_(14779726871).jpg) 1919 Selden advertisement in The Literary Digest | |
| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Buffalo Gasoline Motor Company |
| Founded | 1906; 120 years ago (1906) |
| Founder | George Baldwin Seldon |
| Defunct | 1932; 94 years ago (1932) |
| Headquarters | Rochester, New York, |
Key people | George B. Selden, E. T. Birdsall, Frederick A. Law |
| Products | Automobiles |
Production output | 7,424 (1908-1914) |
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TheSelden Motor Vehicle Company was aBrass Era American manufacturer ofautomobiles. The company, founded in 1906, was based inRochester, New York, and built automobiles from 1907 to 1914 andtrucks from 1913 to 1932.[2]
TheSelden Motor Vehicle Company was founded byGeorge B. Selden, whose 1877patent was thefirst U.S. patent of a "horseless carriage" which because of numerous later amendments was not granted until 1895.[3] To make the patent more credible, in 1907 Selden built a car on the lines of the 1877 design. This patent would be declared "unenforceable" in 1911.[4]
E. T. Birdsall designed the firstSelden, a 30hp 4-cylinder car placed on the market in June 1907. A car in the $2,000 to $2,500 (equivalent to $84,366 in 2024) price range, the Selden grew from a 109-inch wheelbase car to a 125-inch wheelbase. In 1911 George Selden's patent was declared unenforceable, and his factory had a fire that summer. Insurance covered the damages and production continued. Late in 1911, the company was reorganized internally, with Frederick A. Law, formerly withColumbia became designer and plant superintendent. The last Selden passenger cars were built in 1914.[2]
In 1913, the company began production of Selden trucks and this successfully continued until the company's sale to the Hahn Motor Truck Company ofHamburg, Pennsylvania in 1930. Hahn and Selden went out of business in 1932. George B. Selden died in 1923.[4][2]
