history

Minneapolis City Directories of 1900 listed the firm of Valentine Bros. as “Machinists and Electricians.” During the next couple of years the city directories stated them to be “general machinists and manufacturers of Imperial gasoline motors.” Almost from its premier issue of June, 1903, Gas Power carried advertisements for the Imperial horizontal engine. In addition to its attractive sideshaft design, the Imperial featured a constant level fuel mixer. For the convenience of the operator, a glass reservoir above the mixer was provided. In case of engine trouble, it could thus be easily determinded whethere the problem involved a lack of fuel. The horizontal engine illustrated here was apparently built in sizes ranging form 3 to 10 horsepower.