Old Photo,United Motors Dealer,REO,Stearns,Cole,A,Pike,Lind Bldg,Seattle,WA 1918

Description

We will have a few Russell School photos from Vancouver, WA listed, including fun recess images!  We will also list more Washington, Oregon and Northwest images.
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PLEASE NOTE:  The color of the scan is  fairly close to the original.
The photo is a nice brown with a very slight golden tinge and has very good contrast.  The area where the men pose and also behind them is a richer brown with a hint of blue/lavender.  The photo is much nicer than our scan.
DESCRIPTION:  This is an interesting large format antique photo.  A large group of men including an African American gent pose in front of a building marked Pike & Lind.  The glass showroom windows at the left are lettered "United Motors Company.  There are signs advertising REO (Ransom Eli Olds), Stearns-Knight and Cole automobiles.  Cole Automobile Company was one of the first to install V-8s in cars.  The Stearns Company began installing Knight Sleeve Valve Engines and the name was changed to Stearns-Knight.  If you look closely, you will see a luxury roadster in the left window of the dealership.  This could be an REO or Stearns-Knight.  There is a touring car at the right that has a Washington State Dealers Plate and is dated 1918.  We looked up the Pike & Lind Building in Seattle, but found nothing.  We did learn that Mr. Allison Pike owned a Auto Paint business during this period.  We do not know if this he is the Pike on the building.  More info below.  It is a good possibility that this business was on Auto Row in the Pike/Pine neighborhood of Seattle.  In 1917, three Pacific Northwest dealerships formed one company, United Motors Company selling Cole, Reo, Stearns-Knight, Marmon, Dort, Elgin and Westcott autos in Portland and Seattle.  They also sold REO, Indiana and Stewart trucks.  Detailed info is below.  The photo is a nice brown with a very slight golden tinge and has very good contrast.  The area where the men pose and the area behind them is a richer brown with a hint of blue/lavender.  The original is nicer than our scan.  This photo was mounted onto a linen back and kept it in good condition as it is on thin photo paper.  Some tiny threads can be seen at some of the edges.  The corner tips are slightly bumped, the bottom right, more bumped, with crinkles at the bottom at the corner area.  There is a bump and a crinkle at the bottom edge, just to the left of the middle.  At the middle, there is a very pale and narrow stain and in this area are three very narrow and very short vertical marks, slight scuffs.  There is a slight bump to the right of this.  If you turn the photo to catch glare, you see slight diagonal scuff marks at the right edge near the middle and a super slight line.  There is a quite slight diagonal mark in the area near the lower right corner.  Also with glare, there are three tiny areas that are not as shiny as the rest and are matte.  These are in the areas of the men's suits.  Most of the described cannot be seen looking straight on at the photo.  We prefer to overstate rather than omit.  The photo is 7 3/8 by 9 1/2 inches.  What an interesting photo of an early Seattle Automobile Dealership!
Alliston Pike:  Per the 1920 US Census, Allison was living  at 4514 19 NE in Seattle.  He was born in Michigan in 1966 and was a Painter of Autos, with his Own Business, for his Own Account.  His wife was Fannie B. Pike, born in 1867 and their son Wendell A. Pike, born in 1895 was a Clerk at Pike's Auto Painting Company.
United Motors Company:  In 1917, three Pacific Northwest dealerships merged to form one company, United Motors Company Automobile Dealership.  They sold Cole, REO, Stearns-Knight, Marmon, Dort, Elgin and Westcott autos in Portland, Oregon and Seattle.  They also sold REO, Indiana and Stewart trucks.  The company sold over 1 million in autos and trucks yearly.  Part of the merger was Northwest Auto Company of Portland, founded in 1908 by F. W. Volger, with Volger as President.  Also part of Untied was the Cole Automobile Company of Seattle with W. C. Ruckman as head of the company.  The George L. Trotter Company of Seattle also merged, with George Trotter as President.  After the merger, the Northwest Auto Company of Portland and Volger brought an Elgin and Westcott dealership into United group in 1918, after the merger.
Our reserve is the opening bid.
The red watermarks do NOT appear on the  actual photo.
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