Beschreibung:

232ci L-head four-cylinder engine Approximately 25hp 4-speed transmission Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension Rear Wheel Contracting Band Brakes *Exquisite Brewster bodied Peerless *Illustrious ownership history *Formal Victoria coachwork by Brewster *A very authentic example with many original finishes Peerless Automobiles Peerless started in Cincinnati in 1874 as a manufacturer of clothes wringers, clothespins and washboards, later moving to Cleveland and becoming the Peerless Manufacturing Company. Peerless was the world leader in laundry equipment, but management was keen to expand and perceived new opportunities in bicycles; production started in 1891. Success followed but by 1900 it became obvious that the new opportunity lay in automobiles. Louis P. Mooers was the man chosen to lead this effort. Peerless licensed De Dion-Bouton designs but quickly moved beyond the lightweight DeDion machines, and by 1904 had built a 60hp four-cylinder Peerless for competition for the company's new driver, Eli "Barney" Oldfield. Called the "Peerless Green Dragon", it would define Peerless's reputation for high performance and quality. Peerless also demonstrated its reliability in the early Glidden Tours, setting perfect scores in 1906, 1907 and 1908. In 1907 Peerless introduced its famous slogan, "All that the name implies", and it worked assiduously at living up to it. In 1905, Mooers and Oldfield having decamped to the Moon company, Peerless hired Charles Schmidt from Packard, the designer of the famed Packard Gray Wolf racer. Schmidt moved Peerless into the realm of the six-cylinder engine in 1908, cautiously patterning it after the 30hp four designed by Mooers in 1905. Peerless offered two four-cylinder engines and one six-cylinder engine on three different wheelbase chassis. Ten catalog bodies were offered by Peerless themselves, while some clients preferred their own bespoke coachwork from one of the major coachbuilders. The Motorcar Offered This Peerless, is in every respect 'All that the name implies' and more, with an incredible pedigree. It is a Model 29, introduced in mid-1910 and continuing into 1911; its engine is a 25hp four-cylinder with 4" bore and 4 5/8" stroke on a 113" wheelbase. It is custom bodied by one of the foremost names of the day, Brewster & Co. in New York City, which at the turn of the 20th century was the coachbuilder of choice for New York society. The quality of Brewster's workmanship was legend and in 1925 it was acquired by Rolls-Royce. The formal Victoria body is an eloquent adaptation of formal horse-drawn coachwork to an automobile chassis. The elevated seat for driver and footman are separate, in both place and caste, from the privileged, remote, partially concealed seat in the rear. The style was, as its name indicates, popularized by Queen Victoria and is one of the most enduring styles of the era. This particular Peerless Victoria was owned before the war by tobacco heiress Doris Duke. In an era pre-dating the stardom of movie actors, Doris Duke was a fascination for the press, who dubbed her 'the richest girl in the world' reflecting the fact that at age 12 in 1925, she had inherited the majority of her father's $80 million fortune. This aspect of its history is endorsed by a 1938 photo of the car in Life magazine, while stored at garage in Somerville, New Jersey, which was very close to Duke Farms. The image is captioned with a quote from the garagiste that "It belongs to Doris Duke Cromwell. It's a family heirloom, a 1910 Peerless and she has it insured for $10,000, using it about once every six months for a drive around her estate". He went on to comment "But we never know when she will use it, so we wash it every day"! The mention of the car being a family heirloom suggests that the Peerless may indeed have been owned by the Duke family from new, particularly given its Brewster coachwork. But, since Doris Duke's husband James Cromwell was a Vice President of the Peerless Motor Car company,