Letter from R. D. Merrill to Barney Oldfield, January 18, 1934

Summary

R. D. Merrill owned a lightweight bicycle. Each night he stored it at his Toledo, Ohio, hotel, where he was a tenant in the 1890s. Merrill was unaware, however, that a teenaged bellhop "borrowed" the two-wheeler at night to train -- it was always returned. The young hotel worker -- Barney Oldfield -- later turned his passion for speed to race cars and became an automobile racing legend.

Artifact

Letter (Correspondence)

Date Made

18 January 1934

Subject Date

18 January 1934

Creators

Merrill, Richard Dwight, b. 1869

Place of Creation

United States, Washington, Seattle

Creator Notes

Letter written by Richard Dwight (R.D.) Merrill of Seattle, Washington to Barney Oldfield, Detroit, Michigan

Object ID

2005.108.17

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Typewriting

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 11 in

Width: 8.5 in

Inscriptions

Typed letter to Barney Oldfield / Chrysler Automobile Co., / Detroit, Michigan / Letterhead from: R. D. Merrill / 919 White Building / Seattle / Body of letter: Enclosed...pictures of you and your "Green Dragon" taken in Seattle / ...younger than you are today. / ... Was this one of Henry Field's (sic) cars / which you drove in the early days...(book) entitled "The American Procession? /... (they) omitted a picture of you on my bicycle. / Yours very truly, / (signed) R. D. Merrill