The Inspiration Behind Molly’s Car
What real life historical car is the best match for the one described in The Lightning Conductor?
This week we are in search of the history behind the car that Molly buys in The Lightning Conductor. (By the way, what shall we call this car? In the book, The Lightning Conductor is the title for the chauffeur, but perhaps it would do for the car as well. Or if he is The Lightning Conductor, does that make the car The Lightning? The car is also referred to as a Chariot or a Throne on multiple occasions, or I could simply call it Molly’s Car.)
No year is given for Molly’s letters. Since The Lightning Conductor was published in 1903, we must assume the car dates to the last decade of the 1800s or the first few years of the 1900s - more likely the former, since the car is several time described as old-fashioned.
According to the man Molly buys the car from, “there was no other [car] exactly like it, as it had been made especially for him.” So, we won’t expect to find an exact match in automotive history. Instead we will look for cars that provided inspiration for the one in The Lightning Conductor.
The car’s owner goes on to say that it is a German make of car and that it is unique in that "it had belts and a marvellous arrangement called a "jockey pulley" to regulate the speed: consequently it ran more "sweetly” … than gear-driven cars.”
I soon found out that Benz (a German manufacturer) was, at this period, known for being early adopters of the “jockey pulley” or “gear belt” in its cars, beginning in the early 1900s. I set about looking through early Benz models to see if any matched the description in the book.
Molly’s first impression of the car is that it is “high and dignified, like a chariot.” Molly sees the chauffeur exit the front seat. We later learn that the car is arranged phaeton-style with tonneau, that is, open-topped with a back passenger seat and front chauffeur seat, both front-facing.
The car’s previous owner had it “fitted up with lots of expensive improvements”. Cars of the period did tend to be customizable, so that old photos may show a variety of appearances for the same model of car. Improvements to Molly’s car include storage space for a large trunk behind the car and many smaller items (tools, books, lunch, etc.) within, “in a box under the cushions we sit on, and even under the floor”.
What appearance did the driving apparatus of the car have? When Molly begins to learn to drive, she discovers that the car’s mechanical operation is quite complicated. The driving apparatus includes “a kind of tiller” for steering, with a horn attached to it, and, to be operated with the other hand, a clutch for changing speeds, the “'jockey-pulley-lever,’ which gives the right tension to the belts”, the "throttle-valve-lever” to control the speed, and a brake. The throttle and brake are hand operated, rather than foot pedals as in modern cars. As the novel progresses and these mechanisms inevitably break, we find out that they are serviced from the rear and underside of the car.
A good match for all these features - turn of the century Benz manufacture, seating arrangement, and mechanical features, plus a high chariot-like look and customizable trunk storage - is the Benz Phaeton Langversion of 1895, pictured below. A similar model which was a little more widespread was the Benz Viktoria (seen in action in the YouTube video included in last week’s post). I will use both of these (and perhaps other turn of the century models, if they are in appropriate settings or actions) in selecting illustrations for the installments of The Lightning Conductor this fall.
Love the photos.