General Catalogue and Illustrated Hand Book of Carriages, Buggies, Wagons, Etc., Made by Studebaker Bros. Mfg. Co.

South Bend IN: Studebaker Bros. Mfg. Co.. Very Good+. 1892-1893. "World's Fair Edition". Softcover. (illustrated wraps) [minor damage to the spine ends, otherwise an exceptionally clean and minimally-worn example of a publication that wouldn't have been able to withstand much thumbing-through; there is a small hole punched through the upper left-hand corner, with a short length of pinkish string threaded through and tied -- perfect for hanging on that little hook on the side of your rolltop desk]. (engravings) A charming relic of a time just before carriages became horseless, this small-format (about 4.5" x 7") 128-page catalogue presents a wide range of four-wheeled vehicles, designed for virtually any need in town or country, farm or city: buckboards, surreys, dump carts, mountain wagons, delivery wagons, phaetons, you name it. And the names!: "Common-Sense" Steel-Skein Log Wagons; Elliptic-Spring Spindle-Body Wagon; Brewster-Spring Langtry Surrey; Thimble-Skein Low-Wheel Farm Wagons, with Boot-End Bed; and many, MANY more. (Each one gets its own page, with illustration, specs, and a brief description of its function and usefulness.) There are also various specialty vehicles, my favorite being the Studebaker Patent "Little Gem" Sprinkler ("the only sprinkler adapted to spreading liquid manure"). In addition to the product descriptions, there are numerous additional informative features, such as: engraved illustrations of The First Studebaker Shop (1850), and several of its modern plants and headquarters buildings; "A Romance of Business Life," a history of the company in sort of a faux-blank-verse format; a special "Important to Farmers" discussion, driving home the point that "any lack of discrimination in buying a wagon upon which so much depends -- the dispatch of farm business, if not life itself -- is poor policy"; the lyrics to a song, "Richard and His Sweetheart Nell" ("The Song of a Wagon"), the printed music of which was available to customers merely by sending in a stamped envelope ("the music is popular in character, full of life, very 'catchy,' but free from any suspicion of trashiness"); "Hints for Preserving Carriages and Harness"; and more! It's quite a production -- although it does seem that they might have put a little more effort into proofreading before sending it off to the printer: there's a small "Errata and Addenda" sheet tipped in at the front, with more than 25 entries! This particular example also bears the rubber-stamped name of "J.C. Peters & Co., Agents for Studebaker Vehicles, Fort Wayne, Ind." on the front cover. This catalogue provides ample evidence that Studebaker lived up to its self-proclaimed status as "King of Wagons." .