The 1931 Introduction of the Mercedes-Benz W 15 170

Mercedes-Benz 170 (W 15), production period 1931 to 1936. Advertisement dating from 1933, “Thousands delivered...”. The advertisement referred to the sales success of the compact car, of which 4,438 were built in the first full year of production in 1932. (Photo signature in the Mercedes-Benz Classic archive: 1988M588.)

Mercedes-Benz 170 (W 15), production period 1931 to 1936. Photo of the six-cylinder in-line M 15 engine and transmission. (Photo signature in the Mercedes-Benz Classic archive: 13078)

Mercedes-Benz 170 (W 15), production period 1931 to 1936. Graphic of the rear axle with independent suspension on swing axles and with coil spring suspension from 1931. (Photo signature in the Mercedes-Benz Classic archive: 2001DIG63)

A technically innovative, compact and affordable passenger car: this is how Mercedes-Benz was able to impress both experts and the public alike at the Paris Motor Show from 1 to 11 October 1931, 90 years ago. The new Mercedes-Benz 170 (W 15) was the world’s first mass-produced passenger car with independent suspension and a swing axle. That model was in the tradition of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The car was powered by a 23.5 kW (32 hp) M 15 in-line six-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1,692 cc.

The new model was an immediate success. In 1932, the first full year of production, the brand with the star sold a total of 4,438 of the Mercedes-Benz 170 – almost 75 per cent of the total annual production of 5,996 passenger cars. Until 1934, the 170 remained the most frequently built Mercedes-Benz passenger car. A total of 13,775 vehicles with ten different body variants and chassis were built up to 1936, when the Mercedes-Benz 170 V (W 136) with a four-cylinder in-line engine replaced the W 15 model series.

The long road to the Mercedes-Benz 170

The premiere of the new medium-size car took place five years after Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) merged with Benz & Cie. in 1926 to form what was then Daimler-Benz AG. The period following the pooling of interests of these two companies in 1924 was accompanied by a number of organisational difficulties resulting from reorganisation activities. The development of a compact passenger car of a high technical standard at an attractive sales price was also affected, although there was considerable need for such a car in view of the product range as it was at the time.

At DMG, the supercharged Mercedes 6/25 hp (later 6/25/40 hp) designed by Paul Daimler was introduced in 1923, but it was comparatively expensive and was only built until 1925. Benz & Cie. introduced the Mercedes-Benz 10/35 hp, a revised version of the popular Benz 10/30 hp, into the joint passenger car range. However, this compact car proved to be no longer competitive and production ceased in 1927. The Mercedes-Benz 8/38 hp (W 02) with a two-litre six-cylinder engine, developed under the direction of Ferdinand Porsche and launched in 1926 – one of the first two passenger cars under the new Mercedes-Benz brand name – was also of a rather conservative design with rigid axles and half springs.

Entry into the vehicle category with engine displacements of less than two litres

In the late 1920s, development of a compact, innovative car at Mercedes-Benz progressed at an increasing rate. The foundations for this had already existed for some time: the engineers at Benz in Mannheim had already taken up the subject of independent wheel suspension with a swing axle in 1921. This technology was successfully applied by Benz in racing cars, but it was not transferred to series production. In 1926, Mercedes-Benz initially began work on a W 01 model series production passenger car which was more compact than the Mercedes-Benz 8/38 hp and was to be powered by a 1.4-litre six-cylinder engine. In 1928, a passenger car with a 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine (M 14) followed under the model series designation W 14. Both cars were conventional designs with rigid axles and leaf springs at front and rear. They were rejected by the Supervisory Board.

From 1928 onwards, the Stuttgart brand vigorously pursued the idea of a compact, state-of-the-art car for its model range. For example, the Board of Management minutes from the middle of 1928 stated that “a good small car at an appropriate price [would] be highly appropriate for the range of products for sale”. At that time, models with 1.6- or 1.5-litre engines were under discussion in the company. In October 1928, the Board of Management decided against production of the 1.6-litre model for the time being, and opted to continue testing the vehicle instead.

