waltgosden
T
he pre-internet/computer era of getting a
catalog in the mail, one that offered after-
market parts and accessories for cars, is
pretty much long gone. I recall growing
up in the 1950s and ’60s when a catalog with car
stuff offered by J.C. Whitney and Warshawsky
seemed to appear in the
mailbox every month. I
later learned that both
companies were owned
and operated by the
same person.
Roy Warshawsky
worked for, then
inherited, both auto
parts and accessories
companies from his
father, and did very
well for himself. He also
collected prewar classic
cars and was a member
of CCCA for many
years, participating and
exhibiting his collection
at many events.
There were a fair
number of discount auto
supply companies in the USA, and
several were well established by the
WWI era. By 1914, Cut Price Auto
Supply Co. of Boston had issued its
second catalog of auto parts and ac-
cessories. It was a small, pocket-sized
catalog of 100 pages and offered ev-
erything from lamps, bumpers, and
horns, to entire tops. There was a full
refund that included cost of shipping
if you weren’t pleased, and they also
offered payment by COD (cash on delivery).
The Charles E. Miller Company had 15
stores in nine states whose motto was: “We either
carry in stock—will get it—or it isn’t made!” Try
Miller was its tagline. It claimed to be the largest
automobile supply house in America. If a vehicle
had an engine (cars, cycles, boats, planes), Miller
had parts for it. The annual catalog was 166 pages
and had driving gloves, goggles, polish, tools,
riding outfits, rims, wire wheels, exhaust whistles,
oil, horns, radiators, and even the “ideal tourist
shovel,” so you could dig yourself out of a ditch af-
ter your car’s wheel dropped into it! They claimed
it was strong, durable, and efficient. The accessory
instrument boards would “put your Ford in the
Packard class.” Miller’s main store was located at
97 Reade Street in New York City.Nil Melior was also an accessory store for
motorcars made in the USA, as well as those
automobiles imported from Europe. It was most
active in the 1930s and sold luxury items and
accessories, not repair parts. Nil Melior did offer
a McCulloch supercharger for $124.50 in the
1936-’40 era. French Marchal
spotlamps, headlamps, and bulbs,
Tru Fog fog lamps, and Trippe
headlamps were available for
$17.50 each. The list was endless:
backup lamps, Rolls-Royce-style
full wheel discs, fishtail exhaust
pipe tips, and accessory horns.
Among the horns was one named
Ki-Yi, the barking dog horn.
There were nearly 40 different
accessory mascots whose variety
of subjects ranged from horses,
dogs, birds, and elephants, to
penguins and a kangaroo. Opera
lamps were available to mount
on the roof or rear quarter side
panels. Humorous license plates
were $2.50 and custom “cus-
tomers ideas” plates would also
include words, not
just numbers.
The Melior
store was located in
New York City, and
its final location was
in the South lobby of
The Waldorf-Astoria
Hotel on Park Av-
enue. Can you even
imagine telling some-
one that the show-
rooms for your automobile accessory store were in
one of the most famous hotels in New York?
Ever since the automobile was invented,
accessories to personalize it—whether you drive a
Chevrolet or a Ford, Isotta Fraschini or Packard—
have been made available for car owners. Both
the automobile manufacturers and automotive
entrepreneurs looked to help owners accomplish
that. I am positive that the readers of Hemmings
Classic Car have more than once thought about
how they can “make their car their own” with a
few accessories that reflect their personality. This
has been going on since our great-grandfathers
first spotted brass self-generating headlamps they
thought would look right at home on the front of
their Locomobile or Stanley Steamer, or perhaps
their De Dion-Bouton.Parts by Mail
Ever since the
automobile
was invented,
accessories
to personalize
it... have
been made
available for
car owners.
38 HeMMings classic car october 2019 I Hemmings.com