle zorg van een nieuwe gebruiker. Volledig verroest en in onderdelen werd het grootste deel in de schuur gevonden, en het chassis lag zelfs in het bos ernaast en er moest een boom worden omgezaagd om het los te krijgen. Het positieve is dat het allemaal compleet lijkt. En we moeten positief blijven om een project als dit tot een goed einde te brengen.
Het Griekse woord 'Adelphia' betekent broederschap, dus we hopen dat iets van de 'PreWarCar broeders' Jonny kan helpen en dit zijn perfecte auto kan maken.
Gepubliceerd:
dinsdag juni 7th, 2022
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Reacties
Jonny Eriksson
12 Juni 2022, 11:48
David Grimstead
13 Juni 2022, 21:06
Jonny, well done. You having confirmed that, it is now worth saying that although the Adelphia does not seem to have come to the UK at all, quite a few Alsace-4 were imported and sold here by the VIGO Trading Company, Vigo St., Regents St., London W1 between at least 1920 and 1923. They had a “Service Depot and Repair works at Belsize Place, Hampstead, London NW. There is a big colour advert (a drawn red car!) for them in the Motor Owner magazine June 1920. Georgano says the Alsace was at the 1920 London Motor Show and, in British papers, garages were advertising them being readily available for sale in spring 1920. Several UK garages had them in stock for sale that year priced at £595 but “shop-soiled” cars were down to £275 in late 1923. Some chassis probably got British-made 2-seater bodies. Alsace-4s turned up second hand for some time after that. Unfortunately, unlikely much left of them here now.
I would think that both cars were versions of the Piedmont 4-30, the Adelphia with a slightly shorter chassis perhaps to reduce cost, so they probably used some common components, although when sold as Piedmonts, some if not all were said to have had, I think, a Continental engine of similar spec to the Herschell-Spillman. You can search the Hathitrust website for “Piedmont 4-30” to find a full side view and specification; I copied it but not the page address.
By the way, I think I read that there are only three or four of that Piedmont model still in existence. Rare indeed, so once again best of luck with restoration. DG.
Lees verder
I would think that both cars were versions of the Piedmont 4-30, the Adelphia with a slightly shorter chassis perhaps to reduce cost, so they probably used some common components, although when sold as Piedmonts, some if not all were said to have had, I think, a Continental engine of similar spec to the Herschell-Spillman. You can search the Hathitrust website for “Piedmont 4-30” to find a full side view and specification; I copied it but not the page address.
By the way, I think I read that there are only three or four of that Piedmont model still in existence. Rare indeed, so once again best of luck with restoration. DG.
Jonny Eriksson
14 Juni 2022, 11:03
David,
is it possible that you send all the information you found to my email?
[email protected]
Thanks,
Jonny
Lees verder
is it possible that you send all the information you found to my email?
[email protected]
Thanks,
Jonny
Jonny Eriksson
08 Juni 2022, 09:41
Hi David!
Thank you for your knowledge but I'm very sure it's an Adelphia. I have registration paper that says adelphia. I also have old newspaper ads where they sell an Adelphia in Stockholm in May 1921. I think that if the production ended in October 1920 and an Adelphia would be sold in Stockholm, it would probably take 3 months just to get it to Stockholm. and with some delays maybe...
By the way, my top bow holders do not match Alsace, but they do match the Adelphia picture, etc. the radiator does not feel the same either.
Could you send all the info you have about Winfield and Barnes co and the Adelphia project? Either here on comments so we can all take part of the information or on my email [email protected]
All the Best,
Jonny
Lees verder
Thank you for your knowledge but I'm very sure it's an Adelphia. I have registration paper that says adelphia. I also have old newspaper ads where they sell an Adelphia in Stockholm in May 1921. I think that if the production ended in October 1920 and an Adelphia would be sold in Stockholm, it would probably take 3 months just to get it to Stockholm. and with some delays maybe...