The project appeared again and again in the minutes of the Group: in June 1929, the engineers were working on the overdrive system and the swing axle. There is a note from May 1930 about the “swing axle car” being brought to series production. At the end of June 1930, Wilhelm Kissel, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler-Benz AG from 1926 to 1942, wrote about the importance of the later Mercedes-Benz 170: “Since the question of front wheel drive and the swing axle have been the subject of considerable attention throughout the car industry for some years, it would hardly be justified to thoughtlessly gloss over these two important matters.” Finally, on 1 June 1931, the decision to produce the new passenger car model with a wheelbase of 2,600 millimetres, a gross vehicle weight of 1,455 kilograms and a top speed of 90 km/h, which was quite respectable at the time, was taken.

Praise from the experts

The Mercedes-Benz 170 impressed the public from the outset with the quality of its suspension comfort, roadholding (independent suspension) and handling safety (hydraulic brakes and a low centre of gravity). These features were by no means a matter of course for this market segment at that time. And so the W 15 was enthusiastically received by the market, despite its price of 4,400 Reichsmarks, which was anything but cheap. Wilhelm Kissel, Chairman of the Board of Management, looked back over 1932 and emphasised: “We were the only company that was able to sell 1,700 more passenger cars this year compared with the previous year, 1931, thanks to our 1.7-litre model. [...] We were saved thanks to the excellent standard of the swing-axle car and the quality of the diesel engine.”

The 3,940-millimetre-long Mercedes-Benz 170 (with bumpers it was just over the four-metre mark) received positive reviews – not only from customers but also from trade journalists. As early as October 1931, the “Automobil Revue” summed up: “In the vast majority of cases, the judgement of the expert or knowledgeable buyer will always come out in favour of the ‘Little Mercedes’.”

The “ADAC Motorwelt”, Issue 40/41 of 8 October 1931, enthused about the compact passenger car: “It can be described as one of the most advanced cars of the present day for everyday use, and rightly deserves the often unjustly awarded title of ‘top achievement in international automotive engineering’,” and continued: “There are indeed few cars in which the chassis and body are designed to fit together as well as in the Mercedes-Benz model 170.”

Trade magazine “Motor und Sport” had this to say in its 9/1932 Issue: “When assessing the handling characteristics, it’s hard not to use superlatives. In particular, the suspension can be described as unprecedented. Vibrations as such are now hardly felt at all. [...] Roadholding is very good and, thanks to the low centre of gravity, even a dynamic style of driving is not accompanied by any risk.”

A new special exhibition at the Mercedes-Benz Museum: The Fascination of the SL – a Dream Car for 70 Years”

Nine SL sports cars on a series of S-bends, including the oldest SL in existence, as well as numerous other exhibits and items: this is what will be revealed to visitors in the new special exhibition “The Fascination of the SL – a Dream Car for 70 Years” at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. The exhibition opens on 22 October 2021 and is scheduled to run until 15 May 2022.

In March 1952 – and thus almost 70 years ago – Mercedes-Benz unveiled the 300 SL. In that same year, this thoroughbred racing sports car won four out of its five races, which quickly prompted calls for a production version. 

Representing that first spark of an idea in 1952 is the 300 SL racing sports car with the chassis number 2: the oldest SL still in existence and always owned by the company. 300 SL racing sports car (W 194), vehicle identification number 2, 1952

Successful from the outset: Mercedes-Benz re-entered international motor racing after the Second World War with the 300 SL racing sports car (W 194). The results were impressive: a triple victory in Bern, double victories at Le Mans and in the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico, a quadruple victory at the Nürburgring. The vehicle shown here bears vehicle identification number 194 010 00002/52 and is the world’s oldest existing SL – owned by the company since 1952.

The first production SL is the 300 SL Coupé built from 1954 onwards.

This famous “Gullwing” model and all other SL model series up to the present day can be seen in the special exhibition. The technical innovations of the SL since 1952 are presented in a display case. The thrill of travel is conveyed not just by the series of S-bends, but also by a colorful display of holiday postcards from around the world showing the Mercedes-Benz SL.

300 SL Coupé (W 198), 1955

A dream car – right up to today: The combination of design and technology made the 300 SL launched in New York in February 1954 a truly fascinating car. Besides the German “Flügeltürer”, it was known as the Gullwing and Papillon (butterfly). However, the roof-hinged doors were not an aesthetic end in themselves, but actually technically necessary. This was because the tubular roll cage was so high at the sills that conventional door constructions were simply not possible.

