1912 Hupp-Yeats Deluxe Patrician Electric Coach

Motor: Westinghouse 48 V
Batteries: 30 cell, MV 13 plate Hycap-Exide
Power: Unknown
Weight: 1270 kg (2,799.8 lb)
Capacity: 4 passengers
Original Cost: C $6466 (estimate)

This deluxe electric coach with tiller steering is in mostly original condition, including the paint and upholstery. It was purchased for Miss Victoria Jane Wilson of Victoria, British Columbia. The daughter of a wealthy real estate tycoon named James Keith Wilson, Miss Wilson grew up in comfort and opulence. She was famously fond of exotic birds and had all kinds in her personal menagerie, but there was one bird that always shone above the rest: a brandy-drinking, foul-mouthed blue and gold macaw named Louis, whom she had received as a gift from her parents on her fifth birthday. Miss Wilson wanted to take Louis with her on outings, but she was concerned that gas vehicles were too noisy and would upset him, so she chose a quiet electric vehicle. However, Louis was not fond of the outings regardless of noise level. Miss Wilson drove this car only 652 kilometers (405 miles), then stored it carefully in a garage next to her mansion and never drove it again. When Miss Wilson passed away in 1949, her will stipulated that Louis must live out his life in her mansion and that his environment could not, under any circumstances, be disturbed. Therefore, when Stan Reynolds purchased the car in 1959, he had to find a creative way get it out of the garage without disturbing Louis’ aviary, which had been built in front of the garage door. In order to remove the car, Stan removed one of the garage walls!

The Hupp-Yeats Electric Car Company – previously called the Hupp Motor Company – was co-founded by Robert Craig Hupp and Charles Hastings, formerly of Oldsmobile, in Detroit, Michigan, USA in 1909. They produced Hupp-Yeats electric coaches from 1911 to 1916.

Chronology from Artifact file:
n.d. - James Keith Wilson emigrates to Victoria, British Columbia from Aberdeen, Scotland.
n.d. - The Wilson family home, also called the "white house," is built in Victoria, Britsih Columbia.
1879 - Victoria Jane Wilson is born.
1884 - Mr. and Mrs. Wilson purchase Louis (parrot) for Victoria's fifth birthday.
1912 - Mr. Wilson purchases the Hupp-Yeats for Victoria from distributor Jameson and Rolfe for approximately $7000.
c. 1912 - The Hupp-Yeats is put on blocks.
n.d. - Louis' aviary is built against the garage access door.
1934 - Mr. Wilson dies; Victoria is 57 years old.
n.d. - Victoria hires Yue Wah Wong as a gardener and bird tender.
1949 - Victoria dies at age 72; Louis is 86 years old.
1949 - The Hupp-Yeats is advertised in an estate sale.
c. 1950 - The Hupp-Yeats is purchased by Mr. H., but it remains in the garage at the Wilson home.
c. 1957 - Mr. H. and Stan Reynolds begin negotiations for sale of the Hupp-Yeats.
1959 - Stan Reynolds purchases the Hupp-Yeats; later that year, it is removed through the wall of the garage and brought to the Western Canadian Pioneer Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.
1982 - This Hupp-Yeats is added to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum Collection.