I thought I’d mix things up a bit. I’ve had this piece of wood car part sitting around for a while. I don’t know much about the American Motor Company other than they made the Marsh Runabout and a bunch of motorcycles in Massachusetts around 1905. This looks to be a battery cover or some piece of the electrical system. Are there any experts on turn-of-the-century autos out there?
It’s 8.5″x4.5″ and about 1/4″ deep with holes for tacks around the perimeter
Top right: “TO COPPER OR POSITIVE POLE OF BATTERY”
Bottom right: “TO ENGINE FRAME 1”
Left: “RUBBER COVERED TO CYLINDER”
Here’s the back. that edge shows it was the top of a box of some kind. That screw for the “Rubber covered for cylinder” terminal has a piece of wire soldered between the screw head and the washer, and the black square is rubber coated cloth of some kind.
I like looking back at the technology used in the early autos. The inventiveness really shows, as does the crazy levels of craftsmanship. Gotta love those hand-punched letters on the tags!
quickcarshots 