Vintage Literature about the Remy Electric Company

This literature and information on this page is all the result of research by DR Historian Brian Mulcahy who's specialty is the early and formative years of the Remy Electric Company after the turn of the 20th Century.  Brian has been able to provide us literature starting with 1904 from industry periodicals that give a look back as to not only how Remy Electric was developing but the infant automobile industry itself.

This page is divided into three sections.  The first is a chronological display of articles about Remy Electric from 1904 to 1922.  The next section shows who some of the competitors of Remy were in this period and the third is an extensive article on the endeavors of many companies to find an automotive self starter, of which the Remy Electric Company was not involved.  However, the first article below indicated Remy was looking to assist this through the use of better ignition/magneto systems. 

Unknown year:  This would appear to be previous to 1912 and the invention of the Kettering self starter as this is the Remy solution to the replacement of the hand crank to start an internal combustion gasoline engine.

Automotive Dealer and Repairer - Volume 13. 

1904: 

The Motor Way, February 20, 1904.

Automotive Review, April 16, 1904.

Automotive Review, September 10, 1904.

Automotive Review, September 10, 1904.

Automotive Review, September 10, 1904.

Automotive Review, October 8, 1904.

1906: 

The Gas Engine, 1906.

The Gas Engine, 1906.

1909: 

The Horseless Age, 1909.  Note what The Remy Electric Company looked like in 1909 on Columbus Avenue, Anderson, IN.

1912: 

Automotive Journal April 10, 1912 - Want to know all there is to know about a Remy Electric Magneto?  Then this is the article for you.

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Automotive Journal April 25, 1912
 

Automotive Journal April 25, 1912. 

Automotive Journal June 25, 1912.  Looking north on Columbus Avenue.  Note the big tent for the luncheon and that Henry Ford and son Edsel were in attendance.

Automotive Journal, June 25, 1912.


The Buckeye Manufacturing Company was located in Anderson at 159 Columbus Ave.  Today Columbus Ave does not exist any farther north than the 1700 block.  However, if one extends Columbus Ave north it is in line with what is now College Ave. and 159 would be in the area of the present Maplewood Cemetery.  Automotive Journal, June 25, 1912.

1913:

Oil Field Engineering - Volume 15, 1913.

Oil Field Engineering - Volume 15, 1913.  This was two years after Frank and Perry sold the Remy Electric Company.  We have seen other references in which the Brothers were attempting to get back into business but nothing seems to have come of other later endeavors.  Another reference had them getting ready to build farm tractors in Kokomo, IN, but that seems to have not happened either.

Gas Engine - Volume 15, 1913.

Gas Engine - Volume 15, 1913.

Gas Engine, 1913.

Gas Engine, 1913.

Gas Power, October 1913.  
 

Gas Power, October 1913.  
 

Gas Engine, 1913.
 

1914:

The Horseless Age with Remy Brothers Patent in lower right.

Patent 1,090,411 was filed on December 9, 1912 and issued on March 17, 1914.  Note that Perry Remy first name was actually Benjamin.  This is the first time I have been made aware of this.  Interesting, he went by his middle name.

The Horseless Age, April 15, 1914.  This gives an excellent insight as to the production and manufacturing methods of the Remy-Electric Company.  Refer to the 1909 Horseless Age advertisement above to understand how the buildings described below were laid out.  Most of those buildings lasted until the Plant One complex was torn down and many of us worked in them 60 plus years later.  The buildings down the center of the complex were torn down for the construction of the five story Plant One in 1917.

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The Horseless Age, June 24,1914.

1915:

Motorcycle and Bicycle Illustrated, September 27,1917

 Dykes, 1915.  

1918:

Motor Age, February 21, 1918.

May 2, 1918 Motor Age.

1922:

Electric World, February 18, 1922. 

Automotive Industries, March 2, 1922 Distributor advertisement. 

Electric World, April 15, 1922. 

Automotive Industries, April 27, 1922. 

The competition:  Below are some of the companies that were competing with Remy Electric 100 years ago.

Gas Engine, 1913.

Gas Engine, 1913.

Gas Engine, 1913.

Gas Engine, 1913.

Gas Engine, 1913.

Gas Engine, 1913.

Self Starters as of 1912:  This article shows the effort being expended by inventers to develop a method of automotive self starter to overcome the normal and dangerous method of hand cranking a vehicle.  Many women would not or could not hand crank a car which prevented them from driving or had them purchase an electric vehicle.  As can be seen from below it wasn't for not trying.  Self starters were classified in the article below into six categories:  compressed air, explosive gas, electric, spring and lever and pedal, and primers and starters.  It was the Delco electric starter described below and invented by Charles Kettering in Dayton, OH that won out.  It is this type starter we still use today and that Delco-Remy made millions of in Plant 3, Anderson and Meridian, MS.