1923 Maxwell Model 25 Touring

Jonathan Maxwell was a trained machinist and engineer who had worked at both Olds Motor Works and Detroit's Northern Manufacturing Company. In 1904, he was invited by Benjamin Briscoe to join a new automotive venture. Briscoe and Maxwell took over the factory of the Mobile Company of America, a defunct steam car company, at Tarrytown, New York, and with funding from John D. Rockefeller, created the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Company. By 1910, the company was selling over 20,000 cars annually and was ranked in third place in the industry behind Buick and Ford.

Part of the company's success was their clever publicity stunts thought up by Cadwallader Washburn Kelsey, the company's sales manager. The lists included having chases with police and driving up steps. The company also proved its vehicle's durability and capabilities in endurance racing, including taking part in the Glidden Tours. In 1909, Alice Huyler Ramsey became the first woman to drive coast-to-coast, from Hell's Gate in New York to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, while driving a Maxwell D.

Originally built in Tarrytown, New York, the company moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 1913 when the factory was sold to Chevrolet. The company would produce automobiles until 1925 when it became part of the Chrysler Corporation.

This particular example is a Maxwell Model 25 built in 1923, a year in which they built 58,313 cars. This car wears a five-passenger Touring body and is powered by a 30-horsepower, four-cylinder engine backed by a three-speed manual transmission. The wheelbase measures 109 inches, and there are rear-wheel mechanical drum brakes.

Many years ago, this car was given a restoration. Nothing has been fabricated, and all the car's original parts and materials were used in the restoration. The current caretaker has owned the car since 2005.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2016