1914 Case Demonstrator Delivery Truck

Sold for $47,000 at 2015 RM Sotheby's Hershey Auction.
The J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company of Racine, Wisconsin, was founded in 1843. They began building steam engines in 1869 and sold their first gasoline-powered tractor in 1904. Om 1911, they entered the automobile business, 20 years after the death of founder Jerome Increase Case. It did so by taking over the neighboring Pierce Motor Company, maker of the Pierce-Racine car.

An individual named John M. Dorton selected a Case as his demonstrator vehicle. Dorton was an upholstery salesman from Bonner Springs, Kansas. He invented the Human Eye Auto Lamp, a headlight that steered with the car, much in the way that Pilot Ray driving lights to operate. Dorton outfitted the Case with a set of lights, and he also installed a seat of his own design. The Combination Cushion seat also had an electric heating element. He also installed Courtesy Lights and valence lighting along the sides, illuminating the running boards and, coincidentally, the signs on the side of the car. On the roof, he fashioned a luggage rack.

The Demonstrator Truck was also given a calliope. Rather than steam or compressed air, it operated with exhaust gases, which resonated through organ pipes mounted to the cowl, one array on each side. On the right side of the dashboard, he installed a keyboard so that he could play any melody for the occasion.

Power is from a 312.1 cubic-inch T-head four-cylinder engine offering 35 horsepower. There is a three-speed manual transmission and two-wheel mechanical drum brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2015