Founded in 1896 by Frank Ballou Stearns, the F.B. Stearns Company set out to “build a motorcar which would beat the world.” Stearns enlisted the most skilled machinists for the construction of his automobiles and declared them “The Ultimate Car.” Upon completion, each Stearns was tested at speed on country roads surrounding the Cleveland, Ohio, factory, typically piloted by Frank Stearns himself.

Introduced in 1907, the Type 30/60, is widely regarded as Stearns’ finest hour. The 533 cid L-head, four-cylinder engine was extremely refined among its contemporaries, incorporating ball bearings for all rotating shafts, including the offset crankshaft. In fact, the car’s entire driveline and chassis utilized ball bearings, allowing the 30/60 to approach its 80 mph top speed. The 30/60 delivered power to the rear axle by chain drive, which Stearns maintained was superior to shaft drive and stressed its reliability. Stearns’ stock models were extremely successful in racing venues, earning 1st Place finishes at the Giants Despair and Briarcliff hill climbs, often piloted by famed driver Barney Oldfield.

This 1910 Stearns 30/60 Touring, chassis 2027, was sold new to Marcus Daly II of Anaconda, Montana, in 1910, clothed in open touring coachwork. A copy of a local newspaper article recounts Daly’s early exploits with the Stearns: “The Stearns was ‘The Car’ at the time the Dalys brought it into the valley and it is believed it was the car Marcus Daly II successfully raced against Valley Merc Hudson at the county fair in 1910.”

In January 1915, Daly’s chauffeur was driving the Stearns through Anaconda, when the front axle broke while rounding a bend. This caused the touring car to roll. He walked away unscathed, but the Stearns’ original touring coachwork was damaged. The car was stored for the next 10 years until Daly’s mother donated it to the local fire department. The firemen converted the car, fitting fire tender bodywork, and it served the department on a regular basis until 1940. When the department finally decided to part with the Stearns in 1953, Mr. R. Stanley Rhees of Boise Idaho became the car’s next owner.

Casino magnate William F. Harrah amassed one of the greatest early automobile collections beginning in 1948. At its peak, the collection contained over 1,400 of the world’s most historically significant cars. Mr. Harrah adored Stearns automobiles of this period; in fact, his devotion to the marque was so extensive that he owned four of the six 30/60s extant. He acquired this car from Mr. Rhees in November 1971. The Stearns was still fitted with its fire tender bodywork, as evidenced by photographs on file, but thanks to another 30/60 Stearns (shaft drive), owned by Harrah, with an original factory Stearns five-passenger body, this car was returned to its original, as-delivered configuration. The original Stearns touring body from the other car was easily bolted directly onto this chassis.

Upon the completion of this restoration in 1975, Mr. Harrah took the time to write a personal letter to Mr. Rhees saying, “Restoration has been completed on the Stearns, we removed the firetruck body and fitted an original 1910 Stearns touring body. The car is a valued addition to the Collection.”

Following Mr. Harrah’s death in 1978, there was a series of “Harrah’s Auctions,” one of which took place in September 1985. The consignor acquired this Stearns at that sale. During his 38 years of ownership, the consignor has driven the 30/60 on multiple HCCA Modoc Tours and a Brass Era summit tour.

The Stearns received a detailed restoration by Stewart Laidlaw, during which he traveled to the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Ohio – the museum still possesses an original Stearns factory paint swatch of the color Stearns Gray. Using this swatch, the Tourer was appropriately refinished in Stearns Gray over an interior trimmed with Connaught leather – the exact material the Stearns factory used in 1910.

The Stearns was exhibited at the prestigious 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it was awarded First in the A-1 Antique Class against other top Brass Era automobiles, as well as the Ironstone Concours d’Elegance, where it won Best of Show.

With the last public sale of this Stearns 30/60 being in 1985, and a mere six original examples extant, the chance to acquire an example such as this – a high-horsepower chain-driven American sporting automobile retaining factory coachwork – is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.