Founded by Henry Leland and Robert Faulconer, the Cadillac Automobile Co. of Detroit completed its first car in October 1902. The firm's superior manufacturing technology - precise gear cutting was Leland and Faulconer's specialty - soon established it as the foremost builder of quality cars in the United States. The company was formed using funds supplied by two of Henry Ford's ex-backers and took its name from Le Sieur Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the great French 17th-century explorer who founded Detroit in 1701.

William Metzger was the driving force behind the first auto show in Detroit in 1899, and he was a convincing promoter. He was provided with three Cadillacs, which had been produced at the Leland & Faulconer factory, for display at the 1903 New York Auto Show. He declared the Cadillac "sold out" after accepting as many as 2,286 orders, each with a $10 deposit. Backing up Metzger's promotional abilities was a Cadillac that offered refinement in an era when many cars looked like a machine shop exercise.

An excellent performer by the standards of the day, the Cadillac's 98-cid, single-cylinder engine ("Little Hercules") was mounted on the left beneath the front seat and drove through a two-speed-plus-reverse planetary transmission by chain drive to the rear axle. The car gained a reputation for reliability, ease, economy of maintenance, and remarkable pulling and climbing capability. Period publicity shots show Cadillacs pulling heavily-loaded wagons up slopes and climbing the steps of public buildings. Approximately 1,800 Cadillacs of this type were built. The car being offered is the Model A Runabout Rear Entry Tonneau. Early brass cars, those built before 1915, have attracted increasing interest of late. Once thought to be relics from our fathers, or in some cases our grandfathers, they are appealing to a new generation of hobbyists who find them mechanically interesting and intriguing to drive.