Apologies for 'splitting' the thread but here's that GE Stadium again in higher resolution, by kind courtesy of The American Folklife Museum in Washington. I thought the accompanying comments might be of interest:
"Thanks for your interest in James Madison Carpenter and his Austin. That car was both a blessing and a curse to Carpenter, because, though it helped him cover great distances in his collecting work, the open top (and hence, lack of warmth) was impractical for the collecting work he was doing, and also the probable cause of his contracting influenza in the winter months. The car was Carpenter's "home away from home," and one singer, John Strachan, remembers that Carpenter "seemed to be sleeping and even eating in his car."
In an interview conducted on May 27, 1972 at Carpenter's home in Booneville, Mississippi, Carpenter told American Folklife Center director Alan Jabbour:
"I was foolish enough to get a little open Austin car, instead of getting a closed car.... It had, of course, the top, but it was no good. I bought a big, heavy leather coat with the fleece on the inside, and as I went north, it got colder and colder, and...at first I had my...underwear that I was used to wearing... I first got a lightweight wool... and then, as I drove farther north, I got the heavier and heavier suits, and finally when I got to Aberdeen, I said, 'Give me the thickest, warmest [laugh] woollen suit of underwear you have.' And it was like a coat, but I wore it."
As it turns out, you know much more about the model of the car than we do... we have simply been referring to it as his "Austin roadster." I will file your letter so that we can preserve your best guess as to the exact model."