By the way, my top bow holders do not match Alsace, but they do match the Adelphia picture, etc. the radiator does not feel the same either.
Could you send all the info you have about Winfield and Barnes co and the Adelphia project? Either here on comments so we can all take part of the information or on my email [email protected]
All the Best,
Jonny
David Grimstead
08 Juni 2022, 19:42
Jonny,
Thank you. Never any question that what you have is an Adelphia not an Alsace. But it is striking, the almost matching specification and common supplier names for both cars and the fact that both were evidently made in Philadelphia, the home of Winfield Barnes.
Confirmation that they came from the same manufacturer, at least indirectly, can be found in Marián Šumen-Hreblay’s Automobile Manufacturers Worldwide Registry, where the entry for the Adelphia brand says: “USA 1920. Winfield-Barnes Co., Philadelphia. Built for export only. Plant sold by receivers June 1922. Built by Piedmont.”
And for the Alsace brand: “USA 1919-1921. Automotive Products Corp. New York, N.Y.; Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Built by Piedmont Motor Company, Lynchburg, Virginia and Simms Motor Car Company, Atlanta Georgia. For export only. Passenger cars.”
That seems to confirm the connection from Piedmont Motor Company through the Alsace and its link to Adelphia, but not how much of the manufacture and assembly of either car Winfield Barnes did. Piedmont “supplied” a lot of cars which all looked the same bodily from the radiator back and had similar chassis. Mostly what changed were external features and detail changes to batches of chassis components during production of each model – like your radiator.
Not much more useful information I can add to the Adelphia story but let’s hope it means there are lots of suitable spares for you to find!
Good luck!
David G.
Lees verder
Thank you. Never any question that what you have is an Adelphia not an Alsace. But it is striking, the almost matching specification and common supplier names for both cars and the fact that both were evidently made in Philadelphia, the home of Winfield Barnes.
Confirmation that they came from the same manufacturer, at least indirectly, can be found in Marián Šumen-Hreblay’s Automobile Manufacturers Worldwide Registry, where the entry for the Adelphia brand says: “USA 1920. Winfield-Barnes Co., Philadelphia. Built for export only. Plant sold by receivers June 1922. Built by Piedmont.”
And for the Alsace brand: “USA 1919-1921. Automotive Products Corp. New York, N.Y.; Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Built by Piedmont Motor Company, Lynchburg, Virginia and Simms Motor Car Company, Atlanta Georgia. For export only. Passenger cars.”
That seems to confirm the connection from Piedmont Motor Company through the Alsace and its link to Adelphia, but not how much of the manufacture and assembly of either car Winfield Barnes did. Piedmont “supplied” a lot of cars which all looked the same bodily from the radiator back and had similar chassis. Mostly what changed were external features and detail changes to batches of chassis components during production of each model – like your radiator.
Not much more useful information I can add to the Adelphia story but let’s hope it means there are lots of suitable spares for you to find!
Good luck!
David G.
Jonny Eriksson
09 Juni 2022, 12:58
HI David!
Yes and thanks for your valuable information. I think Piedmont co. was the assembly factory. I wonder how many Adelphias they managed to assembly under such a short time. They started in summer (July?) 1920 and ended in october 1920. Thats only like 4 months.
All the best,
Jonny
Lees verder
Yes and thanks for your valuable information. I think Piedmont co. was the assembly factory. I wonder how many Adelphias they managed to assembly under such a short time. They started in summer (July?) 1920 and ended in october 1920. Thats only like 4 months.
All the best,
Jonny
David Grimstead
10 Juni 2022, 13:47
Jonny, a Winfield Barnes full page advert, with a perfect side view of an Adelphia, appeared on page 74 of the July 1920 Commercial American Magazine and was probably the only version W-B had time to print, although it was also published in Spanish (“El Automovil Americano”) and French magazines. It can be accessed at: h**ps://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2554676&view=1up&seq=312&skin=2021&q1=barnes
Note it says the Adelphia “is constructed” at their plant and a classified entry gave the address: “The Winfield Barnes Company 20th and Erie Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Exporters of automobiles, trucks and accessories.”
