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- 1936 Ford 3 Window Couple in All American Hell Drivers Auto Thrill Show, 1948 - "Lucky" Lee Lott (1915-2000) performed circus acrobatics and high dives before he formed the Hell Drivers in 1935. Lott's team of stunt drivers toured North and South America jumping, flipping, or otherwise destroying thousands of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Lott retired in 1955, keeping a promise to his mother that he would quit the risky business when he turned 40.
- 1948
- Collections - Artifact
1936 Ford 3 Window Couple in All American Hell Drivers Auto Thrill Show, 1948
"Lucky" Lee Lott (1915-2000) performed circus acrobatics and high dives before he formed the Hell Drivers in 1935. Lott's team of stunt drivers toured North and South America jumping, flipping, or otherwise destroying thousands of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Lott retired in 1955, keeping a promise to his mother that he would quit the risky business when he turned 40.
- All American Hell Drivers Car Crashing into Wrecks in Auto Thrill Show, 1948 - "Lucky" Lee Lott (1915-2000) performed circus acrobatics and high dives before he formed the Hell Drivers in 1935. Lott's team of stunt drivers toured North and South America jumping, flipping, or otherwise destroying thousands of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Lott retired in 1955, keeping a promise to his mother that he would quit the risky business when he turned 40.
- August 08, 1948
- Collections - Artifact
All American Hell Drivers Car Crashing into Wrecks in Auto Thrill Show, 1948
"Lucky" Lee Lott (1915-2000) performed circus acrobatics and high dives before he formed the Hell Drivers in 1935. Lott's team of stunt drivers toured North and South America jumping, flipping, or otherwise destroying thousands of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Lott retired in 1955, keeping a promise to his mother that he would quit the risky business when he turned 40.
- "Jimmie Lynch Death Dodgers, World's Greatest Daredevils," circa 1950 - Jimmie Lynch, automobile daredevil and stunt car performer, began his career in the 1930s. He and his troop of Death Dodgers toured the country crashing cars and entertaining the public. Though rollovers, crashes and stunts were basic elements of daredevil thrill shows, Lynch also promoted automobile safety. He performed tests for the National Safety Council and educated the public on how and <em>how not</em> to drive.
- circa 1950
- Collections - Artifact
"Jimmie Lynch Death Dodgers, World's Greatest Daredevils," circa 1950
Jimmie Lynch, automobile daredevil and stunt car performer, began his career in the 1930s. He and his troop of Death Dodgers toured the country crashing cars and entertaining the public. Though rollovers, crashes and stunts were basic elements of daredevil thrill shows, Lynch also promoted automobile safety. He performed tests for the National Safety Council and educated the public on how and how not to drive.
- Circus Poster, Arlington & Beckmann's Oklahoma Wild West Ranch, "Auto Polo," 1913 - In the late nineteenth century, printers developed a lithograph method that produced brightly colored posters. In advance of a circus coming to town, general agents glued these eye-catching generic posters to building walls, fences, and in window displays. To announce when and where the performances would happen, local printers sometimes provided letterpress paper date strips to paste onto the posters' lower margin.
- 1913
- Collections - Artifact
Circus Poster, Arlington & Beckmann's Oklahoma Wild West Ranch, "Auto Polo," 1913
In the late nineteenth century, printers developed a lithograph method that produced brightly colored posters. In advance of a circus coming to town, general agents glued these eye-catching generic posters to building walls, fences, and in window displays. To announce when and where the performances would happen, local printers sometimes provided letterpress paper date strips to paste onto the posters' lower margin.
- Car Climbs Difficult Flight of Steps, July 1911 -
- July 01, 1911
- Collections - Artifact
Car Climbs Difficult Flight of Steps, July 1911
- Ford Model T Automobile Balancing on a Teeter at the 1910 Seattle State Fair - At the 1910 Seattle State Fair, a Ford dealer demonstrated the Model T's ease of operation by balancing one on a teeter, or seesaw. It must have required some dexterous pedalwork to gently rock the car using the left pedal (low and high forward gear) and the middle pedal (reverse). Stunts like this were part of Ford's innovative advertising strategy.
- September 15, 1910
- Collections - Artifact
Ford Model T Automobile Balancing on a Teeter at the 1910 Seattle State Fair
At the 1910 Seattle State Fair, a Ford dealer demonstrated the Model T's ease of operation by balancing one on a teeter, or seesaw. It must have required some dexterous pedalwork to gently rock the car using the left pedal (low and high forward gear) and the middle pedal (reverse). Stunts like this were part of Ford's innovative advertising strategy.
- 1906 Ford Model K Touring Car Running Over a Man as a Stunt, 1906-1907 - Ford Motor Company introduced its Model K in 1906. The upscale, six-cylinder car was larger and -- at $2,500 -- considerably more expensive than the company's four-cylinder Model N launched the same year. Production of the Model K ended in 1908 with the arrival of the Model T. Affordable cars for the mass market were Ford's future.
- 1906-1907
- Collections - Artifact
1906 Ford Model K Touring Car Running Over a Man as a Stunt, 1906-1907
Ford Motor Company introduced its Model K in 1906. The upscale, six-cylinder car was larger and -- at $2,500 -- considerably more expensive than the company's four-cylinder Model N launched the same year. Production of the Model K ended in 1908 with the arrival of the Model T. Affordable cars for the mass market were Ford's future.
- "How a French Dealer Advertises," 1909 -
- 1909
- Collections - Artifact
"How a French Dealer Advertises," 1909
- 1940 Ford Tudor Sedan in All American Hell Drivers Auto Thrill Show, 1948 - "Lucky" Lee Lott (1915-2000) performed circus acrobatics and high dives before he formed the Hell Drivers in 1935. Lott's team of stunt drivers toured North and South America jumping, flipping, or otherwise destroying thousands of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Lott retired in 1955, keeping a promise to his mother that he would quit the risky business when he turned 40.
- July 11, 1948
- Collections - Artifact
1940 Ford Tudor Sedan in All American Hell Drivers Auto Thrill Show, 1948
"Lucky" Lee Lott (1915-2000) performed circus acrobatics and high dives before he formed the Hell Drivers in 1935. Lott's team of stunt drivers toured North and South America jumping, flipping, or otherwise destroying thousands of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Lott retired in 1955, keeping a promise to his mother that he would quit the risky business when he turned 40.
- 1903 Cadillac Advertisement, "The Cadillac Up the Steps of the National Capitol" - Early automakers sometimes staged elaborate demonstrations of their vehicles' abilities, both to reassure hesitant customers and to generate publicity. If headlines were the goal, then the more outlandish the stunt the better. Cadillac proved the power and prowess of its 1903 runabout by driving one up the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
- 1903
- Collections - Artifact
1903 Cadillac Advertisement, "The Cadillac Up the Steps of the National Capitol"
Early automakers sometimes staged elaborate demonstrations of their vehicles' abilities, both to reassure hesitant customers and to generate publicity. If headlines were the goal, then the more outlandish the stunt the better. Cadillac proved the power and prowess of its 1903 runabout by driving one up the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.