Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
August 11, 2002
By Judy Francis
Vigo County Historical Society
Museum driven to showcase how to drive in style
In its infancy, the automobile was ridiculed as a “coughing, rattling, smoking apparition which scared horses, outraged respectable citizens, and was just a passing fad.”
By the 1920s, however, divers were competing for parking spaces downtown and teenagers were begging to use the family car.
Creative companies contributed to the automobile’s growing popularity. Motorists especially women, whose opinions definitely influenced auto sales--had to be convinced that driving could be safe, easy, and comfortable.
Since the early cars were open and roads were bumpy and dusty, or muddy after rains, companies developed products to make the open road more appealing.
Windshields, dust guards that fit on the back of the car and a seat starting system that replaced the font starting crank were just a few of the innovations.
In addition, clothing accessories that helped drivers and passengers ride in comfort and look stylish when they arrive at their destination enjoyed great popularity.
The Tool Room in the basement of the Vigo County Historical Society has an early motoring display which showcases a driving had with goggles, an automobiling coat, and driving gloves--necessary accessories for motorists in the early 1900s.
The light brown hat with goggles shown in the museum’s display, dating from 1906 or 1908, was a gift from Warren Yaeger of Farmersburg and belonged to his father, Vincent Yaeger.
Driving caps inspired the aviator caps of World War I. While women motorists looked stylish in big hats, which they tied with a scarf, headgear also protected the wearer from dust and wind during lengthy drives. If a motorist’s eyes became red and irritated, Murine promised relief for the “Auto Eye.”
The unknown wearer of the cream-colored linen driving coat in the automobile display were it to protect his clothes from dust. Most styles covered the wearer from neck to ankle and came in a “dust color.” Sears-Roebuck catalogs of the 1920s offered automobiling coats--not waterproof--for about $7. For protection during thunderstorms, one company sold a rubberized storm apron with five holes to fit over the heads of five motorists.
The wearer of the brown leather driving gloves included in the display is also unknown, but the wear on them indicates the owner must have used them a lot for turning the starting crank, driving, or doing any tinkering the complicated machine required.
The purpose of the flared gauntlets on the gloves was to keep dust out of the coat or jacket sleeves.
The apparel in the museum’s collection represents just a sample of the accessories developed by enterprising companies to help early motorists meet the challenges of the open road.
Is the open road calling you? It’s just a short drive to the Vigo County Historical Museum in your modern, air-conditioned car. While you’re there, visit the basement’s Tool Room and see what the well-dressed motorist of the early 1900s was wearing.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The Web site: http://web.indstate.edu/community/vchs.