Korn "Meteor" Gas-Powered Racing Tether Car, 1939-1940
THF159677 / Korn "Meteor" Gas-Powered Racing Tether Car, 1939-1940
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Artifact Overview
Tether cars, gas-powered model race cars, were popular in the 1930s and 1940s. They were raced individually while tethered to a central pivot, or against each other on a scaled-down board track. B.B. Korn's models were some of the most detailed tether cars on the market. Cars like this "Meteor" were sold fully assembled.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Model car
Date Made
1939-1940
Place of Creation
Creator Notes
Manufactured by B.B. (Barney) Korn and the B.B. Korn Specialty Manufacturing Co. in Los Angeles, California.
Location
at Henry Ford Museum in Driven to Win: Racing in America
Object ID
2013.47.102
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Eric Zausner and the E-Z Spindizzy Foundation.
Material
Aluminum (Metal)
Bronze (Metal)
Rubber (Material)
Plexiglas (TM)
Paint (Coating)
Steel (Alloy)
Dimensions
Height: 7.5 in
Width: 8.5 in
Length: 18.25 in
Weight: 6.5 lb
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Related Content
SetBarney Korn: Tether Car Craftsman
- 14 Artifacts
Tether cars, gas-powered model race cars, were popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Few tether car makers matched the skill of Barney Korn. His remarkably detailed and largely hand-built models stood apart from mass produced units by larger manufacturers. Korn's models weren't big sellers – they were too slow for serious racers and too expensive for amateurs – but modern collectors value them for their beauty and rarity.
articleBarney Korn: Tether Car Craftsman
Explore the story of Barney Korn, the Leonardo da Vinci of the model cars known as tether cars or spindizzies, raced by adults in the 1930s and 1940s.