Item Info

Media Type: Photographic Prints
Source: Automobile Reference Collection
Notes: FORD with hand operated starter. Powel Crosley, Jr. President, Crosley Radio Corp., and C.E. Kilgour, Crosley research engineer, are seen making a test of a hand operated starter that was a predecessor of the electric self-starter. The picture was taken in 1919 in the days when Mr. Crosley owned the American Automobile Accessories Co., before he became interested in radio. The starter had a spade-like handle, that is, a handle with a cross-bar in a stirrup at the end to be grasped in the hand. The driver reached to the floor board, seized the handle and gave a quick pull that cranked the engine. In addition to being a real convenience, especially in traffic when the car stalled, it was a safety device that prevented arms from being broken by cranking the engine from the front of the car. The most that could happen would be for the handle to be jerked out of the fingers. The picture was taken on Blue Rock street near Hamilton avenue, Cincinnati. A corner of the American Automobile Accessories plant can be seen on the right.