In 1884 Jacob Rauch and Charles Lang established a business building carriages in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1903 they opened a franchise for Buffalo Electric to sell its automobiles. Two years later they ventured into the market with an electric car of their own, an open Stanhope, soon joined by coupes and depot wagons. By 1908 they were building 500 cars a year but could have sold more. In 1915, however, when electric car sales began to wane, they merged with the Baker Motor Vehicle Company, neighboring maker of the Baker Electric, to form Baker R&L Company. From 1917, all cars were sold under the Rauch & Lang name. They were especially well-constructed, with upright, formal, carriage-like styling typical of the period. The cars had a wonderful charm and operated in near-total silence, with the squeak of their wheels the only sound while underway.

Baker R&L Company retained a good share of the electric vehicle market and would diversify into subcontracting for other automakers, including building the Owen Magnetic car for Raymond and Ralph Owen from 1916 to 1919, and opening a coachwork division that supplied bodies to Peerless, Ruxton, Stanley, and Stearns.

The Electric BX-7 offered here was acquired from The Harrah Automobile Collection in the early 1990s. Restored to a high standard, it is finished in a lovely, period color scheme of cream over black with gold striping, a hue that perfectly matches the natural-colored rubber of its tires, which are mounted to color-matched wheels. Well cherished under current ownership, it has been upgraded to modern batteries for ease of operation and reliability.

To the casual enthusiast it may come as a surprise that the electric automobile predates today’s EVs by a century, with numerous American manufacturers having offered battery-powered cars from the 1900s to the 1930s. This beautifully restored Electric BX-7, from one of the most respected EV makers of the period, will surely surprise and delight onlookers wherever its next caretaker may take it, with the conversation of awestruck occupants the only sounds filling its sumptuous cabin.