Two automobiles were manufactured during the Brass Era of automobiles. The earliest was the Sharp Arrow built by the Sharp Arrow Automobile Company in Trenton New Jersey from 1908 to 1910. The second was the SEM or Sharp cyclecar built by the Sharp Engineering & Manufacturing Company in Detroit, Michigan in 1914.

Sharp Arrow Automobile Company

William H. Sharp had a photography studio and a

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

car dealership at the corner of South Clinton Avenue and Beatty Street in Trenton. In 1908 he built a racing machine which he entered in a number of East Coast events, including the Long Island Sweepstakes where he won his class. The name Sharp Arrow was used for his fast car and with the publicity gained from racing, Sharp decided to produce the car. In December 1908 the Sharp Arrow Automobile Company was organized. William Sharp was joined by his brother Fred, who was also race mechanic, and local businessmen A. N. Yetter, F. W. Bennett and J. R. Farlee. The Roeblings agreed to produce the car for them in the Trenton plant where the

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

was being built. Later, the new

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

would be built there. The Sharp Arrow was offered as a runabout, speedabout, toy tonneau and

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

. Priced between $2,750 and $2,850 () the car featured a Continental 40-hp

4-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

L-head engine A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

on a choice of a 106 or 116-inch wheelbase. In early 1910 word of the car had reached W. Burnett Easton, president of the International Boiler Company in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He negotiated with Sharp a contract where the International Boiler Company acquired the patent rights to the Sharp Arrow car with both William and Fred Sharp to join the firm as managing partners. Production was to be greatly stepped up after moving the entire venture to Stroudsburg. William Sharp tweaked his Sharp Arrow race car so that its four-cylinder 40 hp engine raised its top speed from 80 to 90 mph and he took the car to the Grand Prize race in Savannah, Georgia. On November 10, 1910 William Sharp and his mechanic were killed during a practice run, when their car overturned. Fred Sharp had not been the mechanic for the practice run. This tragedy was preceded by the death of W. Burnett Easton of the International Boiler Company who was killed in a train accident on November 5. The Sharp Arrow died too, never making the move to Stroudsburg.

Sharp Arrow Advertisements

File:Fall 1908 Sharp Arrow advertisement in Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1908 Sharp Arrow advertisement in Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal File:1909 Sharp Arrow race achievement in Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1909 Sharp Arrow race achievements in Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal File:1909 Sharp Arrow Advertisement in Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1909 Sharp Arrow advertisement in Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal

Sharp Engineering & Manufacturing Company

The Sharp cyclecar, introduced as the S.E.M., was manufactured by the Sharp Engineering & Manufacturing Company in Detroit, Michigan in 1914. It was a two-seater cyclecar priced at $295, . Built with an 800cc, 2-cylinder

air-cooled engine Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...

, it had a 2-speed gearbox and

shaft drive A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

. In October 1914 Sharp announced it would construct a standard sized six-cylinder automobile priced at $1,000. Those plans fell through before the end of the year.

External links

Classic Speedsters - The short but fast life of the Sharp Arrow

Sharp Arrow at ConceptCarz

References

* {{cite book , author = G.N. Georgano , author-link = G.N. Georgano , title = The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to Present, url = https://archive.org/details/completeencyclop00geor, url-access = registration, year = 1968 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in New Jersey Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars 1910s cars Cyclecars Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1908 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1910 Cars introduced in 1908 Cars introduced in 1914