I'm not absolutely sure about the base car, but I do know the coachbuilder.
For one point, please respond and identify (at least) the coachbuilder of this car.
up
Is it French?
No
Sodomka ?
No
up again
German coachbuilder?
Yes
Karosseriefirma Gläser of Dresden?
No, less known
Perhaps a Brennabor?...Just to help to find the coachbuilder.
As I said in the initial post, I'm not sure about the base car.
Is the coachbuilder located in Berlin, or one of its suburbs?
No
Is the coachbuilder located in territory that was once the DDR?
No
Is the coachbuilder located south of an east-west line passing through (and including) Frankfurt?
Depends on which Frankfurt you think of. ;)
Ooops, sorry, I was thinking of Frankfurt am Main.
Not south of that Frankfurt
OK, we have now established that the German coachbuilder is not located in:
1. Berlin or its suburbs
2. The former DDR
3. Frankfurt am Main
4. South of Frankfurt am Main
So is the coach builder located west of a north-south line running through Frankfurt am Main?
No
Well, that's a surprise, most of my possibilities were northwest of Frankfurt am Main. Now that we have established that the coachbuilder is/was located northeast of Frankfurt am Main, presumably south of Frankfurt an der Oder, and not in either Berlin or the former territory of the DDR, the possibilities have been greatly reduced. Based on this isolation, is the coachbuilder of the puzzle car Hermann Harmening of Bückeburg?
No
Geographically it seems a bit too far north, but I'm wondering if this vehicle isn't a product of: Carosseriewerk Gebrüder Jacobi of Hanover. It has several design clues that resemble their work.
If it is Jacobi, I would speculate (I understand you don't know the chassis maker) the chassis might be a Stoewer. I know Jacobi did a Stoewer V5, but I don't think this is it. However, I think it could be a Stoewer F6, from 1927/1928, given the appearance of the wheels, and the cowl mounted fuel filler.
Not by Jacobi, not from Hanover
Perhaps by F.W. Utermöhle of Hildesheim?
No.
Let me give a hint: geographically you are far off.
From Hesse?
No
Wow! If I'm way off at Hildesheim, have already ruled out the DDR territory, west & south of Frankfurt am Main, and now all of Hesse, what's left? Extreme northern Bavaria, say around Coburg? Maybe Trutz?
Not Bavaria
My geography has apparently failed me, as I see nothing left.
Rhineland Palatinate, and Saarland, are completely west of Frankfurt am Main.
Baden-Württemberg is entirely south of Frankfurt am Main.
Thuringia and Sachsen-Anhalt were DDR.
Hesse and Bavaria, as well as Berlin, have been ruled out.
The only partial states remaining east of Frankfurt am Main, and south of Frankfurt an der Oder, are the extreme east of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the extreme south of Lower-Saxony, neither of which would I describe as being "geographically you are far off" from Hildesheim.
What have I overlooked, or what answer have I misconstrued?
Think of Germany at the time of this car. ;)
Quote from: Wendax on June 29, 2014, 10:24:33 AM
Think of Germany at the time of this car. ;)
Am I correct in interpreting this to mean that the coachbuilder was located in a part of what is currently the state of Hesse, but was not part of Hesse at the time of the vehicle's construction? For example, the city of Kassel.
No, but the main principle of temporal changes of boundaries should be followed.
Based in a town which was part of Germany when this car was built, but which is now in Poland?
Yes, you got my hint.
Ah, from Silesia. Obviously I hadn't thought about Poland, only DDR. Perhaps a coachbuilder from Breslau?
Not from Breslau
Within 50 km of Breslau (Wroclaw)?
More than 50, less than 100
Within 50 km of the present German-Polish border?
No
Karlux?
No
from Liegnitz?
Yes :)
SS Schlesienwerk?
Yes, correct. To avoid misinterpretations, SS stood for Seehausen & Staar.
I think the base car could be an Opel.
I'll add the original picture tonight.
Here it is. The picture was part of the postcard from August 1930. I can't decipher everything, but the writer talks about his new Cabriolet and a conversion of a van to a car, but I'm not sure whether that is a different car.