1904 Pope-Hartford Model B

The genesis of the Pope empire traces its lineage to Boston, commencing shortly after the Civil War. Colonel Albert A. Pope established the Pope Manufacturing Company in 1876 for the production of small patented articles. By 1877, they ventured into the bicycle market with one of their own design, albeit it was manufactured by the Weed Sewing Machine Company in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1880, Pope took over the Weed Company and, by 1899, had established the America Bicycle Company, which consolidated approximately 45 bicycle manufacturers. The fortune gained from this venture would lay the groundwork for what was to follow in 1901. The company's first foray into the world of automobiles was called the Columbia, named after the original Pope bicycle. Built in collaboration with the Electric Vehicle Company, other Pope vehicles followed, including the Pope-Toledo, Pope-Robinson, the Pope-Tribune, and the Pope-Waverly.

The only car produced by the Pope empire in the firm's hometown was the Pope-Hartford. Testing of the prototype began in the summer of 1903 and made its debut in January 1904 at the New York Auto Show. The first model was the Model A Runabout wearing a design penned by Colonel Pope's nephew, Harry Melville Pope. The next model, as the reader may have surmised, was dubbed the Model B, resting on the same 78-inch chassis as its Model A sibling but wearing a Rear Entrance Tonneau coachwork. Both had wooden fenders, a full tool set, and were available in color options of red, blue, or dark green. Power was from a single-cylinder engine offering ten horsepower and paired with a spur gear transmission with two forward speeds plus reverse and single chain drive. The Model B was priced considerably higher at $1,200 compared to $1,050 of the Model A. Both prices were higher than many of its competitors such as the Curved Dash Oldsmobile and the Ford Model A.

The Pope Manufacturing Company became one of the largest car producers in America, with its vast empire offering both internal combustion and electric power. Pope-Hartford accounted for 146 automobiles built in 1904, its first year of production. Colonel Pope passed away in 1909; production of the Pop-Hartford continued until 1914 with the firm never producing more than several hundred cars per year.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2023