1903 Columbia Electric Surrey

After Colonel Albert Pope became the nation's largest bicycle manufacturer, he set his sights on similar goals with the automobile. In 1896, Pope built an experimental electric car. The following year, he hired Hiram Percy Maxim to lead the motor carriage department of the Pope Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut. By the close of the 1800s, the company had built several hundred ore electrics under the Columbia name, which he also used for his bicycles.

Meanwhile, the Electric Vehicle Company was started by Isaac L. Rice in New York City with the intention of building electric taxicabs. A few had been put into service, just in time to be tested during the NY City's blizzard of 1899. They performed well, and Financier William Collins Whitney took notice and bought the company. Whitney needed a manufacturing base, so he approached Colonel Pope for assistance. The result was the Columbia Automobile Company of Hartford, organized in 1899.

Within a few short years, the company had nine models of the Columbia electric, carrying such names as Mark XXI, Mark XXXV, and Mark III. Body styles included runabouts, Victoria's, phaetons, Surrey, and cabriolets.

This 1903 Columbia Electric Surrey was purchased from the James Cousens Cedar Crossing Collection in 2008 by the John O'Quinn collection. It is a Mark XIX with a dual direct-drive Edison DC motor with two-wheel mechanical brakes.

In 2011, the car was offered for sale at the Hershey Auction presented by RM Auctions. The car was estimated to sell for $70,000 - $90,000. As bidding came to a close, the car was sold for the sum of $68,750, inclusive of the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2011