Into Dracula territory: a Friday the 13th drive

Dracula, the great Gothic novel by Bram Stoker, dates back to 1897. A fitting thought today, perhaps, on a Friday the 13th. There weren’t many cars around at the time, so it is only logical that the book’s opening scenes see narrator Jonathan Harker travel to Transylvania by coach. And what epic and atmospheric opening scenes they are!

Still, we couldn’t help thinking of them when we saw these three pictures of a car (you tell us what it is) stuck in the mud and being pulled out by oxen. The remarkable thing is that they were taken in 1913 in...yes...Transylvania. That’s where Stoker situated Count Dracula’s castle and Harker’s arduous journey toward it. Had he written his novel some two decades later, this might well have been the scene he imagined.

So who was the man brave enough to explore this untrodden territory by car all those years ago? It was Frederick Gardner Clapp, or so we have learned. He was an American petroleum geologist who is generally considered the first person to earn his living entirely as a consultant in petroleum geology. Clapp went to Romania as a prospector for several American oil companies, just as he traveled to many other countries in the course of his work.

Does that make him the man who opened one of the Earth’s Pandora’s boxes, worthy of Stoker’s plot? One of Clapp’s early associates, Wallace E. Pratt, vice president of the Standard Oil Company, wrote: “Frederick Clapp was a citizen of the world. His life’s work contributed significantly to internationalism. I recognized the value of relationships: the debt that science owes to industry, and the debt that industry owes to science. But on the international stage, governments are deeply indebted to the Frederick Clapps of the world. He was an intense, serious, direct, honest, and powerful man, completely devoid of guile.”

That may well place these pictures, and Clapp’s story, in a different context.

Words: Jeroen Booij, Pictures: University of Wisconsin

Published:

Friday February 13th, 2026

Andrew Kirby

22 February, 19:09

Not Shure but a lot of it looks the same as my 1911 FIAT tipo 54
Mainly the undertray the hand brake leaver the wheels and the front axel
The steering wheel has the same thick rim and it looks like an oval badge
Probably wrong though
If anyone has any parts for a tipo 54 i would love to make contact

Keith

16 February, 17:08

I concede gentlemen! Thank ever so much. Maybe I have been putting way to many little ships in bottles, my eye strain is showing! Keith

Ariejan Bos

16 February, 01:00

I can confirm that the car is actually a Benz of around 1912 . Indeed there is some radiator resemblance with the Overland of the same age, but there are many, many differences. First thing to check is of course the rad filler assembly, which was very different for the Overland with its broad oval tube with lid, whereas we see here the typical broad Benz tube with screw cap. Then there are the mudguards/ fenders: with the Overland having American style fenders, curved at the front with vizor. Also the spring system, the louvres in the bonnet/hood, the wheel hubs, the outside levers are all clearly different from the Overland. So for me there is about zero percent doubt that the car is a Benz.

Stanislav Kirilets

15 February, 17:56

Dear Keith, thank you for the information. Yes, there were Overland models with right-hand drive as late as 1915, but they were rare. The emblem appears to be round, not oval, and the lower part of the radiator doesn't match the Overland. It doesn't match the Mercedes either, but it fits the Benz from the WWI era well. A larger image would be helpful. Even better – to hear other opinions.

Keith Kuehn

14 February, 16:46

You may very well be right Stanislav. I went with Overland, for the reason that if you really strain your eyes and look, the emblem on the radiator appears to be oval shaped as overland was. I had a 13 overland project, and it sure also looks like the radiators are exactly the same. (and Benz looked the same as Overland) Slightly better photos would be a huge help, but so again would more opinions. Come on everyone, join in! Happy Valentines day to each and every old car nut out there from me.....Keith

KEITH KUEHN

13 February, 17:11

I'm going to go with Overland........

Stanislav Kirilets

13 February, 12:15

The car is Benz

Into Dracula territory: a Friday the 13th drive

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