Brass Era Ford Model S Runabout Indiana Family Car 1908 - RPPC Photo Postcard For Sale

A 5x3.5" vintage RPPC photo postcard from the estate of a vintage automobile postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique postcards.

Photo Overview

A well-dressed Edwardian family poses proudly with their brass era runabout automobile in this real photo postcard from around 1908. The gentleman, wearing a derby hat and dark suit, sits at the right-hand steering wheel of what appears to be a Ford Model S runabout, while his wife and daughter stand beside the car in elaborate flower-trimmed hats and white summer dresses. The automobile displays the classic features of the early brass era: large brass acetylene headlamps, kerosene cowl lamps, wooden artillery wheels, full fenders with running boards, and a folded leather top.

The license plate carries the IND suffix used on Indiana\'s early owner-provided registration plates, placing this scene in Indiana during the pioneering days of motoring. The family poses in front of a clapboard house with an ivy-covered porch, a wonderful snapshot of small-town American pride in the new automobile age. From the estate of a longtime vintage automobile postcard collector.

Historical Notes

Indiana did not issue state-manufactured license plates until 1913; before then, motorists registered with the state and made or ordered their own plates, typically displaying the registration number followed by IND, exactly as seen here. Families like this one were among the first wave of middle-class automobile owners as prices dropped from luxury levels toward affordability. The Ford Model S, produced in 1907-1908, was one of the final stepping stones before Henry Ford launched the Model T in October 1908, the car that would put America on wheels and render runabouts like this one obsolete within a few years. Most of these early brass era runabouts were scrapped or abandoned by the 1920s, making period photographs of them in original family ownership especially prized by early automobile historians today.

Browse our complete RPPC Photo Postcard photograph collection.

Text Present

Front, on license plate: registration number followed by \'IND\'

Back, printed: \'POST CARD - CORRESPONDENCE - ADDRESS ONLY\'

Back, in pencil: \'$10\' and handwritten initials

Print analysis

This is an original Type 1 real photo postcard, a silver gelatin photographic print made on divided-back postcard stock contemporaneous with the image, circa 1907-1910. The divided back format, period typography, and paper toning are all consistent with the brass era date of the automobile pictured.

Condition

All postcards we sell are in fair to excellent vintage condition. Please see photos for any tears, folds, smudges, or other age damage that may be present.