PATENT DATED1900 MOTSINGER DEVICE MFG. CO. BI-POLAR / BIPOLAR
ELECTRIC \"AUTO SPARKER\" DYNAMO MOTOR INVENTED BY HOMER N.
MOTSINGERAntique bi-polar electric motor. American made in a small factory shop in INDIANA.
With maker\'s name / patent data plaque.Measures 11\" TALL x 10\" LONG x 5 1/2\" WIDE in size. Each double coil configuration measures
3\" x 3\" in size.ARMATURE SHAFT MEASURES 11\" LONG. One of two electric binding posts is broken off,
but present, with original wires.Appears complete, turning freely, as found, no cleaning except for the name plate. Traces of maroon paint & gold pin striping remaining, all measurements are approximate!!!! On the date of May 18, 1900, the associates of the Motsinger Device Manufacturing Company
broke ground for their new 40-foot-by-100-foot brick factory located just north of the Pendleton
Falls on land acquired from the Pendleton Widow Glass Company in INDIANA.
The initial effort
was the fruition of a dream by Homer N. Motsinger to manufacture his newly patented device called
the \"Auto Sparker\" - a simple BI-POLAR motor affair. The Motsinger factory was to initially
employ 30 skilled tradesmen and as well, 16 laborers working - all working in two shifts. The
Town of Pendleton feared Motsinger may seek to move his operation - so agreed to finance the
building and supply the natural gas to the company - to keep locals employed.
Homer Motsinger had been born in Shoals, Ind. and he attended Purdue University. He moved
to Pendleton around 1895 and married Inez Cole, who was a daughter of a prominent Pendleton
entrepreneur. The couple lived on North Main Street for a short while - then moved to a newly
built home at 204 West Street in the year 1900designed by Sanford White, New York City’s
leading architect. White, had also designed Fifth Avenue mansions for the Vanderbilts and the
Astors.
An interesting side note is that 53-year-old Stanford White was murdered six years after
designing the Motsinger home - shot by Harry Thaw of Lake George. Thaw was the jealous husband
of his much younger wife; a woman being a noted actress as well - named Evelyn Thaw. The shooting
incident took place at the Madison Square Roof Garden, atop a building that, coincidentally, White
had also designed. Millionaire Harry Thaw went to trial for the murder of White, but this man from
Lake George was found not guilty by reason of insanity and this eccentric individual rode to the
mental asylum on a private train. Thaw’s wife, Evelyn later became the subject of the movie entitled,
“The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing,” and was portrayed by the young actress Joan Collins.
Homer Motsinger continued to develop and receive numerous patents for gasoline engine-related
accessories. His two-story lab was located on his property immediately to the west of his house
but was later relocated to High Street and chnaged to a single story structure.
In addition to the
patent for the \"Auto Sparker,\" inventor Motsinger received some 20 other patents for other
ancillary engine devices that included a carburetor, magneto, electric igniter, thermostat and
even a muffler.
The Motsinger Device Co. eventually established additional offices in New York
and Chicago. Motsinger was prolific in advertising his products through many trade publications,
news sheets, brochures, and was even featured in an article in Scientific American at one point.
Motsinger had many quality competitors including Anderson’s Remy Electric Co. - who made
friction magnetos for gasoline engines.
Motsinger also pursued potential customers by displaying
at the 1903 Chicago Auto Show.
Homer Motsinger and his Motsinger Device Company relocated to West Lafayette, Ind., in 1910.
He sold his house to Ben Phipps, who was a local hardware dealer. The Pendleton factory
structures were later acquired by the Lee Canning Company and then forthwith by the Fall
Creek Canning Company. Today these buildings are the religious sanctuary and offices for the
Family Life Church.
The new two-story brick building built by Motsinger out in West
Lafayette was considerably larger than the Pendleton facility. It was built with hopes of
increasing production and expanding markets.
From serial numbers, it can be assertained that the Pendleton opertion produced approximately
53,000 Auto Sparkers at $20 each and at $10 each, 5,000 Magnetos.
Even though the West
Lafayette location was much larger and in operation longer, it only produced 20,000 of the
\"Auto Sparkers\" as we have on offer here. The West Lafayette employees also produced
about 17,000 magnetos.The early 1900\'s \"Auto Sparker
\"
Friction magnetos employed a leather pulley that
rotated the armature when the pulley was placed in contact with the flywheel of the
motor it was starting.
The unique quality of the \"Auto Sparker\" was described by
the trade as being basically a dynamo that had been designed to initially provide enough
spark for gasoline engines to start operation without the normally required battery assist.
Thus, the “Auto” in \"Auto Sparker\" did not refer to “automobile” at all, but did mean that
the unit could provide enough electricity to start the engine automatically by essentially merely
rotating the flywheel by hand.
His later Motsinger D.C. Magneto was designed to perform
the same function at a much lower cost to those who employed its use.
Unfortunately, these low tension electric generators by the Motsinger concern failed
to provide the sufficiently high enough voltage to meet the demand of it applications.
It was such that newer designed high tension magnetos produced higher voltage and
had a much more efficient direct gear drive rather over that of a friction pulley. It
became unfortunate that the Motsinger Company never successfully developed a
high tension magneto.
With the outset of World War I, Homer Motsinger altered his manufacturing
output at his West Lafayette operation to produce artillery shells for World War I -
but was not able to recoup the money he invested for the required tooling changes.
Thus, the Motsinger company suffered severe financial losses from this effort.
Having now aged beyond his years, Motsinger divested his ownership in his beloved
company and was later employed by the U.S. Ball Bearing Mfg. Company in
Chicago for a short period of time.
He was a failed man.The manufacturing industry at large lost a prolific inventor and entrepreneur
when 45-year-old Homer Motsinger died in August 1920, in Chicago - having lost
his spirit and drive after his financial ruination. Even though his family had lived
in several different cities, Homer always considered Pendleton to be his home.
Homer N. Motsinger and his wife Inez as well as their four children are all buried
in Grove Lawn Cemetery and their remains are but 150 yards north of his “Factory
on the Falls.”
Be sure to check the photos! Asalways ! Please email early with any questions. Thanks for looking & good luck!!!I will combine shipping whenever possible.