190 SL (W 121), 1959

Comfortable, sporty top-down driving: These have been the key characteristics of the Mercedes-Benz SL since the 190 SL. The 190 SL was launched in New York in 1954 together with the 300 SL Coupé and, as an open-top roadster, provided the perfect complement to the model range from its market launch in 1955. Both these vehicles and, indeed, the 300 SL Roadster, were the products of an initiative from US importer Maximilian E. Hoffman. All in all, 25,881 units of the 190 SL were built.

300 SL Roadster (W 198), 1961

Racing genes blended with the glamour of an open sports car: The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster combines both elements to perfection. It was presented in Geneva in March 1957 as the successor to the coupé. It benefited from a more sophisticated chassis and later still was fitted with disc brakes and a cast aluminium crankcase. It was in a 300 SLS derived from the production version that Paul O’Shea won the 1957 American Sports Car Championship in category D.

230 SL (W 113), 1965

The “Pagoda” model: Mercedes-Benz launched the 230 SL, model series W 113, at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963. This was designed as a comfortable, high-performance two-seater touring car and replaced both the 190 SL (W 121) and the 300 SL Roadster (W 198). The shape of the optional hardtop was reminiscent of Asian temples, which quickly earned it the nickname “Pagoda”. This was the world’s first open-top passenger car with a safety body.

500 SL (R 107), 1982

Elegance with a respectable flair: This is what characterised the SL models of the R 107 model series. The premiere of that model series was 50 years ago, in the spring of 1971. For the first time in the history of the Mercedes-Benz SL, the car was also powered by an eight-cylinder engine. With more than 18 years of production, the R 107 model series set an internal brand record that is unlikely to be surpassed. Understandably, there was a very wide range of engine variants available over the life of this model series.

SL 500 “SL Edition” (R 129), 2000

The innovator: Mercedes-Benz launched the SL in the model series R 129 at the Geneva Motor Show in 1989. The stylish design with its extremely harmonious overall effect is still regarded as a masterpiece of the design department under the direction of Bruno Sacco at that time. This SL also set new standards in terms of safety: key features were the automatic pop-up roll bar and the power-absorbing integral seats. The vehicle on display is an “SL Edition” from the year 2000.

SL 500 (R 230), 2001

The R 230 generation of the SL made its debut in 2001. Its most striking innovation was the folding Vario roof made of steel panelling: within just 16 seconds, the vehicle transformed into a roadster – or back into a coupé. Its design merged tradition and the future, e.g. with the striking lateral air inlets in the front wings and narrow, wing-like profiles that were reminiscent of the legendary 300 SL of the W 198 model series.

SL 500 “Mille Miglia 417” (R 231), 2015

In January 2012 Mercedes-Benz marked the 60th birthday of the SL by launching the R 231 model series. One focus of the new design was on reducing the weight of the sports car. It had an aluminium bodyshell, the boot lid was made of steel and plastic, the roof system used magnesium combined with plastic. Numerous systems for active safety and comfort were either fitted as standard or available on request.

Before there was Aloha there was Nell. Part II; The Journey Begins, September, 1919.

First question. What cars were involved in the Wanderwell journeys? Other accounts have mentioned Fords. And then I have read of a Jordan Nell drove erroneously beginning in 1919, but more than likely after 1924.  A Moon was driven for a short time in early 1921 in California. Also Nell drove an Auburn late in her vaudeville presentation career, around 1927.   

The Hanson,  was the topic of a Motor Age article published in October of 1919. It was custom designed by Walter Wanderwell. See below. 

Taken from Motor Age, October 22, 1919, p. 23.

It was described as " Hanson six with a special built body....The car is driven by Walter Wanderwell, who with his wife and three other persons will tour the UnitedStates first and then ship to Europe covering France, Belgium, England, Germany, Austria, Poland, Italy, and then Asia.

