Middleby Auto Company
 | |
| Industry | Automobile manufacturer |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1908 |
| Founder | Joseph Middleby or Charles M. Middleby |
| Defunct | 1913 |
| Fate | Closed and sold |
| Headquarters | Reading, Pennsylvania |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Brands | Middleby, Reading |
The Middleby Auto Company (1908–1913) was a brass era American automobile manufacturer, based in Reading, Pennsylvania.[1][2]
History
[edit]The company was founded by Joseph Middleby, who purchased the Duryea Power Company factory.[2] Some Middlebys were sold as Readings.[1][2]
Middleby's first 1908 Model A automobile was a runabout with a 108-inch wheelbase and 30 x 3+1⁄2-inch tires, a four-cylinder, air-cooled engine, with a sliding-gear shaft-drive transmission with three speeds forward and one reverse. Standard equipment included two gas lamps, two side oil lamps, one rear lamp, tools, and a French horn. Its price was $850, equivalent to $28,824 in 2023.[2]
Model B was a touring car, based on the same chassis, and priced at $1,000. By 1910 the company had sold about 400 automobiles. After 1911, the wheel base increased to 120 inches, with 36-inch wheels and a 4-cylinder water-cooled engine.[2] Middleby automobiles were produced in six models: a Runabout for $850, single rumble for $1,000, surrey for $1,000, double rumble for $1,100, touring car for $1,200, and Toy Tonneau for $1,200, equivalent to $39,240 in 2023.[1][3]
Two automobile reference books show Charles M. Middleby as company owner. His relationship to the plant property owner, Joseph Middleby, is not known. Joseph Middleby died in 1911, and the company was operated by his executors until closed and sold in 1913.[4][5][6]
Middleby Advertisements
[edit]-
1908 Middleby Runabout -
1908 Middleby Advertisement -
1913 Middleby Advertisement
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Reading
[edit]Between 1910 and 1913, an up-market Middleby was market as the Reading. It had a larger four-cylinder engine, was a foot longer in wheelbase, and was priced several hundred dollars more. Charles M. Middleby decided that his top-of-the-line car should carry his own name, a bigger and pricier Middleby was introduced for 1911. Both marques ended in 1913.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
- ^ a b c d e f Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr., Henry Austin (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 (3rd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9.
- ^ "The Carriage Monthly". March 1, 1912.
- ^ "Massachusetts Probate Court Record - 1924". 1925.
- ^ "Automobile Topics Magazine". April 26, 1913.
- ^ "The Horseless Age". April 1, 1908.
- Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
- American companies established in 1908
- Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1908
- 1908 establishments in Pennsylvania
- American companies disestablished in 1913
- Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1913
- 1913 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
- Companies based in Reading, Pennsylvania
- Brass Era vehicles
- 1900s cars
- 1910s cars
- Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Pennsylvania
- Cars introduced in 1908