A Federal bankruptcy receiver was appointed in October 1920 when the company had $609,960 assets and $208,808 liabilities but the slump in money markets had left them only $757 cash. Its equipment was auctioned June 1921 “for very small sums” but bids for their two sites were not accepted. When finally sold in January 1922 they made $116,000, which was £31,000 over their valuation.
If you Google “20th and Erie”, Streetview shows one corner is occupied by a large two storey old brick-built factory, now a storage facility. Sales data says it was built in 1921 but was this where the Adelphia was built or was it at their second smaller premises on Cherry Street?
Lees verder
Note it says the Adelphia “is constructed” at their plant and a classified entry gave the address: “The Winfield Barnes Company 20th and Erie Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Exporters of automobiles, trucks and accessories.”
A Federal bankruptcy receiver was appointed in October 1920 when the company had $609,960 assets and $208,808 liabilities but the slump in money markets had left them only $757 cash. Its equipment was auctioned June 1921 “for very small sums” but bids for their two sites were not accepted. When finally sold in January 1922 they made $116,000, which was £31,000 over their valuation.
If you Google “20th and Erie”, Streetview shows one corner is occupied by a large two storey old brick-built factory, now a storage facility. Sales data says it was built in 1921 but was this where the Adelphia was built or was it at their second smaller premises on Cherry Street?
Jonny Eriksson
12 Juni 2022, 11:35
David!
Wow! thats wonderful information! Thanks alot!
-Jonny
Lees verder
Wow! thats wonderful information! Thanks alot!
-Jonny
David Grimstead
07 Juni 2022, 19:57
It may prove fortunate but as confusing for Jonny Eriksson as for me that his car was probably not sold uniquely as an Adelphia...
According to Georgano’s Encyclopaedia, Winfield Barnes $1695 export Adelphia only existed between summer and autumn 1920, but a car with a near identical specification and appearance, including a Rolls-Royce style radiator, was described in detail in the 1919 Chilton Automobile Directory as “The Alsace; a New Car for the Export Trade, being turned out by the Automotive Products Corporation of Woolworth Building, New York City” but “manufactured in Philadelphia” – suggesting they had it made by Winfield Barnes.
Automotive Products Corp. was allied with the American Steel Export Company and planned to sell the Alsace “through well established foreign distributors at certain trade centers.” It was right hand drive only, “parts utilized in its make-up are those which will give service in the hands of the average foreign user and upon which the replacement for renewals will not be difficult.” (NB: Alsace was a politically sensitive name in post-WWI Europe; Adelphia was a better export name.)
Just like the Adelphia, the Alsace engine was the 4-cylinder, 3.5 x 5 inch Herschell-Spillman, with honeycomb Rolls-Royce type radiator and thermo-syphon cooling, a Zenith carburettor, Bosch magneto and fuel-feed by Stewart vacuum. It was fitted with a Dyneto two-unit electric starter and dynamo, which charged a Philadelphia Diamond Grid 6-volt, 120-amp battery.
Its frame was 5-inch section with semi-elliptic springs front and rear; wheelbase was 116 inches and tread 56 inches. A Grant-Lees selective-type three-speed transmission drove via a fully–floating Hotchkiss-type axle, which was made by Stan Par as was the I-beam front axle. Rear wheel only brakes were 14 x 2 inch drums in wooden artillery wheels, these having demountable rims with a spare rim mounted on the rear body. Tires were 32 x 4 inch all round; non-skid at the rear and plain in front, either Fiske or Goodrich.
It had full crowned fenders fitted to a body that was “5-passenger, straight line, and has a one man top.” It was available painted deep red, Rolls Royce Blue or Cobalt Blue, with black enamelled fenders, splash-pans and shields. The windshield was slanted but fully adjustable and the upholstery was “leatheroid.” The Alsace weighed 2600lb and the ex-Philadelphia factory price in 1919 was $1485.
