Founded in 1899 by WH Starkweather, Herman Pfiel and W.G. Smith to build steam-powered cars, the Milwaukee Automobile Company produced its first car in 1900. Having overestimated the demand for its products, the company was soon declared bankrupt, and it closed in 1902.
This “Milwaukee Racer” was built by the company in 1901 for Dr. J.G. Lovell of Chicago, having been designed by the company’s Chicago agent, Frank P. Illsley. Not merely an adaptation of one of the firm’s standard models, this purpose-built racer was exhibited at the first Chicago Auto Show in March 1901. That same month The Daily Northwestern reported that the company is “building a machine with a speed of a mile a minute… It is expected to be the fastest automobile in America, and of its kind, the fastest in the world.” Little has been found relating to this car’s active racing history, except for the possibility of its participation in an event at Joliet, IL, in October 1901.
At some stage the Milwaukee was extensively modified; a new style of body was mounted on running gear lengthened by 18 inches, and the boiler was moved to the front under a bonnet arrangement. There is no firm evidence as to when this was carried out, but it is possible it was done in the 1930s. The Milwaukee was certainly in this modified form in 1954 when it was restored by a Mr. Ray Salentine of Waukesha, WI. It is thought that the vehicle was sold in the 1960s or 1970s to a new owner in Beloit, IL, near Chicago, disappearing from view until it reappeared in 2001 at the Auto Museum in Ladenburg, Germany.
The current vendor purchased the Milwaukee in the U.K. in the spring of 2005, and after a two-year period of research, it was restored to the original design of 1901. Renovated and re-steamed in July 2010, the Milwaukee has taken part in the famous London-to-Brighton Run on numerous occasions. A new boiler was manufactured and fitted in 2019 by specialists J.R. Goold Steam Ltd., in Bath, U.K., and the present boiler examination and pressure test is valid until December 2024. Offered with a V5C document.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1901 Milwaukee Racer 6HP Steam Car |
| Years Produced: | 1901 |
| Number Produced: | N/A |
| Tune Up Cost: | $1,000 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Plate attached to body |
| Engine Number Location: | Data plate on engine |
| Club Info: | Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), Horseless Carriage Club of America (HCCA), The Steam Car Club of Great Britain |
| Website: | http://www.aaca.org |
| Alternatives: | 1903–04 Cadillac Model A 1901–03 Oldsmobile Model R “Curved Dash” 1902–04 Stanley Steamer |
This car, Lot 202, sold for $53,767 (£43,700), including buyer’s premium, at Bonhams Cars’ London, U.K., sale on November 3, 2023.
If you think about the civilized world at the close of the 19th century, steam propulsion was ubiquitous in nearly everything that moved and worked, from ships and railroad trains to excavators and heating equipment. The gasoline engine was still in its infancy. Steam was a known and familiar commodity.
It made perfect sense in 1899 for the new Milwaukee Automobile Company to build steamers. The company slogan, as quoted in the Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805–1942, 3rd Edition, by Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark, Jr., was “Thoroughly efficient.”
The new company wasn’t trying to make its name in a bold fashion. The Milwaukee was modestly said not to be “a radical departure from all other types,” and it would not “revolutionize the whole automobile industry.” The partners went on to say that they offered a steam car because “steam is like a well-tried old servant” and it is “our oldest artificial power.” Moreover, the founders stated that their steamer had “no ball bearings,” because “their value is uncertain, while bronze bearings are a known quantity.”
For the next two years, the conservative firm didn’t change the car, but it added models and raised prices. “Every car that leaves our factory,” the company’s advertising crowed, “is tested on a hill, directly in front of our factory, with a rise of 80 feet, in a distance of 400 feet. You need not be afraid of hills with the Milwaukee.”
Feeling the pressure
In 1901, more people owned horses than did cars. It took about half an hour from a cold boiler to raise a head of steam, about as long as it did to feed and water a horse and hitch it up to a carriage. Most steamers in that era lacked condensers to circulate and reuse water, but a contemporary steam car could travel more than 50 miles before more water was needed. If an owner was somewhat mechanically minded, steam power made perfect sense.
Little wonder the Stanley Brothers, White, Locomobile and countless other smaller companies offered steam-powered cars. At the same time, gasoline-powered competitors began to surge, and there was even a flurry of electric-car nameplates. The Milwaukee firm’s capitalization was $100,000 (about $3.6 million in 2024 dollars), and it produced vehicles for both personal and commercial use, including the Stanhope Runabout and Delivery Wagon.
A photo from 1902 shows a handsome 5-passenger touring car, but by then Milwaukee reported debts of over $42,000, and had filed for bankruptcy. Adding to its woes, a Bostonian named George Whitney sued Milwaukee for patent infringement on a filing he’d made in 1900. It proved all too much for the fledgling steam-car maker, which went bankrupt.
Steaming in style
Accurately restored, very rare and a proven runner, this 1901 Milwaukee Racer represents several opportunities. Although it’s not much bigger than a lifted, zero-turn lawnmower, it’s a handsome conveyance, perched on its tall wire wheels. With a professionally tested boiler and safety certification, not to mention having already completed several London-to-Brighton jaunts, cars like this are in high demand. The desire for eligible Veteran Car Run entrants is always a prime mover.
Over the years, inspired by the popular British movie, “Genevieve” in 1953, countless true Brass Era car enthusiasts have flocked to the popular November British road trial, undaunted by the usual cold, rainy weather and the prospect of battling London traffic, to complete the challenging 64.6-mile journey. (That distance doesn’t sound far, but when you’re only driving at 18 to 20 mph, it’s a challenge.) The Royal Automobile Club (RAC) London-to-Brighton eligibility test requires a 1904-or-earlier car, and the fact that this doughty Milwaukee steamer has made the cut in the past makes it enticing.
American car entries in U.K. rallies are often relatively common models like Curved-Dash Oldsmobiles and single-cylinder Cadillac runabouts. American-built Stanley Steamers have competed in the Run, but we couldn’t find record of a single Milwaukee sale at auction, so this purchase was a rare commodity. Completely restored, with actual racing history and prior event provenance (and already located in England), this Milwaukee steamer represents a relative bargain for a keen punter to motor down to Brighton in style, for only a little more than the average $45k that a Curved-Dash Olds costs.
We’ll call it well sold and well bought. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of Bonhams Cars.)
