In the early years of Oldsmobile, certainly the Limited, built from 1910 to 1912, was the piece de resistance. Introduced as a 505-cubic inch six on a 130-inch wheelbase selling for $4,600 to $5,800, it actually grew during its lifetime. By 1912, its wheelbase had been stretched to 140 inches, the engine enlarged to 707 cubic inches and 60 horsepower. The price reached a whopping $6,300. It was perhaps too much of a good thing. Once the industry leader, Oldsmobile saw total sales that year fall to barely 1,000 cars.

For 1913, the Limited was replaced by a new Model 53, five inches shorter but with an engine barely half the size of the Limited’s, yet producing an energetic 50 brake horsepower. It sold for $3,200 to $3,350 and helped establish Olds as a mainstream manufacturer of medium-priced automobiles. Within three years, sales had rebounded above 10,000 cars.

This Model 53 Oldsmobile was purchased in July 1913 by Howard A. Welch of Dover, Massachusetts, a community some 15 miles west of Boston that still retains its rural charm. Welch kept it until 1949, when he sold it to Duane C. White of Waban, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. Amazingly, several photos captured the day that it was removed from Welch’s estate show the completely original car on the back of a flatbed truck. White was a trustee of the Antique Auto Museum in nearby Brookline (now the Larz Anderson Auto Museum) and active in the major clubs of the day, including the VMCCA, the AACA, and the HCCA. He toured extensively in all of his cars, including this one, which he drove to Nova Scotia in 1957 and on the Glidden Tour in New England in 1958. It appeared on the cover of The Bulb Horn, VMCCA’s magazine, as part of a tribute following his death in 1972.

The next owner, from 1972 to 1985, was Philip Peterson of Worcester, Massachusetts, after which it went to California with owner William Manly; the current owner purchased it from Manly in 1995. Although it spent many years on display at the Brookline museum and in a California showroom, and was stored for a period of time, it has been maintained as a touring vehicle in recent years. As the odometer has only four digits, it is difficult to estimate the total miles, however the pedals show minimal wear, demonstrating that it has been “around the clock” very few times, if at all, and it is possible that the 9,430 miles currently shown on the odometer are original.

Today this car presents very well; the aluminum body, by Rothschild & Co., is straight and unblemished. The Brewster Green and black leather upholstery received attention when Duane White bought the car in 1949, and have been carefully maintained ever since. Original to the car are its cocoa mat for the rear floorboard, the German silver radiator with gold medallion, winged mascot with MotoMeter temperature gauge, Carl Zeiss parabolic headlight lenses, double Firestone Non Skid spare tires, and most importantly, the factory data plate. The horn is a rare “triple-twist” Klaxon electric-bulb combination.

The original Northway six-cylinder engine was recently rebuilt by Tom Holthouse, of San Jose, California. It has new aluminum pistons and Stellite valves, and the camshaft has been reground. The crankshaft was hard chromed, and new babbit bearings were fitted, line-bored, and completely balanced. Bronze rod bearings, a new timing chain, and a new leather clutch completed the job. A number of upgrades have been made for safety and reliability in touring. These include an electric fuel pump and an updated starter, but the original compressed-air fuel system and Delco-Remy electrics remain on the car.

Along with impeccable provenance, this car comes with an original 1913 Oldsmobile sales brochure, the aforementioned 1949 “as found” photographs, and several original operator’s licenses and registrations from the original owner Howard Welch. The Model 53 Oldsmobile was built for only one year; according to Olds historian Dick Neller, of the 500 built in 1913, this is the only one known to survive, making it an irreplaceable piece of Oldsmobile history.