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Henry Brewster III, a member of New
England’s Brewster
coachbuilding family, was born on April 30, 1891 in Paris,
Île-de-France,
France to Henry Draper and Elise (Mayer) Brewster. His grandfather
Henry and
great uncle James B. Brewster were the sons of James Brewster, the
founder of
the world’s most famous coachbuilding family. For close to 200 years,
the Brewster
name has been associated with the finest carriages and automobile
bodies that
money could buy. There were over a half-dozen different firms with
Brewster in
their title, and they were all related in one way or another to James
Brewster,
a Connecticut native whose roots went deep into American history.
Our subject’s uncle, William Brewster,
headed Brewster &
Co. during the teens and twenties and taught his nephew the family
business. In
1925 Henry Brewster III took a position as designer with Charles
Schutte, a highly-regarded
automobile body builder who operated a Manhattan branch at West End
Ave. and a
manufacturing plant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In 1927 Brewster and Harry F. Holbrook, the
founder and
former owner of Holbrook Co., announced the formation of the H. F.
Holbrook-Henry Brewster Corporation. The new firm would produce
high-end custom
bodies in the former Blue Ribbon Body Co. plant located in Bridgeport,
Connecticut. Holbrook served as the firm’s salesman while Brewster, who
had
some experience in the business, served as designer and body engineer.
They
built a striking Mercedes-Benz Town Car that appeared on the
Mercedes-Benz
stand at that fall’s New York Auto Salon and are also known to have
bodied a
Bugatti.
Both the Holbrook Co. and Brewster & Co.
strongly
objected to the new firm’s presence at the Salon as they felt it
created
unnecessary confusion with their existing clients. An illustration of a
"Holbrook-Brewster" Mercedes-Benz All-Weather Cabriolet appeared in
the November 1927 issue of Spur magazine (an equestrian magazine
published by
Country Life). It was a beautiful vehicle was painted black and yellow
and
featured a buffed aluminum hood with tan broadcloth upholstery. 1927
was not
the best time to be entering the coachbuilding business (see Waterhouse
&
Co.) and the new firm failed to attract enough orders to stay solvent.
Only
8-10 custom bodies emerged from the Bridgeport plant in their first
year
although they had some success with their well-built funeral coaches.
By the
end of 1928, the H.F. Holbrook-Henry Brewster Corp. had closed its
doors for
good.
The 1930 US census lists him in Bridgeport,
Conn., his
occupation, designer for a motor co. It also notes a substantial age
discrepancy between Henry (38yo) and his wife Rose Bomberger (60yo)
Brewster.
His listings in the Bridgeport directories (at 344 Brewster St.) give
his
occupation as designer for automobile co. and consulting engineer. The
1940 US Census
lists him in Allentown, Pa. as a draftsman for a Truck Corp. (Mack) –
his wife Rose
remains listed in Bridgeport at the time.
Brewster passed away on September 2, 1943.
Many years later coachbuilding authority Hugo
Pfau asked Holbrook about the Brewster partnership and his activities
during the First World War. Holbrook replied that he had gone back to
England, his native country, to serve with the Royal Air Force during
the war. The Brewster partnership was still fresh in his mind and he
wouldn’t elaborate on the details.
© 2004 Mark Theobald - Coachbuilt.com
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