1905 Franklin Type E Front-Entrance Detachable Tonneau
Chassis no. F1782
107.8 cu in, Pushrod Overhead Valve Inline 4-Cylinder Air-cooled Engine
Approx. 12hp
2-Speed Planetary Transmission
Fully Elliptic Leaf Suspension
2-Wheel Rear Drum and Transmission Brake

*Ex-Larz Anderson Auto Museum Collection
*Rare early front-engine four-cylinder Franklin
*In fine running condition with electric starting
*Well-known in Veteran Car circles

EARLY FRANKLIN CARS

H.H. Franklin was a successful industrialist in Syracuse, New York running a metal die casting business, itself something of an emerging technology. In 1902 he met John Wilkinson, a recent Cornell University engineering graduate who had designed an air-cooled automobile for a client who hadn't paid him. Franklin took a ride, was impressed, and undertook to acquire the deadbeats' interests and manufacture Wilkinson's cars. At a time when even quality automobiles were powered with single cylinder engines with atmospheric intake valves, ignition advance engine speed control, and tiller steering Franklin's little runabouts featured inline four-cylinder engines, throttle control, overhead valves, and wheel steering.

From the outset, air-cooled engines were the norm for Franklin with four-cylinder engine units being transversely mounted at the front in European, rather than typically American style. The Franklin was mounted on a wooden frame and proved robust on the primitive American dust roads, while the air-cooled engines delivered smooth and reliable progress. In 1904 L. L. Whitman challenged the records set by Winton and Packard for the trans-America drive from New York City to San Francisco and set a new record of just 33 days. Franklin remained in motor car manufacture until 1934 and throughout the name Franklin was synonymous with air-cooled engines.

THE CAR OFFERED

This Franklin is a rare early example from this most innovative of early American carmakers. This handsome car was acquired by the Carlsons in 2002 from the famed Lars Anderson Auto Museum Collection, and wears the versatile four-passenger Front Entrance Detachable Tonneau body, where the rear section can be readily removed to transform the car into a sporty two-place runabout. As offered from the Carlson collection, it wears an older restoration, attractively finished in red and black with gold coach lines and brass accoutrements. It should be noted that while the car is registered as a Type F, this car's 80-inch wheelbase and four-cylinder engine suggest it may be a Type E from 1905. It has been donated to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in the late 1990s from the Samuel Fire collection.

Accessories include Franklin-branded Atwood Mfg. side lights and a wonderful central-mounted search lamp. The four-cylinder engine is transversely mounted and looks remarkably simple without the complexities of a cooling system. It sends its power rearward through a planetary gearbox, and onward via a chain-driven rear axle.
Like the rest of the Carlson collection, the Franklin has been kept in fully operational and road registered condition. Used over the years by the Carlsons at several Franklin treks, they have continued to have this well-known Type E out in the hobby. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a very early example of the Franklin marque, much loved and tended-to by passionate collectors and now ready for new adventures.
Lot to be sold without reserve.