CHIQUITA'S CARRIAGE

The Littlest Auto Ever Built Will Be Seen in Buffalo This Summer

Buffalo Evening News - June 1, 1901

The most unique and at the same time the smallest automobile ever built will become a common sight on the streets of Buffalo before the summer is over.

The Jenkins Automobile Company of Washington have almost completed the machine. It has been made at the order of Chiquita, the tiny Cuban atom of humanity, who is one of the Pan-American Midway attractions - in fact, she has already become the official Pan-American mascot.

The machine is a splendid specimen of the carriage maker's skill, fitted with electric lights and electric gong. It is a Victoria, with top, and upholstered in solid leather. The body is painted a dark green, with running gear of bright red, with nickel-plated wheels and pneumatic tires 12 inches in diameter. In fact, it is an exact miniature of a full-grown electric Victoria, with everything complete down to the tiny gong and cordcase. With the top up it does not come up to an ordinary man's elbow.

It is, to look at it, a toy or model Victoria of the style that has become so popular, and it is easily the most graceful looking of all the machines so far turned out. It is perfect in all its appointments, even to the most minute details. In order that the chauffeur may be in keeping with the machine, Mr. Frank C. Bostock, who controls the destinies of the little lady, has secured a negro dwarf and is having him taught how to handle the vehicle.

Chiquit's automobile is operated by electricity, and with the batteries charged and in position weighs 225 pounds and can run for 15 hours at an average speed of 10 miles an hour. It is not much larger than an ordinary baby carriage. The seat is 18 inches long and the forward wheels with pneumatic tires are 8 inches, while the rear wheels are 12 inches in diameter.

The lacquer work and general finish of this dainty little affair is of the very best workmanship, and with its mistress and her little colored chauffeur it cannot help but make a very attractive appearance on the city streets.