The Special body resembles a boat, having no doors or running boards. It as been cut down to afford the best traveling means and the whole job uses a stock chassis. Canvas fenders are used in front and so built they can be detached in seconds. Gasoline is carried in the rear, with the  filler neck of the tank extending through the body on the right side. Small steps are fastened to the frame and the low build of the body makes it an easy matter to get in and out.

To cut down wind resistance a simple top has been fitted and the windshield is a one-piece affair which can be set horizontal when desired. The seats are arranged that the backs fold down to provide sleeping quarters. Two extra tires are carried on the rear and a water bottle is slung on a hook on the right rear side. The car was built at the Hanson factory in Atlanta, Ga."[Note that the Hanson headquarters was Atlanta but the factory was in Detroit -- a common mistruth in above account!]

Below From: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_840399

This Hanson radiator emblem belonged to a Hanson automobile manufactured by the Hanson Motor Company of Atlanta, Georgia between 1918 and 1925. Hanson produced a variety of automobile body types with six-cylinder engines, and advertised their car as being “Tested and Proved in the South.”The emblem represents a boll of cotton, which was very much a cash crop in the State of Georgia at that time. During the time the Hanson was made, Georgia began suffering from an invasion of the boll weevil, an insect which could and did destroy a good portion of the cotton crop. The boll weevil reduced cotton production, and reduced the income of cotton farmers, which did not help the sale of Hansons. From the Simithsonian.

But then we have the Hanson depicted in a 1919 photo taken in Mexico. The problem, like a number of early photographs in the collection at the National Historical Automotive Collection in Detroit, is that the date is wrong. It is 1920. These were photographs in the possession of Aloha and thus were done before she became a part of the story.  Rather, it is a part of Nell's story.

View of Walter Wanderwell, Nell Wanderwell, Wanderwell expedition crew and car no. 1 in front of railway car in Mexico. Wanderwell holds movie camera. Handwritten on back: "1919, Mex., Sonora, Wanderwell #1, 1919 draped for press (crew) Cap. W., Nell W., mechanic." Detroit Public Library.

This Hanson is now fitted with steel wheels. It makes sense given how fragile spoked wheels were. When do Jordan cars come into play? And Fords? Other automobiles that enter the Wanderwell story are the Moon and much later, Nell's Auburn.

About the Hanson (from Wikipedia) -- 

In 1907, George Hanson opened a bike shop in Griffin, Georgia, and soon began selling Franklin motor cars. During the mid-teens, he came up with an idea to make a small, low-priced car for the South. With the help of Don Ferguson, Hanson tore apart a Packard touring car for ideas, and in February 1917 began plans to manufacture the first Hanson car at a factory in Detroit, Michigan although manufacturing was delayed due to the first World War. After the U.S. government released the factory from war production in June 1918, the first Hanson car was produced—a 5-passenger tourer with a Continental 7R six-cylinder engine in it.^[2] "Tested and Proved in the South" was one of the company's slogans, along with "Made in Dixie" (even though the factory was in Detroit, the headquarters were in Atlanta^[1]). In 1921, Hanson toyed with a torque converter but never made one. When the post war recession hit, Hanson was forced to slash prices. A Little Six was introduced at the bargain basement price of $995. In 1925, he closed the doors to his factory. A total of 1,800 cars are believed to have been made with the majority of them being sold in Atlanta and other parts of Georgia.

The profile of the rear addition patent design drawings issued to Walter reminds me of his canvas rear ends on the Hanson. It also reminds me of one shape that is found in small two person trailers that are so popular today. Did Walter have an intuitive feel for the aerodynamics of the rear of an automobile?  Or are these signs just the result of trial and error while on the road? Is he the progenitor of the fastback or slope backed design? That last claim is perhaps a bit far-fetched. 

Description

Aug. 2, 1932. w WANDERWELL Des. 87,494 

AUTOMOBILE Filed Feb. 3, 1931 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 2, 1932 UNITED STATES Des. 87,494 

PATENT OFFICE WALTER WANDERWELL, OF MIAMI, FLORIDA DESIGN FOR AN AUTOMOBILE Application filed February 3, 1931. Serial No. 38,536. Term of patent 14 years. 

and partial rear perspective View of the rear portion of the body, showing by dotted lines other portions of the body and vehicle. 

I claim: 

The ornamental design for an automobile as shown. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at New Orleans, Louisiana, this 19th day of January, 1931. 

