Geekstalt
The Stanley Steamer
In their early years, Freelan Oscar (F.O.) Stanley and his twin brother Francis Edgar displayed both great intelligence and a lot of mechanical things. To keep them busy, their father gave them carving knives for their birthday when they turned 10. An unusual gift, but their father's wisdom was proved out. The twins promptly turned their attention from carving simple block of wood to creating violins! Eventually their violins sold for thousands of dollars and were widely considered the best after Stradivarious' and still are.
Shortly after this they began to experiment with chemicals. The photography world owes them a debt; in the old days photographers had to mix chemicals and apply them to sheets of glass. Taking a photograph of someone could require as much as an hour's exposure in order to get the image. The Stanleys invented a chemical combination that could be exposed in only 30 seconds. Even better, they were able to apply it in gel-form, thus removing for most photographers long hours of toil in a dark room mixing chemicals. The technique was known as the "Dry Plate technology" and eventually was applied to rolls of film instead of plates. In the late 1880s the boys sold this technology to a man named George Eastman, who founded a little company known as Eastman Dry Plate Company, later better known as Kodak. So instead of Kodak being the name synonymous with cameras, it could well have been the Stanley camera, and "Stanleychrome" instead of "Kodachrome".
Now fairly well off, the boys got involved in the world of steam-powered cars. The famous Stanley Steamers were born, the cars for which they are best known. These vehicles were among the fastest around at the turn of the century and much sought after by race drivers and the rich. In 1906 a Steamer set the world speed record, and while it was exceeded by a gas engined motorcycle in 1907, it remained the fastest steam powered record until 2009.
At this point Wiki and what our tour guides told us part company. According to the tour guides, F.O.'s brother Francis was killed in an accident with a Stanley, and as a result a heartbroken F.O. sold the company. Wiki records that F.E. did die in a car accident, but that it happened a year after the company was sold. In either event, F.O. got out of the market just in time. Gas-powered engine technology quickly undercut steam-power and the company went into a decline.
Pictured here is one of the famous Stanley Steamers which sits in the Stanley Hotel lobby. I believe it's a 1907 or 1912 model. Also I think it can still run and can make it to an impressive 60 mph. Not sure about that though so if anyone knows better please let me know.
Next up, F.O. and his wife Flora go to Colorado and build a haunted hotel!
The Stanley Steamer
In their early years, Freelan Oscar (F.O.) Stanley and his twin brother Francis Edgar displayed both great intelligence and a lot of mechanical things. To keep them busy, their father gave them carving knives for their birthday when they turned 10. An unusual gift, but their father's wisdom was proved out. The twins promptly turned their attention from carving simple block of wood to creating violins! Eventually their violins sold for thousands of dollars and were widely considered the best after Stradivarious' and still are.
Shortly after this they began to experiment with chemicals. The photography world owes them a debt; in the old days photographers had to mix chemicals and apply them to sheets of glass. Taking a photograph of someone could require as much as an hour's exposure in order to get the image. The Stanleys invented a chemical combination that could be exposed in only 30 seconds. Even better, they were able to apply it in gel-form, thus removing for most photographers long hours of toil in a dark room mixing chemicals. The technique was known as the "Dry Plate technology" and eventually was applied to rolls of film instead of plates. In the late 1880s the boys sold this technology to a man named George Eastman, who founded a little company known as Eastman Dry Plate Company, later better known as Kodak. So instead of Kodak being the name synonymous with cameras, it could well have been the Stanley camera, and "Stanleychrome" instead of "Kodachrome".
Now fairly well off, the boys got involved in the world of steam-powered cars. The famous Stanley Steamers were born, the cars for which they are best known. These vehicles were among the fastest around at the turn of the century and much sought after by race drivers and the rich. In 1906 a Steamer set the world speed record, and while it was exceeded by a gas engined motorcycle in 1907, it remained the fastest steam powered record until 2009.
At this point Wiki and what our tour guides told us part company. According to the tour guides, F.O.'s brother Francis was killed in an accident with a Stanley, and as a result a heartbroken F.O. sold the company. Wiki records that F.E. did die in a car accident, but that it happened a year after the company was sold. In either event, F.O. got out of the market just in time. Gas-powered engine technology quickly undercut steam-power and the company went into a decline.
Pictured here is one of the famous Stanley Steamers which sits in the Stanley Hotel lobby. I believe it's a 1907 or 1912 model. Also I think it can still run and can make it to an impressive 60 mph. Not sure about that though so if anyone knows better please let me know.
Next up, F.O. and his wife Flora go to Colorado and build a haunted hotel!