1910 Mitchell Touring

1910 Mitchell Model S Seven-Passenger Touring

Offered by Bring a Trailer | December 2024

Photo – Bring a Trailer

Mitchell: Like many of its contemporaries, Mitchell got its start as a wagon builder. Based in Racine, Wisconsin, Mitchell‘s wagons started rolling out in the 1880s. The switch to cars happened in 1903. They ended up going out of business in 1924, with the factory being purchased by Nash to produce their Ajax.

Model S: The Model S was introduced for 1910 with power from a 7.0-liter inline-six. It was a range-topped over the company’s earlier four-cylinder models. It would be produced through 1911, with two touring car body styles offered.

This car was restored in the 1950s under the ownership of OG collector Winthrop Rockefeller. Bill Harrah bought it in the 1970s, and after it left his collection, it was part of the Imperial Palace collection before being purchased by John McMullen. That is some pretty stout history. Big tourers from this era command big prices. Click here to see how it’s going.

Mercedes 35 PS

1910 Mercedes 35 PS Landaulette

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 2024

Photo – Bonhams

Mercedes: Wilhelm Maybach, Emil Jellinek, and Paul Daimler helped design the original Mercedes 35 HP in 1901. It was a revolutionary thing, and is often considered the first “modern car.” It’s what set Mercedes on the path of being one of the finest machines in the world. They’d team up with Benz in the 1920s.

35 PS: In 1908, a new 35 HP Mercedes appeared. While the original 35 HP model was chain driven, this new era of cars featured driveshafts. Even more modern. Built in 1908 and 1909, the 35 HP was powered by a 5.3-liter inline-four rated at, well, 35 horsepower. Top speed was around 43 mph.

This car wears landaulet coachwork, which was one of three styles offered by the factory. While it has been restored, it features a replacement engine from an earlier Mercedes displacing 8.5 liters. The body is also said to not be the original configuration. The estimate is $130,000-$250,000. More info can be found here.

Velie Touring

1910 Velie Model D-40 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 2024

Photo – Mecum

Passenger cars and tractors have an intertwined history, especially during the dawn of the automotive industry. Velie was founded as a wagon maker in 1902 – kind of late to the game on that one. Just six years later they were ready for cars. So what’s the tie in with tractors? Well, company founder Will Velie was a grandson of John Deere himself.

Early cars were sold through John Deere dealerships, including this 1910 model. Velie offered three models in 1910, with the Model D being the touring car. It’s powered by a 40-horsepower Lycoming inline-four.

All 1910 models cost $1,800 new – which was not inexpensive. The company produced quite a few cars through 1929, but somehow this is the first we’ve managed to feature. Despite closing up shop in 1929, Velie was not a victim of the Depression but rather a victim of its two main company leaders dying within a few months of each other.

You can read more about this one here.

EMF Touring

1910 EMF Model 30 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2024

Photo – Mecum

Everitt-Metzger-Flanders was relatively short lived – around from just 1908 to 1912. But those three names were all over the place in the early days. Everitt built bodies, Metzger helped get Cadillac off the ground, and Flanders was Ford’s production manager.

The Model 30 was their only product, and in 1910, it was only offered as a five-passenger touring car. The 3.7-liter inline-four engine made… 30 horsepower. It’s obviously been restored, and is said to have spent its recent life as a parade car.

E-M-F built ~15,000 cars in 1910. They don’t come up for sale all that often, but this EMF is… unbelievable. Click here for more info.

Brush Model D

1910 Brush Model D Runabout

Offered by H&H Classics | Buxton, U.K. | July 26, 2023

Photo – H&H Classics

Detroit’s Brush Runabout Company was founded in 1907 by Alanson P. Brush, who previously helped design the first Cadillac in 1902. Brush was eventually absorbed into Benjamin Briscoe’s United States Motor Company before going out business in 1912.

In 1910, the company offered one product: the Model D, which was actually available in five bodystyles, including three different runabouts. This two-seater was the cheapest available option at $485 when new. It’s powered by a 10-horsepower, 1.0-liter single.

This car won awards at car shows in the U.S. in the 1970s before being imported to the U.K. in 1991. It’s been with the consignor since 2004 and was restored about 30 years ago. It has an estimate of $32,000-$40,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $23,867.