WALTER WANDERWELL.

Here is another design patent:

Description

Des. 7 1 ,1 1 8 gwuantoz Waller Pzczgzzakz w. PIECZYIQSK! AUTOMOBILE BODY Filed May 21 1925 Sept. 21 1926. 

Patented Sept. 21, 1926. 

UNITED STATES Des. 71,118 

PATENT OFFICE. 

WALTER PIECZYNSKI, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. 

DESIGN FOR AN AUTOMOBILE BODY. 

Application filed May 21, 1925. 

Serial No. 13,516. 

Term of patent 14 years. 

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of an automobile body showing my design and Fig. 2 is a rear elevational View thereof. 

I claim: 

The ornamental design for an automobile body, as shown. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 9th day of May, 1925. 

WALTER PIEGZYNSKI.

/pictures/item/2016852488/

The 1921 Debut of the Roots Supercharger in Daimler Automobiles -- The German Auto Show of 921 in Berlin

• Mercedes 6/25 hp and 10/40 hp with the Roots compressor
• Premiere at the German Motor Show in Berlin in 1921
• The foundation for the golden era of supercharged touring cars at the end of the 1920s

1.5-liter supercharged engine from the Mercedes 6/25 hp. Detail photo from 1922. (Photo signature in the Mercedes-Benz Classic archives: Z2627)

Stuttgart. More charge-air pressure meant better performance: one hundred years ago, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) presented the first two production-ready Mercedes passenger cars with engines fitted with a switchable Roots supercharger. These Mercedes 6/25 hp and 10/40 hp models made their debut at the first German Motor Show after the First World War, which was held from 23 September to 2 October 1921 in the exhibition hall on Kaiserdamm in Berlin, where these new Mercedes models caused quite a stir. However, it took more than a year for them to go into production: it was not until 1923 that cars with the innovative drive system came onto the market. The German Motor Show was one of the forerunners of today’s International Motor Show (IAA). From 1904 to 1911, the trade fair was held under the name IAA, and in the 1930s it was called the International Automobile and Motorcycle Exhibition (IAMA).

The 1.6- and 2.6-litre supercharged engines were developed under the direction of Paul Daimler. The eldest son of motoring pioneer and company founder Gottlieb Daimler had been head of DMG vehicle development since Wilhelm Maybach left the company in 1907. Paul Daimler, an engineer, first experimented with a Roots supercharger as a mechanical supercharger on the engine of a Mercedes-Knight 10/40 hp in 1919. However, it was technically not possible to combine the slide-valve-controlled Knight engines and the Roots compressor.

Aircraft engine know-how applied to motor vehicle drive systems

Daimler was familiar with the principle of the rotary piston blower, which was developed in North America in the 19th century, from aircraft engine development during the First World War. After attempts with the Knight engine proved to be a technical dead end, development focused on valve-controlled engines. Two in-line four-cylinder engines with overhead camshafts, valves arranged in a V-shape and centrally recessed spark plugs were built for the first Mercedes supercharged vehicles presented 100 years ago. A vertical shaft at the end of the engine powered the camshaft and water pump. The Roots compressor, mounted upright at the front of the engine, was driven by the front end of the crankshaft.

The effect of the mechanical supercharger was tremendous: in the Mercedes 6/25 hp with a 1,568 cc engine, output increased from 15 – 18 kW (20 – 25 hp) to 28 – 29 kW (38 – 40 hp) when the compressor was switched on. The 10/40 hp model with a 2,614 cc engine provided 26 – 29 kW (35 – 40 hp) without a compressor and 48 kW (65 hp) with a compressor. On average, this represented an increase in performance of a good 60 per cent in each case. In order to convey the potential clearly in the name of the respective model, the two cars were given extended model designations in 1924: from then on, they were listed as the Mercedes 6/25/38 hp and Mercedes 10/40/65 hp. The last number stood for the power in hp with the compressor switched on.

