King of the roadsters
QUESTION A reprint of a World War I Daily Mail featured an advert for a Maxwell car. What happened to the make? Do any survive? THIS company was founded in 1904 in Tarrytown, New York, by Jonathan Dixon Maxwell and Benjamin Briscoe as the Maxwell-Briscoe Company. It showed a flair for technological innovation, using a driveshaft instead of the then normal chain drive. It sold 542 cars in 1905.
Maxwell-Briscoe was famed for publicity stunts. In 1906, a Maxwell Roadster set a 3,000-mile, non-stop speed record; in 1907, a Maxwell travelled from New York to Boston running on denatured alcohol.
In 1907, a fire destroyed the plant, and a new building, the largest automobile factory in the world, was built in New Castle, Indiana. Though partnered with a group called the United States Motor Company in 1910, there was a falling out among the backers, and the company was dissolved in 1913.
The assets were bought by Walter Flanders and he renamed it the Maxwell Motor Company. It moved to Detroit, Michigan, while continuing to produce cars in Indiana as well as in Dayton, Ohio.
For a while, Maxwell rivalled Buick and Ford as the biggest car company in America. In 1916, a Maxwell beat 40 other cars in a fuel consumption test. It averaged 33.2mpg at a speed of 19.8mph, which saw a big increase in sales.
After World War I, Maxwell, like its rivals, focused on producing an affordable car. It offered the Model 25 in five body styles, costing $695 ($17,000 today).
The five- seat car included an electric horn ( optional), electric starter and headlights. It also had shock absorbers, an innovation at the time, to protect the radiator. By 1918, the company had sold more than 100,000 cars.
In 1920, it fell into debt as recession hit the market. In 1921, Walter P. Chrysler took a controlling interest and reincorporated it in West Virginia with himself as chairman. Chrysler formed his own eponymous company and the Maxwell line was then phased out. Today 500 cars are listed in the Maxwell registry worldwide. The Maxwell Centennial Tour of 2004 saw 100 of them gathered for a rally at New Castle, Indiana. allan Wilde, Leeds.
QUESTION What is the origin of the bingo expression ‘Kelly’s eye, number one’? THOUGH this is the most common of the calls for number one in bingo, there’s no agreement about the origin of Kelly’s eye.
The neatest explanation is almost certainly incorrect: that it comes from a cartoon strip from the Valiant Comic featuring a character called Kelly’s Eye.
Tim Kelly was an explorer who travelled to South America to claim his uncle’s inheritance but, after saving an old man, he was given The Eye of Zoltec. This magical jewel bestowed on him the power of indestructibility and he used its power to battle evil.
This would be very neat if the term Kelly’s Eye had not been traced back to the mid-Fifties when Bingo became a national craze. In fact, it seems likely the Valiant was capitalising on the popularity of the game among younger players.
Eric Partridge, in his dictionary of slang, traces the phrase back to the late Fifties but Kelly’s Eye the character did not appear until 1962. he suggests a military origin. Bingo, under the name of Lotto or housie housie, was a popular social activity in the mess halls of British Forces. It has been suggested Kelly’s Eye refers to the slit-eyed iron helmet worn by Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. While unproven, it is at least a plausible explanation.
Another possible origin is the reference to blue eyes in the popular music hall song, has Anybody here Seen Kelly? (1907) by C. W. Murphy and Will Letters, popularised in Britain by Florrie Forde: Has anybody here seen Kelly? K E double L Y Has anybody here seen Kelly? Have you seen him smile? Sure his hair is red, his eyes are blue and he’s Irish thru and thru, Has anybody here seen Kelly? Kelly from the Emerald Isle. Paul Hume, dagenham, Essex.
QUESTION While I was at high school, there was a fad for inventing book titles by appropriate authors such as Cliff Tragedy by Eileen Dover. Are there any others out there? FURTHER to earlier answers, here are some I learned at school and some I made up since seeing the question:
Ornithology by Jack Dawes; Astrology by Seymour Stars; Inventions by Pat Pending; The Racehorse by Betty Wynnes; The Cowboy by Willie Russell; The Man In The Tuxedo by Dickie Bow; The One-Armed Bandit by Jack Potts; The Bank Robber by Ivor gunn; Dirty Work At The Crossroads by g. g. Dunnit; The Witness by I. Sawyer; and The Sinner by I. B. goode.
Not to forget The Scales Of Justice by Lauren Auder; and The Seafarer by Abel Seiman, going To The Movies by Rosa Seets; That’s Convenient by Lou Sine; Sixties Transport by Minnie Carr; Coast by Cliff Walker; highway Code by Major Rhodes; The Slanderers by Sue M. hall; The Visitor by Willie B. Cumming; The Welsh Miners by A. Coleman; The Orchard by Cherrie Picking; The Naked Cyclist by Nicholas Ryder; and The ID Parade by Linus Upp.
R. Woolacott, Cardiff.
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