General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Metal

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

N/A

Width

7.8 cm

Height

5.4 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Automotive parts

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Brooks

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Stratford

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Brooks Steam Motors Limited was a Canadian automobile manufacturing company that was established in 1923 in Stratford, Ontario. The company produced Brooks steam cars, which were similar in engineering to the Stanley Steamers. Brooks and its cars were named after an American financier, Oland J. Brooks, who moved from Buffalo, New York to Toronto in 1920. The company expanded in 1926, opening the Brooks Steam Motors Inc. plant in Buffalo and relocated the Canadian company to a location that was closer to the American facility (Brierley, "Brooks Steam Motors"). Hub caps are collectors’ items.

Function

Cover put on automobile wheels to enhance its aesthetic appearance or aerodynamism and to protect the wheel bolts from mud and dust.

Technical

Originally, hub caps date back to the horse-drawn era and afterwards to the first automobiles when wheels were made of wooden spokes connected to the center hub. The hub contained the wheel bearing, which was packed with grease. The hub cap was a small device used to cover the center hub to keep the dust out and the grease in. Eventually, car manufacturers replaced the wooden spokes with steel wire spokes in the 1920s and 1930s. As a result the hub cap evolved into a wheel cover, which is a large disc that covers most of the wheel. Wheel covers continue to serve a functional purpose but they have also become a decorative design feature of the wheel.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Stamped (depressed) central disk painted black containing name 'BROOKS' (raised letters); letters higher in center decreasing in size towards either end (oval)

Missing

N/A

Finish

Polished silver surface (possible); black paint used in decorative detail

Decoration

N/A