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Early 1900s Wolverine Auto Starter brochure: Grand Rapids, MI - $25 (west of Ann Arbor)
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This company invented and sold a device that could be attached to the front dash of the interior. It was an ancho-shaped lever that worked the same way as a hand cranker.
Back then, starting a car with a hand crank could be dangerous. If the crank backfired, it could break an arm. Also, owners would leave their cars running for short stops to avoid cranking them up every time. This company’s idea would solve that problem.
In the description, there’s a reference to the newly available electric starter (1912), which was apparently very expensive.
The advertising brochure is in a try-fold form. On one side, when folded out, the brochure is a full ad for the company. On the other side, each of the pages describes the auto starter and why it’s worth 20 bucks, a lot of money back then.
The brochure, unfolded, measures 9 1/2 x 6 inches and is in pretty good shape for being over a hundred years old.