Jay Phipps and the Rise of Luxury Cars

In 1907, when John (Jay) Phipps and his family took up residence in Westbury House, the automobile and its ubiquitous role in suburban life had already been foreseen. In a two-page spread in May of that year about the state of automobiles and their industry, The New York Times noted:

The enormous growth of the automobile industry in the past ten years has been one of the most amazing commercial developments that the world has ever known. To look back at its origin of the automobile and compare its crudity with the palatial cars of the present day, to recall its limited powers and to look upon the great auto trucks that are doing the delivery work of commerce today is to conjure up the wand of a fairy godmother making coaches and fours out of pumpkins.

…It is estimated that over 250 different makes of automobiles are manufactured in the United States and that 120,000 are in use, New York State alone having over 40,000 registered machines.

Similar to today’s emerging market of EVs, automobile ownership in the 1900s was fueled by those willing to invest in an advancing technology with a high purchase price. Like other wealthy residents of Long Island—most notably William K. Vanderbilt, who championed and financed the Long Island Parkway—Henry Phipps’s three sons, Jay, Henry (Hal), and Howard had the means to own several cars at one time. (A price for one of their cars would typically be north of $75,000 in today’s dollars.)

In a span of three years, state registration listings indicated that Jay owned: two Fords (1908), a Cadillac (1909), a Harrold (1910), and two new cars built by the White Automobile Company (1911). His brothers owned vehicles such as a Panard (1902), Mercedes (1905), Selden (1909), Hupmobile (1910), and Pierce-Arrow (1911).

Customers who had the resources, like Jay and Hal, would also purchase bespoke luxury cars that were constructed for their specifications. Coachbuilders combined the best chassis and bodies from separate manufacturers to create the ultimate luxury vehicles. The John S. Phipps archives at Old Westbury Gardens contain proposals from Hooper & Co., a London-based coachbuilder.

For Jay: a 1911 two-seater (plus driver) Hooper inter-driven Cabriolet and an internal-driven limousine. In addition to the written specifications, Hooper also provided photographs for review. (The estimated cost today would be about $56,000.) Jay had previously purchased a Napier Limousine-Landaulette in 1910—a similar model appeared in 다운튼 애비.

For Hal: a 1920 proposal for a new Hooper enclosed drive Saloon Limousine with a Rolls-Royce chassis, purchased in 1921. (Estimated value today: $80,000.)

Invoices from Thrupp & Maberly, another London-based coachbuilder, also document repairs to a Thrupp vehicle owned by Jay.

Although the archives contain few photographs of automobiles from the 1900s–1920s, later images from the 1930s–1940s showcase some of the family’s interesting vehicles. Contributors to the Vanderbilt Cup Races blog helped identify some of these mystery cars. See their work here.