Nagant-Hobson

1910 Nagant-Hobson 14/16HP Roi-des-Belges Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Liege-based Nagant was actually founded as a firearms manufacturer, and some of their guns would be staples of the Russian military for decades. The company’s first cars came about in 1900 based on the Gobron-Brillie.

The first Nagant-designed cars arrived in 1907. They were sold in England under the Nagant-Hobson marque. This one is powered by a 3.1-liter inline-four and features a four/five-seater touring car body.

This car was partially restored in New Zealand before returning to Belgium in the early 1990s. It has remained with the consignor for the last 30 years and carries an estimate of $42,500-$64,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $51,043.

Pope-Hartford Race Car

1910 Pope-Hartford Model W 50HP Racer

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 19, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Pope-Hartford was the longest-lasting of all of the marques of Colonel Albert Augustus Pope. The first cars were sold in 1904, and the brand continued on through 1914. In 1910, they offered a Model T, with the Models W and Y following for 1911.

Power in the Model W is from a 6.4-liter inline-four that made about 50 horsepower. The car is thought to have received its racing-style body prior to WWII. It was purchased by early sporting car collector Lindley Bothwell in the 1950s and raced in that decade at the Santa Catalina Island and Pebble Beach Sports Car Races.

Bothwell died in 1986, and his collection was not dispersed until 2017. Prior to that, this car was used in the movie Seabiscuit, presumably where the horse’s owner fills his horse barn with pre-war racing cars and then later removes them again in favor of horses. It’s a quick scene, but there is some real eye candy in it. The pre-sale estimate here is $400,000-$500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $445,000.

The Pre-GMC

1910 Reliance Model G3 2.5-Ton Stake Truck

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

The Reliance Motor Car Company was founded in Owosso, Michigan, in 1906. The company relocated its headquarters to Detroit in 1908. Why? Well, because it was scooped up by Billy Druant and merged into General Motors. Three years later, GM formed the General Motors Truck Company, and in 1911 Reliance (and Rapid, which they also owned) were phased out in favor the GMC brand.

So this truck was built the year before GM axed the marque. The original engine would’ve been a 5.1-liter inline-three that made 45 horsepower. Now it has an International-sourced 2.2-liter industrial inline-four.

The catalog description notes that the truck was formerly used in parades until the wood-spoke wheel starting cracking. So I guess if you want to drive it you’re gonna have to fix that… At any rate, Reliance trucks are not very common, and this one is proof that being a truck driver around 1910 was not a glamorous affair. You can read more about this one here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $22,000.

Durkopp Touring

1910 Durkopp 8/18PS Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Durkopp, now known as Durkopp Adler, is a Germany company specializing in sewing machines, which is actually where the company got its start. They later expanded to bicycles before ending up producing automobiles. Production cars appeared in 1906, and commercial vehicles were also sold. Passenger cars were phased out in 1927, and trucks in 1929. After that they retreated to sewing machines.

This car is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four that made about 18 horsepower. The car is said to be original, and it is thought that the body was an early one produced by Karmann. It was sold new in Sweden and was placed into storage in the mid-1920s, remaining there for about 80 years.

The car was acquired by the current owner in 2013 and has spent time in a museum. It now carries a pre-sale estimate of $120,000-$150,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Rochet-Schneider 18HP

1910 Rochet-Schneider 18HP Series 9300 Open-Drive Landaulet

Offered by Bonhams | Beaulieu, U.K. | September 5, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

Rochet-Schneider was founded in 1894, and by 1910, they had earned the right to be producing large luxurious limousines like this one. Their cars were for the wealthy elite, and nothing says “I’m wealthy” like an open-drive landaulet where you right in an enclosed cabin out back while your driver suffers through the heat/rain/freezing cold.

The Series 9300 was introduced for 1910 and is powered by a 3.7-liter inline-four rated at 18 horsepower. This example was part of a large collection that was disbanded in 2005. The car is either largely original or wearing a very old restoration. The exterior isn’t perfect, but looks good. And the tufted leather in the rear compartment seems to have held up well.

The issue here is that, since the current owner bought it in 2005, it has only been started once. This thing is gonna need a nice recommissioning if you want to use it. The pre-sale estimate is $41,000-$55,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $26,999.