A Quick Visit to the Lemay Family Collection

I visited the Lemay Family Collection of automobiles. It is affiliated with the Lemay America’s Auto Museum, but it more low key. Nevertheless, it contains a lot more than antique cars; this post is sharing some of the more mundane aspects of the development of automobiles as a major form of transportation.

The lower shelf of motor oil contains many familiar products; but the upper shelf will probably get your attention. How about putting some skunk oil in your motor? I wonder about their marketing campaign. Note that there are no plastic bottles here; every container is 100% recyclable, heavy cardboard (not corrugated) and metal rings.

I discovered the motometer recently. These devices are thermometers mounted to the radiator cap, which was exposed until the late 1920s. This is an assortment of these important gauges but, unfortunately, they aren’t labeled.

The major oil companies started adding tetraethyl lead to gasoline to prevent premature detonation in the 1920s, but they knew lead was dangerous, so they formed a new company called the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation; the word “lead” never appeared in advertising, but people loved the new gas, even though they had no idea what was in it. They thought it was high octane. You gotta love mass marketing in the twentieth century.

They don’t make BMWs like this anymore. Note the door on the front.

This is a horse-drawn road grader. Th operator stood on a missing platform and turned the wheels to adjust the blade. Some of them were adapted to be pulled by tractors. Not a very satisfactory solution …

This is a motorized road grader from 1925-1930. The gasoline engine is beneath the large tank in front of the cab. It was basically a tractor with an extra axle behind, and a long frame in front. This was before hydraulics were available, so the controls are all manual.

This is a Fordson road roller circa 1930-38. Note the smooth engine, reflecting the art-deco design craze sweeping the country.

ChatGPT and I agree that this is probably a road oiler (for asphalt surfaces) from the 1930-50s. We’ve all seen trucks with large tanks spraying oil on asphalt roads.

I recently posted about hood ornaments over the decades after a visit to the Lemay auto museum. This one, from a 1937 Packard 120 Coupe, caught my eye because the winged, female figure seems to be holding a wheel and tire assembly or maybe a disk. This is one of two optional ornaments, the Goddess of Speed; the other was a cormorant. Optional hood ornaments! Who would have believed it.

Final Thoughts

I always enjoy looking at old automobiles because they reflect the non-military development of a new technology, unlike aircraft. Part of this evolution was progress in road machinery — cars need good roads, unlike horses and buggies.