1918 Memorandum - Buick Motor Cars (Bloomington IL) in Chicago, Illinois For Sale

Authentic xxxx memorandum on letterhead of Buick Motor Cars for distributor T.K. Hays of Bloomington, IL features colorful graphic design across the full top of the memorandum including a convertible Buick with a car full of passengers in the foreground and a Buick driving down a scenic country road in the background with lush grass and open fields on one side of the road and a sparsely populated small community on other side.
Buick Motor Company officially incorporated in xxxx, but the company's roots go back to xxxx when David Buick created the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company, which sold engines for the farm and boat markets. The business name was briefly changed to Buick Manufacturing Company before incorporating into what it is known as today, Buick Motor Company.
David Buick was born in Scotland in xxxx, and was brought to Detroit, MI at the age of two. By the xxxx's, David was a successful inventor in the plumbing field, inventing the lawn sprinkler and a new process of covering metal bath fixtures, tubs, and sinks with porcelain. Buick sold this plumbing business in xxxx for $100,000, giving him the seed money to start Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company. Buick was fascinated with the idea that he could replace a team of horses with just one engine, and from the beginning, Buick realized how important the combustion engine would be to the world.
Buick Motor Company started out slow, not even making a car in xxxx. By September xxxx, the company was already in financial trouble such that David Buick and his then financial backer, Benjamin Briscoe, Jr., sold the company. Flint Wagon Works, a wagon maker in Flint, MI bought the company, and by January xxxx a new one story factory in Flint was producing engines.
The first test model was built in June xxxx, and 37 Model B's were built by the end of xxxx, but Buick Motor Company still ran into financial difficulties, and was bailed out by William Durant, a successful businessman.
Durant saw the potential and noticed how everyone loved the few Buick automobiles available. Durant went to the xxxx New York Auto Show, and before they had even built 40 total vehicles, he had sold over 1,000 at that show alone. By xxxx Buick produced 8,820 cars, the most of any auto manufacturer that year due to the wild success of the Buick 10, which sold 4,002 in xxxx.
Buick's early success can be attributed to the creation of the valve-in-head engine. David Buick, along with engineers Walter Marr and Eugene Richard, invented the valve-in-head engine, which became the strongest and most reliable engine as soon as it hit the market. Eventually, the rest of the auto industry used this form of engine.
In xxxx Buick dropped the smaller Buick Model 10 to build larger and more expensive cars with smoother lines. Buick introduced a six cylinder engine to compliment their current four cylinder engine in xxxx, along with the self-starter and a full electrical system.
The document is in Excellent condition & measures 8 3/8 X 10 7/8 inches.