1906 Thomas Flyer 50HP Seven Passenger Touring Car Chassis no. C 17522.7 cu in, T-Head Individually Cast Inline 4-Cylinder Engine (5½ inch bore by 5½ inch stroke)Single Carburetor50hp4-Speed Manual Transmission with final drive by dual chainsSemi-Elliptic Leaf Suspension2-Wheel Brakes* One of the highest performance American cars of 1906 * Formerly in the Harrah Collection* Two owners since 1960s, in the collection since 1986* Remarkable original example of famed marque* National Automobile Museum binder on fileTHE THOMAS COMPANY One of the most recognizable automobiles of this era and arguably the most important of all the pioneering brands, the Thomas was the car that conquered the globe and put the American industry on the map. Like so many of his pioneering contemporaries, Erwin Ross (E. R.) Thomas was in the bicycle business prior to manufacturing automobiles. During the 1890s, E. R. was the managing director for H. A. Lozier & Co. who produced the famous Cleveland bicycle. However, he recognized the huge potential in the newly evolving automobile business and left Lozier to take over the Buffalo Automobile and Auto-Bi company, which was known for its production of bicycles and motorcycle engines. In 1900 E. R. changed the company name to Thomas Auto-Bi, and by 1901 Thomas claimed to build more air-cooled motors than anyone else.E. R. had bigger things in mind however, and the first Thomas automobiles were introduced in 1903; small runabouts described in the catalog as the happy medium between the cheaper and more expensive cars. All of that changed in 1904 when a huge leap forward was made from the French fronted voiturettes that Thomas had made to date with the introduction of the Model 22. One of its most distinctive features was that the lightweight tubed chassis of its predecessors was succeeded with a more substantial frame that was constructed with an outside plate riveted to angle iron above and below it, visually this is immediately apparent with the series of rivets along each side. To the frame Thomas mounted a three-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration which has rarely been commonplace, it was mounted to what we now consider to be a 'proper' gearbox, a separate casing with three forward speeds. 'Beauty and Power' proclaimed the 1904 brochure for the model and summarized the use of the three-cylinder power plant thus 'In a word, the triple-cylinder motor gives us high speed, high efficiency, the greatest amount of power for a given size of cylinder, or for a minimum of weight, a maximum of speed and power'. Owing to its spritely performance, Thomas noted that their Chicago agent C.A. Coey had christened the new car a 'Flyer' – it was a name that stuck and a genius marketing name which has come to symbolize the marque as a swashbuckling high-performance motor car. The three-cylinder was a snapshot of what was to come, the following year an extra cylinder was added and the car grew a little more. The 1905 range offered four different Flyers, a four cylinder 40hp, two four cylinder 50hp cars and their first six cylinder, 60hp model, on 106, 110, 114 and 124 inch wheelbases respectively. This variety was quickly refined for the 1906 season, when all Thomas's were built on 118 inch wheelbases powered by four cylinder 50hp engines. Their engines were massive by comparison with their American contemporaries, with a 5½ inch bore and stroke giving 522 cubes of power and relayed to the road through huge front driving sprockets. As such it was probably the most high-performance American car available that year. Thomas Flyers soon gained notoriety among the faster and more flamboyant Touring cars of their day. E. R. had an eye for flair and his huge powerful cars showed it – they were often finished in bright colors and loaded with many ornate brass accessories. The 1907 sales catalogue boasted 'You can't go by a Thomas Flyer, so go buy one!' The Thomas name endures and is most readily remembered for its most astounding victory in one the greatest automotive competition events of the time, the 1908 Le Matin sponsored 'The Great Race'. The route went from New York (in the dead of winter) across the U.S. to San Francisco, then by ship to Alaska, and across the Bering Strait, either by ship or by ice to Siberia. To be certain that the Yukon and the Bering Strait would be covered in ice, the race purposely began in the winter. Many of the dirt-covered trails had never been traveled by a motorcar.E. R. Thomas made a last minute decision to enter a car and three days prior to the start, a stock 1907 model was selected from the factory lot. 13,341 miles and 171 days later, the victorious Thomas rolled into Paris and forever cemented its place in history. They also campaigned the French Grand Prix in 1908, Lewis Strang fielding a four cylinder Thomas, being the only American company to challenge Europeans on their turf in this period. THE MOTORCAR OFFEREDThe highlight of the Two Generations collection, the 1906 Thomas Flyer can pride itself with some 60 years in its last two ownerships, and while its current tenure has been more low-key, the previous is one of the best-known collections ever amassed, that of William Fisk Harrah of Reno, Nevada. On file is both a recently prepared National Automobile Museum binder of information relating to the model and this car specifically, with additional history having been researched by the current custodians. From these sources and photos of the car in the 1950s, it is highly likely that the Thomas Flyer was originally delivered to California, for it still wore a painted 'CAL 22' script on the rear of the bodywork by the time it first surfaced in the 1950s. In the 1950s it was owned by a John Krittenbrink of Oklahoma. Thomas was undoubtedly the marques favored by Harrah, and he began to correspond with him in the summer of 1958 to see if the car could be acquired for the growing collection. Naturally this was rebuffed by Krittenbrink to begin with, but as for many resistance was futile and eventually he succumbed to the Harrah checkbook. Although one of the first to be acquired by him, it would at one time shared those hallowed halls in Reno with many more of its brethren. It is believed that the car was purchased by Harrah in the very early 1960s, the first inhouse correspondence dating from 1962. It seems that there was some debate among the researchers and experts on the Harrah team as whether this was born as a Touring car, or as a Demi-Limousine, for clarity, the latter was a period fashionable term which simply related to a car having a fixed roof and closed panel that stretched along the back of the car, providing a little extra weather protection than the standard touring car. However, viewed today this summary seems somewhat inaccurate and unlikely for there is no evidence of where the rear section of the Demi-Limousine would have affixed, and furthermore there are top mounting brackets to the front and rear seats. Interestingly, Thomas coachwork was built in house and pioneered a design that catered for the basic dusty roads of the day, with three high sided scalloped panels designed to deflect dust from the passengers. Although refurbishment was contemplated by the Harrah team, it seems that this extended to no more than a 'lick' of paint in the uniform burgundy color that we see her today. Whatever the reason, in a chapter of the hobby which might have seen much of the car's intrinsic originality obliterated to create a show car, it was left alone, and between that and the sensitivity of the current owners also, it allows today's collectors to observe a 117 year old Thomas most probably with many of the finishes and details with which it left the Buffalo works, not least its floorboards, cabi... For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
