OK Dave --- I have check with the Buick guru and he agrees so here is my
opinion.

It appears that the car is a Buick. It was built between 1906 and
1910. The engine in this car was a two cylinder cast iron inline engine
with a bore of 4.5 and a stroke of 5 for a total displacement of 159
cubic inches. It developed 22 horsepower at 1200 RPM. The
transmission was a two speed planetary and the car had two wheel,
mechanical brakes. The Model G was a two seat roadster and the Model F
was a four seat touring car.

The engine was mounted under and just to the rear of the front seat.
Final drive to the wheels was by a chain. Under the hood was a gas
tank. You can see the fill cap on top of the hood in your picture.

I would suspect that the car in the picture is a Model F touring car.
It would be difficult (but not impossible for school kids) to get 24
people in a roadster.

In 1906, the Model F weighed 1,850 pounds and cost $1,250. The roadster
cost one hundred dollars less. There were 1,207 touring cars built that
year compared to only 193 roadsters. This is another reason to lean
towards this car being a Model F. Starting in 1907 and running through
the end of production in 1910, Buick produced more than 3,000 Model F's
each year and only a few hundred of the roadsters.

For more details about the Model F take a look at
http://www.gmcanada.com/inm/gmcanada...el_f_spec.html

In New Hampshire, 1905 was the first year for license plates and 1909
was the first year of driver's licenses. Check the town records for
property taxes paid on vehicles as well as listing of licensed drivers.
Town annual reports often have this information. Check the local papers
for "motor car" articles. Also, many state published directories of
license plates for each year. These are highly prized by license plate
collectors.

You might want to try Gerry Griffin at the New Hampshire License Plate
Museum. He is a member of the Antique License Plate Collectors
Association. His membership number is 7626. You should be able to date
the plate by the color combination of white on dark (most likely green)
and fact that the "NH" is below the numbers. Most NH plates have the
"NH" above or to the left of the numbers.

Also check out a book entitled, "A History of New Hampshire License
Plates, 1905-1996 by Stanley A Hamel. The New Hampshire Historical
Society has a copy listed under under "Library 629.9 H212"

Consider that the lady sitting in the passenger's seat might be the
school teacher. Compare her image to that of other pictures of the
school classes during this same period.

Is that the school building to the right of the fire house? It appears
that the picture was taken in late spring or early fall. There are
leaves on the trees and dandelions in the grass. The children are
wearing long sleeves and some have coats. Take a look at the local paper
for an article about the Mr. Smith brining his new car to the school for
all the students to see.

Please let me know what you find out. --- George King III, Connecticut
Antique Engine Restoration

Dave wrote:

>The picture is taken in New Boston, New Hampshire, which is about 10 miles
>west of Manchester (which is about 20 miles North of Massachusetts).
>
>The plate (1147) does have "NH" on the bottom of it. I have tried to track
>it down through that, but it isn't going anyplace other than giving me a
>nice tour of the different departments that can't help me :-)
>
>
>"George King III" > wrote in message
...
>
>>
>>Dave --- I just ran across your question about the car in the photo.
>> Can you tell me in what state the photo was taken? It is an early car
>>from around 1906 to 1909. The plate looks like it might be from
>>Massachusetts. Early cars were often purchased from local manufactures.
>> This may help in the ID of your photo. Major companies such as Ford or
>>Buick whould ship father afield but regional manufactuer should be
>>condidered.
>>
>>Right now, I am leanding toward a 1906 Buick.
>>
>>Please contact me a >--- George King
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Dave Chamberlain wrote:
>>
>>>I'm doing some scanning work at my local Historical Society and came
>>>across the following un-dated picture. I'm posting a link, not including
>>>it in the post :-)
>>> http://www.mv.com/users/davec/car.jpg
>>>
>>>The picture is taken outside the firestation on the grounds of the
>>>firestation. There isn't much to be seen of the car itself and I'm
>>>trying to contact the right people at the DMV or state historical
>>>to help me track down the license plate.
>>>
>>>The vehicle is thought to be the first gas powered fire truck in town,
>>>but we can't be sure. I'm hoping someone may recognize something on the
>>>vehicle to help us track down what it is, or even what year!
>>>
>>>The logo on the grille, when enlarged, appears to be in cursive, going
>>>up from left to right. It looks like it starts with a "B" and ends with
>>>either a "k" (Buick perhaps?) or a "t". I do not see a bell in the
>>>photo though.
>>>
>>>Please post or email me with any questions, suggestions or for a link
>>>to a bigger photo if needed.
>>>
>>>Thanks
>>>
>
>