The William K. Vanderbilt Challenge Cup, circa 1904
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Artifact Overview
Starting in 1904, William K. Vanderbilt, Jr., organized an annual automobile race through Long Island, New York. For the grand prize, Vanderbilt commissioned a silver cup from Tiffany & Company. The trophy was inscribed with winners' names and included an image of Vanderbilt himself at the wheel of his Mercedes. He gifted the cup to the Smithsonian in 1934.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Negative (Photograph)
Subject Date
circa 1904
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
92.1.1774.N.V-04-00
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of the Family of Henry Austin Clark, Jr.
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 5 in
Width: 4.25 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.