Supercharger technology for motor racing

Albert Heess and Otto Schilling were also involved in the design work. After the merger of DMG with Benz & Cie. in 1926, Heess was appointed head of design for all vehicle engines developed by the new Daimler-Benz AG. When he was appointed later to chief engineer, Schilling had a decisive influence on the development of Mercedes-Benz racing engines in the 1930s. In the 1920s, the 1.6-litre engine of the Mercedes 10/40 hp became the basis for 1,500 cc racing engines (Mercedes 6/40/65 hp racing car of 1922) and 1,986 cc engines (Mercedes 2-litre Indianapolis racing car of 1923 and Mercedes 2-litre Targa Florio racing car of 1924). The legendary red Targa Florio racing car in which Christian Werner won the famous road race in 1924 can be viewed in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Legend Room 7: Silver Arrows – Races and Records.

In 1921, the mechanical supercharger, which was a novel and unusual feature in automotive engineering at the time, resulted in a number of media reports and other publications in which the Roots compressor was somewhat vaguely also referred to as an air blower or positive displacement blower. Nevertheless, experts and the public alike were quick to recognise the potential of the technology. It was, in particular, the supercharged sports cars with the famous star of the K, S, SS, SSK and SSKL model series from 1924 onwards that achieved legendary status

A 1930 Marquette with a Most Interesting History, Shown at the 2021 Dayton, Ohio, Concours

 Thanks to Ed!

In the class I judged today, I was astonished at the winning car == a 1930 Marquette (the companion car to Buick) that barely lasted a bit more than a year in production).  The Chinese Red one in this photo is one of only two known to exist.  Our three person team that has been judging for many years has NEVER given 100 points to any car and this vehicle was beyond compare: 100 points.  This vehicle was Pebble Beach or Amelia Island quality.

But the back-story here is the owner -- who lives in Lima, Ohio, -- he did the entire restoration himself -- everything -- and it took eleven years.  The car was originally owned and driven in Santiago, Chile, by the then US ambassador to Chile in the early 1930s.  

On the original owner of the Marquette, see --

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Smith_Culbertson

Before there was Aloha Wanderwell there was Nell: Auto Touring as Vaudeville

Before there was Aloha there was Nell: Auto Touring as Vaudeville -- Part I

 

John Heitmann, Professor Emeritus, University of Dayton

    Over the past decade there has been considerable interest in the career of Aloha Wanderwell Baker (1906-1996). In large part because of the efforts of her grandchild, and indeed before that of Aloha (a name meaning Love) before her death in 1996.  These attempts to place Aloha into the limelight have fallen short, and it is puzzling as to why. There are several clips of her around-the-world travels on Youtube; numerous posts on the internet; recognition of her filmmaking work by the American Film Academy in 2015. Her work and life are well chronicled in Christian Fink-Jensen and Randolph Eustace-Walden's Aloha Wanderwell: The Border-Smashing, Record-Setting Life of the World's Youngest Explorer (Frederickton, New Brunswick, 2016), and Aloha's own Call To Adventure (New York:  Dover, 2020), a reprint of a 1939 edition. 

    No story of Aloha is complete without examining the life of her husband, Walter Wanderwell, whose real name was Valerian Johann Pieczynski. Indeed, he is the central figure in he Aloha story, worts and all. And yet those who celebrate Aloha do not want to get too close to Walter, for his honesty, integrity, and marital fidelity only tarnish Aloha's memory. Before the two met, however, another woman was a part of the Wanderwell story, and she is largely forgotten -- Nell. And it is Nell I want to focus on in this essay. She was critical to the establishment of the Wanderwell organization between 1919 and 1922, and she also drove automobiles between 1919 and 1928, racking up many miles but not to the extent of Aloha in terms of visits to exotic locations or generating the kind of publicity and film footage that Aloha did. 

    As the authors of the monograph on Aloha discovered, this topic  has more pitfalls and traps that one can ever imagine.  It proves quite a test to me as a long-time professional historian, as dates, place, names and claimed achievements all need be checked and rechecked. That is what you get when you deal with the history surrounding Walter Wanderwell. Walter had to be an inveterate liar, an adulterer (most all who have studied anything about him know this as common knowledge), and a phenomenal self-promoter. His past is murky, made difficult to track down because of all the contradictory reports. 

