Elmer Lovejoy

Elmer Lovejoy with his self-built automobile (approx. 1898). The drive chain to the rear wheel, the steering lever, the pneumatic tires he invented and handles for the passengers sitting on their backs are clearly visible.

Lovejoy's Laramie store with Crescent bikes.

Elmer Floyd Lovejoy (* 1872 in Illinois ; † January 1960 in Santa Ana ) was an American automobile pioneer . and the only one who built a motor vehicle in Wyoming as early as the 19th century .

The father, George W. Lovejoy , was a carter and hauler by trade . Elmer Lovejoy came to Laramie , Wyoming , in 1883, when he was twelve, for health reasons . It is unclear whether the whole family moved. He learned the carpentry trade in the Cook and Callahan construction business . He completed his apprenticeship at the age of 17 and was then employed for a short time in the local post office. He then opened a repair shop for mechanical devices and machines in Laramie. The company's slogan was: "We repair things and any old thing". The company was later renamed Lovejoy Novelty Works . "Novelties" included smaller items for interior and exterior decoration, but also costume jewelry, toys, practical everyday aids and other smaller items that should improve or make life easier. Apparently it also included bicycles , because the shop also sold them.

Lovejoy was also an amateur photographer and was active in the Laramie Bicycle Club , for which he also formulated the rules. In 1895 he married Nellie Oakley; the couple had a son, Orell. In 1893 he built a tandem bicycle that he shared with his wife.

In 1895 Lovejoy began designing a car that would be Wyoming's first automobile. He used a single cylinder - Boat Motor ; the origin of the engine described as a two-stroke is unknown. The vehicle itself was a converted wagon with a rear seat. This design is called dos-à-dos or trap . Lovejoy experimented with this vehicle for about two years. In 1896 it received wheels with balloon tires developed by it ; this is one of the oldest known uses of such tires. On December 17, 1897, the Laramie Boomerang reported that it was awaiting delivery of bicycles. He initially opted for solid rubber tires because pneumatic tires could prove to be impractical. There are different details about the steering used. It is clear that he used a control lever that was customary at the time, which initially acted on the turntable steering of the wagon. According to one source, he replaced it with a device with a kingpin he invented . For the next three months, the newspapers kept reporting on Lovejoy's progress. In February 1898 it was said that Lovejoy was busy around the clock with his "horseless car", two weeks later that he had received an order from the WH Holliday Company to build a delivery truck.

On Saturday, May 7th, 1898, Elmer Lovejoy made a first test drive with his car, but this time with iron tires. But he made the experience that pneumatic tires were absolutely necessary. The car had a mass of 940 lb (426 kg) and got stuck with the iron tires on soft terrain. Lovejoy reached once five kilometers per hour and once ten, when driving over hard surfaces the vehicle reached twelve kilometers per hour. Soon after, Lovejoy's car was a common sight on the streets of Laramie, but it was still widely regarded as a "toy". The car lasted for two years.

In 1902 Lovejoy built and drove the first steam-powered automobile in Laramie, for which, however, no historical sources exist. Accordingly, he did not invent the aforementioned steering mechanism until 1905 . It is said to be used similarly in cars today, which indicates a stub axle steering . Unable to raise the $ 350 patent fee, he sold this invention to the Locomobile Company for $ 800 and a new steam car . He had wanted to borrow the money from his father, who refused on the grounds: “Go to work. There will never be such a thing as a horseless carriage. ”In 1917 he invented an automatic mechanism for garage doors , which he sold for several years.

In 1905 Lovejoy became a dealer in Franklin air-cooled automobiles. He also wrote a travel guide for motorists and worked in the car trade for many years. In the 1930s, his Lovejoy Novelty Works became an auto repair shop. In 1936 he handed over his business to his son. In 1953 he moved from Laramie to the west coast . He died in January 1960 in Santa Ana, California .

Lovejoy's estate, including documents and photos, is in the University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center .

literature

• Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.), Henry Austin Clark Jr.: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1996, ISBN 0-87341-428-4 .

Web links

Commons : Elmer Lovejoy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Celebrate summer cycling with Elmer Lovejoy! In: American Heritage Center. July 25, 2014, accessed March 26, 2017 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Phil Roberts: Lovejoy's Toy: Wyoming's First Car. (No longer available online.) In: University of Wyoming. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017 ; accessed on March 26, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 903.
4. ^ Lovejoy, Elmer F., 1872-1960 ,. In: socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu. Retrieved March 26, 2017 (English). 
5. ↑ Touring Wyoming “Awheel:” Boneshakers to Bicycles Built for Two. In: wyohistory.org. November 20, 1903, accessed March 26, 2017 . 
6. ^ The Old Lincoln Highway - Laramie, That's Wyoming. History & Adventure. In: visitlaramie.org. Retrieved March 26, 2017 (English). 
7. ↑ Elmer Lovejoy. (No longer available online.) Patents in Wyoming, p. 21 , archived from the original on Sep. 27, 2006 ; accessed on March 26, 2017 .  (pdf)
8. ↑ U.S. Patent 1260561
9. ↑ Elmer F. Lovejoy papers 1891-1945. In: rmoa.unm.edu. Retrieved April 19, 2017 .