To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Open Roads, Fall event, 11
- 20 November 2020.
Estimate:
$125,000 - $150,000
- The sole surviving six-cylinder 1913 Stearns-Knight
- Formerly owned by Harrah's Automobile Collection
- Meticulous restoration by previous owner and Stearns expert,
Art Aseltine
- Very well-documented, including Harrah's history file
- A potent and imposing Brass Era tour automobile
The F.B. Stearns Company of Cleveland, Ohio, was renowned for its
extremely large and powerful automobiles, engineered and built to
an exceptionally high standard. The firm is best-remembered for the
Stearns-Knight models, introduced for the 1913 model year, with the
smooth and quiet Knight sleeve-valve engine. The inaugural
six-cylinder Stearns-Knight produced 44 hp by the rating system of
the day, nearer 100 modern bhp, delivered through a four-speed
manual transmission on a 140-inch-wheelbase chassis. The result
was, needless to say, one of the most imposing American automobiles
of its era - and among the fastest, capable of 70 mph.
Former owner and Stearns authority Art Aseltine's notes indicate
that the car was bought new by a gentleman in Wisconsin, then
acquired second-hand by a young man in Lamont, Illinois. When the
owner went into the service during World War I, the car was left
behind in storage until 1948, when it was purchased by Howard
Adelmann, Jr., of Lockport, Illinois. Mr. Adelmann got the car
running, a process that involved contacting F.B. Stearns himself
for information, but did little additional work until 1964. That
year, he sold the machine to the famed Harrah's Automobile
Collection, Stearns being one of Bill Harrah's preferred
marques.
The Harrah collection never got around to restoring the historic
car, however, and in 1978 it was acquired by Mr. Aseltine, still
with only 14,023 original miles recorded. Mr. Aseltine
painstakingly restored the car, a process that took 25
well-researched years to complete. The result is authentic down to
the colors, the correct original electric starter, and upholstery
stuffed with genuine horsehair. In fact, the original jump seats
were left unrestored, as they were in excellent condition and still
display the fine workmanship of the car's manufacturers.
After acquiring the car, the current owner, a longtime Stearns
enthusiast himself, exhibited it in Antique Automobile Club of
America National competition, achieving a Senior First Prize, as
well as at the 2006 Keeneland Concours, where it was a class
award-winner, and the 2006 Glenmoor Gathering, where it won a
special Technology Award. Further, it was exhibited for the 2011
season in the famed Seal Cove Auto Museum. Not just a showpiece, it
has also completed the AACA's national Reliability Tour for Brass
Era automobiles. Yet it has been very well-maintained to the
meticulous owner's standards, and remains a beautiful, crisp
automobile, ready for further proud display as an early,
exceptional sole surviving example of a great American Brass Era
machine.To view this car and others currently consigned to this
auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0620.
