Vanderbilt Cup Races

The audience thourougly enjoyed the presentation by Bruce Adams, Corresponding Secretary of the Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society.

On display was the collection of racing memorabilia owned by Harry Bell. Harry purchased these items when he purchased a Maine house and its contents over 30 years agao.

Vanderbilt Cup Race Brassards (armbands)

Harry's collection includes four rare Vanderbilt Cup Race brassards (armbands) worn by the race officials. The two armands on the left were worn by the judge of the start and finish for the 1905 American Elimination Trial and the judge of the weighing-in for the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Judges for the 1905 weighin-in were A.L. Riker, E.T. Birdsall, R. H. White and S.A. Miles.

Harry's armbands on the left were made for the judge of the weighing-In for the 1905  American Elimination Trial and the judge of weighing for the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race. The 1906 judges of weighing were S.A. Miles, E.T. Birdsall, Henry Ford, and George Dupuy. If you assume the four armbands belonged to one person, the original owner was likely E.T. Birdsall or S.A. Miles

1905 Contestant Ribbon

 This may be the rarest Vanderbilia in Harry's collection; a silk ribbon made for a "contestant" in the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race by The Whitehead & Hoag Co.  of Neward, New Jersey.

Harry Bell with Ellyn Okvist who is proudly wearing the Vanderbilt Cup Race contestant ribbon.

1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race Banquet Gold Watch Fobs

Four days after the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race, the New York Press Club celebrated the competitors of the race at a dinner banquet at their headquarters at 116 Nassau Street, Manhattan

The gold watch fobs were presented to all the banquet guests. It reads:

Souvenir

Banquet Tendered the Competitors in the Vanderbilt Road Race

The reverse side of the watch fob reads:

At the

New York Press Club, Organized, December 4, 1872

Oct. 18, 1905

Dieges & Clust

Dieges & Clust were jewelers established in 1898 and well-known for their medals including: The Spanis-American War Medal, the 1904 Olympic Medal,  and the Titanic-Carpathia medals commissioned by the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown.

Images from the Howard Kroplick Collection

This is the menu cover for the evening banquet which was hosted by W. J. "Senator" Morgan.

Each course on the menu was named for a Vanderbilt Cup Race celebrity:

Hemery Blue Points

Lanicia Olives

Tracy Celery

Heath Sauterne

Szisz Sweetbreads

Keene Salad

Dingley Ice Cream

Lytle Cigars

Sartori Cigarettes

The inside back cover of the menu had space for autographs.

The only known photograph of the banquet. Can you identify anyone?