Description:

CHARLES DURYEA
(1861-1938) Engineer of the first-ever functional American gasoline-powered automobile, and founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company, the first commercial Automotive manufacturing interest. Good pair of signed items, includes: Interesting content T.L.S. "Chas. E. Duryea", 1p. 4to., Philadelphia, Oct. 24, 1934, to Helen Whitney Walter, responding to her request for an autograph in his own peculiar style of writing, in part: "... My main contribution seems to have been the spray carburetor. It made throttling the engine a possible thing. That fitted the engine to variable work as the auto needs. I can furnish foto of that first carburetor for 50 cts if yu wish one...Why do you spend time and energy collecting signatures when so many jobs of consequence await workers?... Two things are most used yet how few kno anything about either. Language & money. Our crazy language teaches babies to not think. In short makes morons of them. Cruel. But who is trying to help? Editors & teachers tell us ''Thinking cannot be taught''! They err in omitting ''to us''... I started in the hope to give cheap transportation to those who cud not afford any. The rich grabbed the auto and demanded ever bigger and more costly. The job I aimed at is not yet finisht. I am ready to day to build motor vehicles of 1/3 to 1/2 present weights and 1/4 to 1/6 present number of parts. They can be sold for half present prices and we can make more money than Ford did in fewer years...[all sic]" Duryea signs at the conclusion in pencil. He also encloses his signature "Chas. E. Duryea" in black ink on a 6 1/4" x 2 1/4" slip of paper, adding the date "24 Oct 1934" and the inscription "For historic truth". Both pieces show folds and mounting remnants, with toning and chipping to the edges of the letter, else very good. Also present are four pamphlets printed by Duryea, containing Duryea''s thoughts on the Great Depression, the Bible and evolution, and especially ways to streamline the English language (resulting in a number of non-standard grammar rules, spellings and truncated phrases which appear across his writings), as well as an illustrated pamphlet laying out the history of the development of the gas-powered automobile, with his own contributions strongly emphasized. All four bear tears at the top edge from being removed from a mounting, else very good.

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December 20, 2017 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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