Walter was born in Posen, Germany, and while at times he identified himself as Polish, he also stated at times he was German, having lived in the borderlands of Silesia before WWI. Later in the 1920s he would write a postcard to his mother in German. His father was said to be a veterinarian in the German army during WWI, and killed in 1915. As a young many he joined the Wandervogel, a German group of hikers that traveled around Europe on foot, and he is said to have started his around-the-world travels in 1912. At times he was a seaman, and we have several photographs of him while working in that occupation at are in the National History Automobile Collection in the Detroit Public Library.

The following are three photographs of Walter Wanderwell while he was working as a sailor on an American vessel engaged in the coastwise trade. The date is probably 1915.  He later stated that because he was taken off the vessels by English naval authorities after the vessel left the 3 mile limit, he subsequently decided to walk across America. He ended up on the west coast, and then by early 1917 in Miami, Florida.

View of Walter Wanderwell wearing swim trunks, arm muscles flexed, standing on the deck of the ship Rio Grande. "Rio Grande, N.Y." Handwritten on negative sleeve: "Cap's sailing days, 1912-1916. About 17. Pugilist & health fiend. Detroit Public Library.

View of Walter Wanderwell standing on the deck of the ship Rio Grande. Handwritten on negative sleeve: "Aboard the 'Rio Grande' en route to New Orleans. Ready to measure the world by foot."

View of Walter Wanderwell standing on the deck of the ship Rio Grande. Handwritten on negative sleeve: "At 17, on way up. 3rd mate of 'Rio Grande' & very proud of it." Detroit Public Library.

I have been looking at newspapers in the U.S., beginning with 1916. What astonishing is all the discrepancies concerning his travels to 1916, his experiences as a seaman, his being detained several times as a spy, and  his relationship with a German-American 16 year old girl from Salt Lake City that would later lead to a  change of violating the Mann Act. 

Below is  a photograph from the Richmond, Indiana Palladium-Item, dated 12 September 1916, p.10 (why this newspaper when the photo was taken in California?), headlined "They Wander Well." Note the marriage was said to have taken place in Chicago. However, the Nebraska newspaper articles cited below make no mention of a Mrs. Wanderwell!

Later, in March of 1917 during Walter's suspicion of spying, arrest and detention, the story of Mrs. Wanderwell started to become clearer. First, they did not meet and marry in Chicago before the walk to the west coast. Her name was reported as Anna Coltwanger. She was a German girl from Salt Lake City.  Walter somehow met Anna, and then ran away from Anna's home (she was living with her aunt), who had insisted that they marry if she was to travel with him. They did not marry, ran away, ended up in San Diego. He mistreated her greatly, and later (July 16, 1916) Anna would marry another world walker and acquaintance of Walter, Van Enden. Like Walter, the Dutchman was also for a short time also suspected of spying for the Germans in March 1917. The story gets more complex over time, as somehow, Anna reappears in Atlanta along with Walter Wanderwell and a third walker, Hugo Coutadin.

Anna claimed in 1917 that she was not Wanderwell's wife "as he represented." She went on to say that "We meet Germans who say they do not like Wanderwell...He tells so many different stories of who he is."

What we know of Walter's walk across America from newspapers:

1) He left New York on March 16, 1916.

2) He arrived in Bucyrus, Ohio on April 4. The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph, April 4, 1916, p.5. He identified himself as a 21 year old member of the "Wandervogel" Club of Posen, Germany and a German (Not Pole as he later does). He walked on the Lincoln Highway. His stories of marine travel tend to get confusing, but this interview stated he left Hamburg Germany in June 1914 on a British tramp ship, found himself in Valparaiso, Chile when the war broke out. He was interned, released, and then walked from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires in 3 months, then to New York City on an American Vessel. For a time the worked out of New York as a quartermaster for various coastwise vessels, but harassed by the British once outside the 3 mile limit even though he was posing as a Russian.

On his walk, he took along a German Haversack; English Trousers; American shirt; Spanish canteen. He averaged 40 miles per day. He described himself as a strict physical cultures, who eats soft foods, seldom meat, and did not smoke or drink.

3) On April 14 he arrived in Munster, Indiana. See The Times (Munster, Indiana), 14 April, 1916, p.1. He stated that his father was killed in WWI in 1915 and has a 16 year old brother fighting on the front. He walks because he does not feel safe sailing the Atlantic.

