Photograph Album, 1906 Elimination and Vanderbilt Cup Races
THF229701 / Photograph Album, 1906 Elimination and Vanderbilt Cup Races
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Artifact Overview
The Vanderbilt Cup, held on New York's Long Island from 1904 to 1910, was America's first internationally prominent automobile race. William K. Vanderbilt, Jr., a wealthy railroad heir, organized the competition over public roads. European cars dominated the event's first years. This photo album documents the 1906 race, won by French driver Louis Wagner in a French-built Darracq.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Photograph album
Subject Date
1906
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
92.1.1774.331
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of the Family of Henry Austin Clark, Jr.
Dimensions
Height: 11.75 in
Width: 10 in
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Related Content
SetThe Vanderbilt Cup
- 34 Artifacts
America's earliest auto races were small-time contests. Wealthy enthusiast William K. Vanderbilt, Jr., thought the United States needed a big, signature event. Starting in 1904, he organized an annual road race through Long Island, New York, that attracted top American and European drivers and manufacturers. When a Connecticut-built Locomobile won the Vanderbilt Cup in 1908, it helped prove that America's automotive industry had arrived.