Photograph Album, 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race

THF229713 / Photograph Album, 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race
01

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

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

92.1.1774.332

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

02

Related Content

  • Official Program, Score Card and Guide of the Third International Vanderbilt Cup Race, 1906
    Set

    The 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.