Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: The 1904 Mercedes Sport Touring purchased by Henry Austin Clark, Jr, for $500 in 1950
The Walter McCarthy Archives challenged you to solve this weekend's Mystery Foto.
Answers to the Mystery Foto questions
Identify:
- The year, manufacturer and model of the automobile
1904 Mercedes 40/50 HP Sport Touring with coachwork by Frederick R. Wood & Sons
- The known owners of the automobile
Henry Austin Clark, Jr. , William J. Hoffman, Bill Harrah and Barry Hon and Otis Chandler.
Link the Mystery Foto to the Vanderbilt Cup Races.
The gentleman viewing the automobile in 1950 is Joe Tracy, veteran driver in the 1904, 1905 and 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Races. Tracy was authenticating the Mercedes for Henry Austin Clark, Jr. before Clark purchased it for $500.
The most recent purchase price of the Mystery auto.
This automobile sold for $2.255 million at the Otis Chandler Auctions held by Gooding & Company in 2006.
Comments (3):
Congrats to Steve Lucas and Dick Gorman for identifying Joe Tracy.
Kudos to Dick Gorman for totally identifying the Mystery Foto.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Close-Ups
Joe Tracy viewing the Mercedes
With Joe Tracy's "thumbs-up", Austin Clark purchased the car for $500 (equivalent to $4,500 today) and brought it back to the Long Island Automotive Museum in Southampton.
Restoration by Bill Hoffman
Soon after arriving at the museum, Clark sold the car to his friend Bill Hoffman for the same $500. Walter McCarthy remembers, "Austin often sold cars to friends for what he paid. His favorite was a 1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost that he paid $87 for and a bottle of whisky. Sold it to a friend years later for $87 and a bottle of whisky, but said he got a better bottle of whisky!" Walter McCarthy also commented; "Bill restored it the first time and used it a lot. Even drove on the New York State Thruway with it as it would go 55-60 mph with no trouble."
In this June 10, 1967 letter to Stan Pratt, Bill Hoffman provided details on the restoration. Courtesy of the Walter McCarthy Archives.
2003 RM Auction
Los Angeles Times owner Otis Chandler purchased the Mercedes at the 2003 RM Arizona Auction for $770,000.
2006 Gooding & Company Auction
After the death of Otis Chandler, the Mercedes was sold for $2.255 million.
Comments
Its a 1906-1926 Rolls Royce 40/50 “Silver Ghost”
Mystery Foto #20…The car is a 1904 Sports Touring Mercedes. Owners included Henry Austin Clark, Bill Hoffman, William Harrah, Barry Hon, Otis Chandler and then the car went up for auction on October 21, 2006 and sold for $2.255 million, that being the most recent purchase price. We can link this photo to the Vanderbilt Cup Races because Vanderbilt Cup driver Joe Tracy advised Henry Austin Clark on the purchase of this vehicle back in 1950. Joe is seen here on the right side in the main photo.
Just some guesses this week. That sure looks like Joe Tracy on the right side of the photo. If that’s true, then maybe the car is a Locomobile, possibly a 1906 Touring Model. Could be one of the owners was Henry Austin Clark, Jr. That’s all I’ve got.
Great photos. Love how Tracy closely inspects the ‘04 Mercedes in 1950, the same auto he once observed in 1904, 45 years earlier. What better inspector to validate the authenticity of the car! Equally amazing is how this car traveled through time with its present restoration. Great post
Unbelievable long wheelbase! Some difficulty when turning?