1928 Studebaker.
Darlene turned up this old photograph of her Grandfather, stood alongside a 1920's motor-car, and hoped that the vehicle could be identified. A contact of mine swiftly identified it as a 1928 Studebaker Dictator Series GE Six Sport Roadster, a rakish machine of the late-vintage era. Darlene believes the scene was most likely situated in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA. Her Grandfather was born in 1905, so he could have been in his early/mid 20s at the time of this photograph, assuming the car was new(ish).
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The Studebaker tourer is of course very interesting, but equally so is the building in the background, a roadside gas (petrol) station, complete with various old-style, and very tall, pumps. The pump to the left of shot towers over the Stude, and resembles the outline of a lighthouse, while a smaller pump beyond the car has a globe on top. Two more imposing gas pumps can also be seen to the right, just beyond the car's radiator mascot.
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Of her Grandfather, Darlene adds:
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"I was just roaming around in ancestry.com and looked my grandpa up in the Charlotte, North Carolina city directories (Charlotte is in Mecklenburg County.) The directories listed my grandpa
working for his father's grocery store previously, and then during 1928 & 1929 he worked for this service station company - Haralson & Grice. I googled it and found these front & side view photos: link"
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"My grandpa worked at station 5 so no clue which one the pictured one is, but I got a kick out of seeing the general look of the stations. By 1930 my grandpa was off doing a different line of work, so looks like the photo of my grandpa was taken in 1928 or 1929, which goes along with the year of the car."
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Dictator line-up.
The Dictator name joined the Studebaker line-up in mid-1927, replacing the Standard Six, with nine variants being offered for the following season. These ranged from the 5-passenger Tourer ($1,165) through to the Royal Sedan ($1,295). The Dictator Sixes were powered by a 242 cu. in. motor, and sold alongside a multitude of higher specification Commander and President models. In addition to the Sport Roadster, anyone walking into a Studebaker dealership in 1928 could also have the choice of Dictator Business Coupe, Sport Coupe, Cabriolet, and 4-door and 5-Passenger Sedan.
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Return to Page 16 in the gallery of classic vehicles.
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A period shot of a 1915-1918 Studebaker Four, also a Roadster, can be found on this page.
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