John Tjaarda van Sterkenburg, the original family name, hereafter will be referred to as John Tjaarda, was born in Arnheim, Netherlands on the family estate in North Freisland, Holland on February 4, 1897. He attended high school in Holland and was later educated in England at the Alexander Klemin Engineering College, School of Aeronautics and at the University of London. He became a distributor of Sunbeam cars and from 1914-1917 served as a flight instructor at the Beaty School of Flying in London, England. During World War I, beginning in 1917 until 1919, he was a pilot in the Royal Dutch Flying Corps. Soon afterward, Tony Fokker, an aircraft designer and European Manufacturer, hired him as an engineer to work in various capacities with the Fokker Aircraft Company, Amsterdam, Holland, including assistance in the design of Hispano-Suiza cars. As ground engineer for Royal Dutch Airlines (K.L.M.), 1920 - 1923, John Tjaarda flew the first mail carried between England and Holland. By this time John Tjaarda was already internationally known in the automobile industry as an engineer, mechanic, designer, race driver, pilot, and an advocate for airfoil design for cars. In 1923, he traveled to America on a permanent visa resident passport and became a consulting engineer in Los Angeles, California. His initial contact was with Walter Murphy in the design and manufacture of specialized cars for the Pickfords, Douglas Fairbanks, and others. Between 1925 and 1928 John Tjaarda worked for Duesenburg Motors, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana, Locke and Company of Rochester, N.Y., and the Indian Motorcycle Company of Springfield, Mass. During this period he became know for futuristic designs and development of superior mechanical systems. For Duesenburg he designed the Model J bodies and chassis, and gave a streamlined airfoil look to cars. At Locke and Company, a special body business, John Tjaarda studied and designed special bodies for Pierce-Arrow, Hispano, Stutz, Chrysler, Packard, and other. He did engineering research at Indian Motorcycle Company. In 1927 a legal agreement was formulated creating the Sterkenburg Motor Car Company, a development syndicate. From about 1928 until 1933 John Tjaarda was a design engineer for the General Motors Corporation in the Art and Colour Section headed by Harley J. Earl. In his spare time work on the Sterkenburg was begun, an advanced car which led to the Lincoln Zephyr. The plan fell apart when no financial backing could be obtained and production never started.The situation changed un 1933 when John Tjaarda was hired by the Briggs Manufacturing Company, Detroit, Michigan, as the chief, engineer and research designer at LaBaron, the custom body unit of Briggs. At this point Briggs was the largest independent manufacturer of automobile bodies in the world. It was at Briggs that Edsel Ford set up a special design department with John Tjaarda in charge, as director, to carry out John Tjaarda's own ideas which became focused on the Lincoln Zephyr with prototypes for front and rear engines. The outstanding Zephyr provided advanced styling, aerodynamics, and passenger accommodation in one package. It should be pointed out that the car which became the Volkswagen was essentially the same exterior design as the first experimental rear-engine Lincoln Zephyr, the 1934 Tjaarda, and the 1931 Sterkenburg Dr. Ferdinand Porsche had observed in the United States. As early as 1936 Auto Union viewed the Briggs rear-engine design as the possible basis for an international car project. But these plans were scrapped with the start of World War II. In 1938 John Tjaarda married his secretary Mary E. Robertson, a marriage which continued for 23 years. In the post-war era the genius of John Tjaarda was revealed in his tenacity to look for a better and simpler approach to doing things, such as: using various materials in building automobiles, or in designing a modern automated egg production plant. The numerous automobiles designed by John Tjaarda included the Packard Clipper, the Hupp Skylark, the Nash, Willys-Overland, and many models for Chrysler and Ford. After resigning from Briggs in 1941 John Tjaarda formed John Tjaarda and Associates, industrial designers and engineers. He also served as a war consultant. At his company John Tjaarda designed and engineered both automotive and non-automotive products. In the automotive sector he developed front and rear engine cars, special experimental engines, plastic bodies, transparent plastic tops, independent wheel suspension, fully automatic drive, rubber suspension, cooling systems, plastic rubber seals for extreme temperatures, all steel unit body construction (Lincoln Zephyr), and others. John Tjaarda played a major role in developing gas-turbine engines, plastic unit bodies, hydraulic steering systems, helicopters, cargo planes, household appliances, jet propelled outboard motors, prefabricated homes and independent kitchen and bathroom units. With his futuristic approach to design and engineering many of John Tjaarda's design concepts still exist today. For the proposed North American Motors of California John Tjaarda readied a new line of production automobiles utilizing composite plastic construction. In 1950 John Tjaarda announced plans for the sleek Cortez with a six-cylinder engine which averaged 45 miles per gallon. Stiff competition, however, from the automobile giants, and the Korean War prevented its mass production. While John Tjaarda was ahead of his time, his new ideas and concepts contrasted with a conservative establishment. None of his rear-engined designs reached production. As a result of this situation John Tjaarda became semi-retired and worked in an office from his Grosse Pointe, Michigan home. In 1961 John Tjaarda applied his intellect to the space business, working briefly for Aerojet General, the builder of rocket engines, but was forced into full retirement due to ill-health. John Tjaarda passed away on Tuesday, March 20, 1962 at the age of 65. During his lifetime John Tjaarda had amassed approximately 60 basic design patents - automotive and non-automotive.
