A wonderfully sculptural matched pair of early Ford Motor Company Model T automobile jacks, manufactured by W. E. Pratt Mfg. Co., Chicago, dating to the late 1910s or early 1920s. Each heavy cast-iron jack incorporates a dramatic exposed gear mechanism, long pierced operating arm, adjustable screw column, and boldly curved saddle, giving the pair an unexpectedly strong American folk-art and industrial-sculpture presence.
The long arms are prominently cast with the celebrated Ford script and additionally marked “W. E. PRATT MFG. CO. CHICAGO FJ2,” with FJ1 markings appearing on the jack bodies. Manufactured during the Ford Model T era, these substantial implements are evocative survivors from the formative years of American motoring, when the Model T transformed both transportation and the American landscape.
Beyond their automotive history, the jacks have tremendous visual character. The oversized cogged wheels, elongated openwork handles and crescent-shaped lifting saddles create almost figurative silhouettes, while the exposed mechanical workings lend them the honesty and ingenuity associated with the best early American utilitarian objects. Displayed together, their repeated forms have a particularly compelling sculptural quality that crosses naturally from early automobilia into American industrial and folk art.
Both examples survive complete and remain in excellent working condition, retaining a superb, largely untouched brown-black oxidized iron surface with expected wear and patination from age and use. Particularly appealing and increasingly difficult to encounter as a matched pair.
American, circa 1917–1924.