Maxwell Motor Company, undated

The Early Automobile Companies Ephemera Collection consists of brochures, advertisements for automobile parts and service products, maps and travel guides published between 1910 and 1932.

The Brochures series, boxes 1-4, contains three sub-series: Automobile Manufacturers, Trucks, Motorcycles and Bicycles, and Automobile Parts and Supplies. Collected materials include brochures for automobile, truck, motorcycles and bicycle companies, automobile models, engine parts, and additional components.

The Publications series, box 4, includes the journals Motor News and Roots Motor Digest, various safety guides and rules of the road booklets, programs from the Chicago Automobile Show, How to Buy a Car, A Bit of Early Automobile History, and the Elgin Road Races.

The Maps and Travel Guides series, boxes 5-7, contains four sub-series, Pocket Maps, Road Maps, Travel Guides, and Travel Brochures. The majority of the maps are of the Midwestern States, mostly Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Other maps include the National Parks located in the Western States and a map of the Southern States.

Large-Format Brochures, found in box 8, contains oversized materials primarily from the Brochures series.

Oversize materials include maps and other large fold-out items. These materials are stored in flat files.