Subject to Winfield Barnes “changes in design or any improvements” caveat, all very similar but Georgano describes the Alsace and its 1921 photo as “in fact a Piedmont built for the export market” by the Piedmont Motor Company of Lynchburg, Virginia, which was supplying many badge-engineered cars at the time but failed during 1922. Although Georgano makes no connection between Alsace and Adelphia and gives no indication the Piedmont/Alsace was made in Philadelphia, the Chilton Directory and Winfield Barnes brochure seem to identify Alsace and Adelphia as essentially the same 19.6-h.p. car, both made some time between 1919 and 1922 in Philadelphia. Was Winfield Barnes assembling these export cars for Piedmont or just using their parts and assembling them for others?
Lees verder
According to Georgano’s Encyclopaedia, Winfield Barnes $1695 export Adelphia only existed between summer and autumn 1920, but a car with a near identical specification and appearance, including a Rolls-Royce style radiator, was described in detail in the 1919 Chilton Automobile Directory as “The Alsace; a New Car for the Export Trade, being turned out by the Automotive Products Corporation of Woolworth Building, New York City” but “manufactured in Philadelphia” – suggesting they had it made by Winfield Barnes.
Automotive Products Corp. was allied with the American Steel Export Company and planned to sell the Alsace “through well established foreign distributors at certain trade centers.” It was right hand drive only, “parts utilized in its make-up are those which will give service in the hands of the average foreign user and upon which the replacement for renewals will not be difficult.” (NB: Alsace was a politically sensitive name in post-WWI Europe; Adelphia was a better export name.)
Just like the Adelphia, the Alsace engine was the 4-cylinder, 3.5 x 5 inch Herschell-Spillman, with honeycomb Rolls-Royce type radiator and thermo-syphon cooling, a Zenith carburettor, Bosch magneto and fuel-feed by Stewart vacuum. It was fitted with a Dyneto two-unit electric starter and dynamo, which charged a Philadelphia Diamond Grid 6-volt, 120-amp battery.
Its frame was 5-inch section with semi-elliptic springs front and rear; wheelbase was 116 inches and tread 56 inches. A Grant-Lees selective-type three-speed transmission drove via a fully–floating Hotchkiss-type axle, which was made by Stan Par as was the I-beam front axle. Rear wheel only brakes were 14 x 2 inch drums in wooden artillery wheels, these having demountable rims with a spare rim mounted on the rear body. Tires were 32 x 4 inch all round; non-skid at the rear and plain in front, either Fiske or Goodrich.
It had full crowned fenders fitted to a body that was “5-passenger, straight line, and has a one man top.” It was available painted deep red, Rolls Royce Blue or Cobalt Blue, with black enamelled fenders, splash-pans and shields. The windshield was slanted but fully adjustable and the upholstery was “leatheroid.” The Alsace weighed 2600lb and the ex-Philadelphia factory price in 1919 was $1485.
Subject to Winfield Barnes “changes in design or any improvements” caveat, all very similar but Georgano describes the Alsace and its 1921 photo as “in fact a Piedmont built for the export market” by the Piedmont Motor Company of Lynchburg, Virginia, which was supplying many badge-engineered cars at the time but failed during 1922. Although Georgano makes no connection between Alsace and Adelphia and gives no indication the Piedmont/Alsace was made in Philadelphia, the Chilton Directory and Winfield Barnes brochure seem to identify Alsace and Adelphia as essentially the same 19.6-h.p. car, both made some time between 1919 and 1922 in Philadelphia. Was Winfield Barnes assembling these export cars for Piedmont or just using their parts and assembling them for others?
I found this. just as you thought it seems like the Alsace were the precursor of the Adelphia car.
Best wishes,
Jonny