4) On 18 May Wanderwell landed in Fremont, Nebraska after 60 days of travel. See Fremont Tri-Weekly Tribune, 18 May, 1916, p.3.  He states that he tried to get back to Germany twice but was stopped by the British. He therefore concluded that "Footing is a good cheap method of transportation, when a fellow is broke."

5) On 20 May he arrived in Grand Island, Nebraska, where he stayed at the Liederkranz. He stated that his father was a veterinarian and that he was arrested in he West Indies as a German spy by the British while on a vessel posing as a Russian.

In January of 1917, Wanderwell appeared in Miami, needing a rest before completing his 23,000 mile walking trek (?)  to Key West. By March,1917 he was in Atlanta, where along with Hugo Coutandin he was arrested by Secret Service Agents for being under suspicion as being German spies. Carrying a book of famous signatures and a bank book from Miami listing $1,720.50, along with several large postal savings drafts, he certainly could have been part of a ring of spies. While in detention, former lover Anna appeared at the police station.

Anna had married another walking wanderer from Europe and Wanderwell acquaintance and rival, A.V.D. Enden, who was also arrested in Atlanta. Enden described himself as a Dutch citizen, and "champion wrestler of Java and Straits Settlement." Enden was accused of spying but subsequently released, and on July 19 Hugo Coutandin was also let go. Walter Wanderwell quickly followed in early August, with the provision of being on parole. 

Wanderwell then held several jobs, until October, 1917, when it was reported that he fractured his leg while working for Western Union as a messenger.

Note the photographs below. The date on the photo is 1917, but probably dated so by Aloha, who was not around at that time. I would guess it is actually 1918. It depicts Nell on the left, and Anna on the right. Note that Walter has a cane, probably recovering from his leg fracture. 

View of Walter Wanderwell posing with two young women on porch. Two girls and elderly man stand nearby; men sit on chairs in background. Handwritten on negative: "1917 [rest undecipherable]." Detroit Public Library

Blow up of above photo. Is this Nell, after Walter was injured while working as a messenger. 1917? See second scaled photo. I believe so.

While in recovery little is known of Wanderwell's activities. But somehow he transformed himself from being a suspected German spy to in September of 1918 holding patriotic rallies in Atalanta at Grant Park, as he held the position of "director of war service of the Volunteers of America." It was while at the VOA that he probably met Nell Clark, as other sources suggest that they were married in Birmingham, AL, that same year. 

    Apparently the couple continued working for the VOA in 1919, but Walter was far from an exemplary employee, as it was reported that he beat his wife in July of 1919. (The Atlanta Constitution, 22 July, 1919, p.2). A description of the scene stated that in"Neighborhood in the vicinity of the hall of the Volunteer of America...was startled by screams of a woman last night at midnight." Police responded, Walter was arrested with a charge of disorderly conduct, and later fined.  His wife was also charged, and in addition the prosecutor wanted to know what she was doing with VOA solicited funs. Her response was published in The Atlanta Constitution and is reproduced above. (The Atlanta Constitution, July 27, 1919, p.13

In response to a prosecutor's request for information on how solicited funds for the volunteers of America were spent, Nell Wanderwell prepared this financial report. The Atlanta Constitution, July 25, 1919, p. 13; July 27, 1919, p.13.

So what can I say about Nell at this stage of the story? She was born on May 29, 1896 in Whitlock , Washington -- perhaps! Office government documents provide us with two dates, 1892 and 1896. The 1900 Census lists Nell as 7 years old. In the late 1920s Nell has to go through a naturalization process as former U.S. citizen who gave up her citizenship when she married Walter. At first she lists her date of birth as 1892, then amends that document in 1930 to 1896. The 1930 Census lists her as age 38.  Her 1968 obituary -- death on May 9 -- lists her at age 71. That would place date of birth as 1896.  In the VOA document shown above she signs her name as Nell Clark, so we may assume that she was married previous to that of a marriage to Walter in 1918. 

I have only introduced Nell to you. More to come shortly. She is most mysterious, beginning with her birth date. But when you get wrapped up with Walter Wanderwell, mystery is the rule!