Drop Box Used during the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race

01

Artifact Overview

Every car in the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup race carried one of these boxes. Cars stopped at two control points during each lap. Officials recorded a car's control point entrance and exit times on papers dropped into the box. At the end of the race, "control time" was subtracted from elapsed time to determine a car's actual racing time.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Box (Container)

Date Made

1904

Location

at Henry Ford Museum in Driven to Win: Racing in America

Object ID

36.623.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of the Long Island Automobile Club.

Material

Copper (Metal)
Leather
Metal

Dimensions

Height: 7.50 in
Width: 2.25 in
Length: 5.625 in

Inscriptions

Inscribed on plate mounted to lid: WM. K. VANDERBILT JR. CUP