George Robertson in the Winning Locomobile #16 at the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race
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Artifact Overview
Driver George Robertson and riding mechanic Glenn Ethridge won the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup with a 1906 Locomobile. It was the first American-built car to win America's first great automobile race. The Locomobile competed while wearing number 16, and it's been known as "Old 16" ever since.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Negative (Photograph)
Subject Date
24 October 1908
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
92.1.1774.N.VBLT-34C
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
Inscriptions
written on negative sleeve:
1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race / "Robertson in Winning Locomobile"
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Related Artifacts
Artifact1906 Locomobile "Old 16" Race Car
In 1908, driver George Robertson and mechanician Glenn Ethridge took this car to victory in the Vanderbilt Cup, America's first great automobile race. It marked the first time an American-built car won a major international road-circuit race. The Locomobile competed while wearing number 16, and it's been known as "Old 16" ever since.
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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.