Vanderbilt Cup Races

On Friday, October 7, 1904, the day before the first Vanderbilt Cup Race, superintendents and engineers of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers (A.L.A.M.) gathered for a 65-mile "meet" covering Manhattan, Bronx and Westchester. At 10:00 AM, 17 cars lined up in front of the Locomobile headquarters, at 76 Street and Broadway in Manhattan. One A.L.A.M. member documented the meet and the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race by taking 65 photographs. These eight, previously unpublished, images were among the 65 found in a photo scrapbook. (Remember to click on the photo to enlarge it.)

An A.L.A.M. car parked near the Westbury grandstand. Can anyone identify the make? The A.LA.M. cars at the meet included; a Berg, Cadillac, Columbia, Haynes, Locomobile, Franklin, Peerless, Pierce, Packard, Winton, Thomas, Knox and Stevens-Duryea.

March 29, 2010 Update: Al Velocci noted that the registration number for the car was placed on the side headlight. It looks like 13233. Is there any way to identify the owner based on this registration #?

William K. Vanderbilt Jr. (left) acting as the race referee and Peter Prunty (right), the race announcer. Check out the size of Prunty's megaphone.

High society women made up a good portion of the spectators seated in the 1904 grandstand. The bearded gentleman (second from the right) was C. Gray Dinsmore, owner of the #9 Mercedes.

High fashion was the dress code for the race.

Another view of the grandstand spectators. Note that every single man in the photo was wearing a cap or derby.

The grandstand had a capacity for 550 people.

The officials/press stand was directly across from the grandstand. Race commissioner James Breese can be seen standing second from the right.

Links to other photos from the 1904 A.L.A.M. scrapbook:

- #10 Fiat

-Crowd scene, New York Harbor, and the winning #7 Panhard

Check back on VanderbiltCupRaces.com for more images from this unique piece of Vanderbilia.