Hartford Suspension was an early player in the automotive business. From 1904 they manufactured friction-type shock absorbers which became standard equipment on many cars.
Edward Hartford moved the company from New York to New Jersey in 1908 and continued to develop new products for the auto industry, including starters, brakes, rims and the car jack shown here.
Hartford passed away prematurely in 1922, I cannot find when the company closed up.
5 comments:
A quick check of the inflation calculator shows that in 1913 $8.00 is today’s equivalent of $243.91. I can only imagine that was a tidy sum back then.
Edward's family owned the A&P grocery store chain, so he was old money. A while after he died, his widow married an Italian aristocrat two years older than their daughter. That must have made for some interesting family dinners.
Other than a name change I can't find a record of whatever became of the company. My guess would be that it got absorbed by one of the big suspension companies later on. His kids were obviously wealthy; his son was a playboy but I don't know if that was shock-absorber money or A&P money.
I got about as far as you did, it does not appear the widow was much interested in the business,-moving from New Jersey to Rhode Island after Edwards death.
Could the successsor company be "André Hartford", a brand often seen on 30's British vehicles?
André steering dampers where a common fitting on racier brit motorcycles like Nortons, Velocettes etc from the mid 20's until steering dampers where incorporated in girder forks as standard, Webb (mfg!) had this feature from approx 1933 on some of their offerings..
Sten vW, Sweden (speciality Velocettes)
Maybe? I can't find anything confirming that. Yet.
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