Fiat

1904 · 73063 — New York: Hollander & Tangeman 1904. First edition. Oblong quarto 11 x 5 1/2 inches; 28 x 14 cm. 24 pp. with seven pages bearing photographic illustrations five of which are of various high-end Fiat cars. Numerous diagrams and line drawings. Title page printed in red and black. Stapled wrappers with front cover bearing an art nouveau color illustration of a car on the road by R. Foster Worthley. Some mild aging but a very good copy.This hitherto unrecorded catalog helps elucidate the early history of Fiat automobiles in the United States. OCLC records a similar catalog for 1904 but it is only 8 pp. and measures 8 1/2 x 6 inches. Giovanni Agnelli with several investors founded the Fabrica Italiana Automobili Torino F.I.A.T. in 1899. Its acronymous name was changed to upper- and lower-case Fiat in 1906. The catalog offered here still bears the original moniker of F.I.A.T. Agnelli led the company until his death in 1945. If one researches the history of Fiat cars in the United States we can read that Fiats were first introduced into the US in 1908 “In 1908 the Fiat Automobile Co. was established in the country and a plant in Poughkeepsie N.Y.". But by this it is meant that Fiats were first manufactured in the United State in 1908. Prior to that date starting in 1902 the firm of Hollander & Tangeman of New York City held the sole license to import Fiats into the country. In the beginning years of the 20th century Fiats were considered amongst the most luxurious of automobiles as opposed to their thrifty image of recent decades. An average Fiat in 1908 cost $4000 as compared to a Ford Model T which only cost $850. In this 1904 catalog we can see that Fiat was anxious to be seen as a luxury automobile. They named almost all of their cars after royalty. The five models shown are the Queen Margherita the Princess Laetiza the King of Belgium the Leopold and the Touring. All but the Queen Margherita were driven by the 16-20 HP Fiat engine with the Queen having the 24-30 HP engine. “The year 1903 was a watershed for FIAT as its early automatic inlet-valve motor was replaced by a new T-head four-cylinder engine whose cylinders were arranged in pairs. FIAT principal Giavanni Agnelli had by then arranged to license Mercedes’ successful honeycomb radiator design which allowed for reliable power under the stress of hill climbs and sprints at which the small range of cars was proving to be increasingly proficient. In many respects FIATs were more technically advanced than their Mercedes counterparts which was particularly evident in their superior oil lubrication systems. A year later FIAT mated the recent engine redesign to a new frame made of pressed steel commencing a gradual transition from the wood frames that were standard to this point. This resulted in a car that was both more durable and less prone to flex which was ideal for the competition forays that were becoming the company’s increased focus†Sotheby’s.Hollander & Tangeman had their shop a view of which is in this publication at 5 West 45th Street in Manhattan. C. H. Tangeman was the son of George P. Tangeman whose company Royal Baking Powder was worth $10 million in 1895. Hollander & Tangeman was also involved in the power boat market again with Fiat engines. They were very active in the racing scene and a list of awards can be found on the final page. They changed the name of their company to the Hol-Tan Company in 1906 when they announced that they had given up the Fiat license and would now concentrate on selling American cars only. In fact Fiat had revoked Hol-Tan's license in preparation for the launch of Fiat production in Poughkeepsie. The Hol-Tan Company selected the cafr produced by the Moon Motor Company of St. Louis and branded it the Hol-Tan to replace the imported Fiats. They then sold the Hol-Tan to their fashionable clientele in New York Boston and Philadelphia. Hollander & Tangeman unknown