Over 200 photographs were removed from the collection and placed in the Special Photograph Collections under entry MS6/John Tjaarda Collection.
Organized into the following series: I. Personal files, 1930-1054; II. Employment history, 1926-1955; III. Business agreements, 1926-1959.
John Tjaarda Collection, National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library.
Finding aid and white index cards available in the National Automotive History Collection and on the World Wide Web.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Personal correspondence relating to the early development of the automobile industry in the United States and the role played by John Tjaarda in that development.
Handwritten drafts. Subject matter relates to John Tjaarda's own contributions to his work at G.M., and contact with Edsel Ford.
Handwritten drafts, typed drafts, drawings, prints, aviation notebook, invitation, magazine clippings.
Patents, notes, newsletters, brochures, magazine clippings. Coverage of patents is primarily 1934 - 1943. Patents presented here are front end construction, cylinder head, cylinder and method of making same.
Typed drafts, drawings, newspaper clippings, ledger, flyer clippings, brochure, relating to the hobbies and contests of John Tjaarda.
Correspondence, drawings, photostats, newspaper clippings, magazine clippings, magazines, magazine articles, photocopies, notes, handwritten drafts, press releases, papers, patents, booklets, flyers, typed drafts. Activities or concepts: independent wheel suspension, rear engine drive, trends, electric car drive, shell construction or unit body construction, turbo cars, ignition systems, flying Jeep, baseline construction.
Correspondence, drawings
Correspondence, letter of introduction.
Correspondence, drawings, typed drafts, papers, charts, magazine clippings, newspaper clippings. John Tjaarda worked in the Art and Colour Division headed by Harley Earl.
Briggs produced automotive and non-automotive products. It manufactured bodies for Ford, Chrysler, and other automobile companies, played a role in the aircraft business, and spread into areas like "Beauty-Ware" bathrooms and kitchens. Mr. Tjaarda and others formed the Mars Motor Company to produce a proposed diesel engine. The file includes correspondence, magazine clippings, graphs, notes, typed drafts, handwritten drafts, photostats, drawings, charts, papers, magazine, magazine articles, photocopy, newspaper clippings, tables, and brochures.
Correspondence, photostats, blueprints, typed drafts, drawings, notes, magazine clippings, handwritten, drafts, newspaper clippings.
Correspondence, brochures, typed drafts, photocopies, notes, handwritten notebook. A close, personal working relationship evolved between Merrill Kistner and John Tjaarda in conjunction with steam iron production.
Correspondence, drawings, photostats, typed drafts, handwritten drafts, statements, agreements, newspaper clippings, blueprints, magazines, magazine articles, photocopies, graphs, notes relating to the beginning of the development of the Sterkenburg, types of design, and funding for the rear-engine prototype automobile.
Correspondence, handwritten drafts, photostats, papers, magazine clippings, drawings, photocopies, charts, tables, newspaper clippings, notes, brochures, and typed drafts relating to automotive, non-automotive, and to military subjects. Correspondence begins on 8 May 1945, followed by "Job Applications" dated 1 Jan 1943. Of the many topics included, approximately sixty are specifically in the form of drawings.
Correspondence, cost summaries, handwritten drafts, typed drafts, drawings, photostats, and magazine clippings. Also included are Willys-Overland, Crosley automobiles and appliances, Nash-Kelvinator, and other automobiles. Information suggests John Tjaarda and Associates was owned by the International Car Company Project.
Correspondence, typed drafts, drawings, photostats, blueprints, and graphs. The main topic is the jet outboard motor.
Correspondence, typed drafts, drawings, photostats, notes, magazine clippings, brochures, press releases, blueprints, and newspaper clippings relating to he plastics in automobiles. John Tjaarda joined in a partnership with Mr. Votypka and Mr. Meadows to form the Technique Composite Company which dealt with the composite plastic bodies of automobiles, that is, the combining of metals and plastics into a composite.
Drawings, photostats, blueprints, and typed drafts. The Dainty Maid Dryer is another topic included.
Typed drafts, magazine clippings, photocopies, graphs, newspaper clippings, papers, maps, drawings, charts, and photostats. Explained is the proposed North American Motors role in implementing new technology and products. The domestic and export systems are analyzed and feature the Cortez. North American Motors of California is a research institute (foundation) which includes North American Motors and the Research and Development Center.
Correspondence, notes, inventory, handwritten drafts, brochures, newspaper clippings, photocopies, drawings, simulated wood body panels, magazine clippings, papers, magazines, and magazine articles relative to prefabricated body panels, the Romeo Plant in Washington, Michigan, station wagon bodies, plastic model sportscar, Rochester Industries, DAF automobiles, and the National Investors Council. One objective of Creative Arts was to market a sports car kit. Creative Arts formed an association with Rochester Industries, a division of Molded Plastics Company.
Blueprints are primarily by John Tjaarda and Associates, unless noted otherwise. Numbers B-1 to B-37 are 12 x 25 inches or smaller
Drawings are primarily by John Tjaarda and Associates unless noted otherwise. Number D-1 to D-11 are 12 x 18 or smaller.
This collection is called "Of Things to Come" by Briggs Manufacturing Company, 1939. Briggs Department of Design Research presents designs and drawings of futuristic products with tested and proven structural or mechanical features.