Vanderbilt Cup Races

Additional documentation - this NY Times article from Nov. 6, 1908 describes the route to be taken by Robertson from the Locomobile showroom in NY to Bridgeport, with several stops along the way.  The article in my previous response was from the Bridgeport Sunday Herald of November 1, 1908.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved; Old 16 Locomobile celebrating the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race victory in Bridgeport

The 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race winner, George Robertson and his Locomobile.
The celebration was held to honor the birthplace of the Locomobile, Bridgeport, CT.
Event was held on Main Street on November 9, 1908 which was closed to traffic in order to have Robertson perform speed tests for the crowd. 
Afterwards a dinner was given at the Hotel Stratfield.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved; Old 16 Locomobile celebrating the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race victory in Bridgeport

I came to know of him from his column, and we had some email exchanges several years ago.  He was very nice, and kind of concentrated on on helping people see common sense in what they were doing with collectible cars.  When he stopped his column, I wondered what was wrong.  He’ll be missed way beyond Long Island.

From Update: Sad News: Steve Linden, collectible car expert, Classic Car Doctor columnist, dies at 65

Mystery Foto #19… The car is the one and only Old 16 Locomobile racer as driven by George Robertson. And the crowd was there to celebrate Robertson’s victory of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race in that car. They were in the city of Bridgeport CT, home of the Locomobile company, all this happening around November 9, 1908. After this event the driver and team went to dinner at The Stratfield Hotel along with more than 300 business and community leaders.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved; Old 16 Locomobile celebrating the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race victory in Bridgeport

Art, Mike, Frank-
We should pick a spot and all meetup for a Motor Parkway exploration day!

From Kleiner's Korner: A Return to the Long Island Motor Parkway (Part 2)

great article thanks

From Greg O's Garage: From the Helck Family Collection: Strange and Unusual Cars #2-1920s Rumpler

This is the “Old 16” Locomobile driven by George Robertson.  The trolley tracks in the street reminds me of Philadelphia, so I’m going to say that this was a celebratory drive in that city regarding his win on October 8th, 1908 in the Fairmount race.  As for the Kudos question:  I’m throwing out a guess that maybe the after party/dinner they went to was at the Clover Club in the Bellevue-Stratford hotel.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved; Old 16 Locomobile celebrating the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race victory in Bridgeport

Great 2023 update of the Motor Parkway section by Maxess Rd, Art. Please let me know when you’ll be exploring more LIMP in the future. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

From Kleiner's Korner: A Return to the Long Island Motor Parkway (Part 2)

Foley’s Mercer Raceabout is now offered for sale at August 18-19, 2023, Gooding & Co’s Pebble Beach Auction. Mr. Foley passed a few months ago.

From Three Vanderbilt Cup Race Winners Together in 1936

Must have been quite a sight, even then nothing looked like it.

From Greg O's Garage: From the Helck Family Collection: Strange and Unusual Cars #2-1920s Rumpler

That’s George Robertson driving “Old 16”, the Locomobile racer that won the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup. A special victory celebration commemorating the race was held on the streets of Bridgeport, CT, home of the Locomobile factory, on November 9, 1908. Later that evening, Robertson and his team and other other invited guests dined at the Stratfield Hotel, also in Bridgeport.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved; Old 16 Locomobile celebrating the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race victory in Bridgeport

Fascinating history.  And a reminder that so much of what ends up in production cars was first worked out in race cars, something the big 3 forgot, at least for a few years.

From Ford.com: Falcon vs Ferrari? Yes!- The Holman-Moody Challenger III

It has been years since I explored over there.  But heading east, there used to be some decent remnants of the pavement and (as a kid) what I called the concrete sidewalks.

From Kleiner's Korner: A Return to the Long Island Motor Parkway (Part 2)

Hi Art! Let me know when you’ll be on Long Island. Steve Lucas and I will join you to explore more sites.

From Kleiner's Korner: A Return to the Long Island Motor Parkway (Part 2)

I hope you don’t mind me mentioning that we have a book available on the race if anyone is interested.
https://rareandunique.media/product/the-1902-dedietrich-the-paris-vienna-race/

From Mystery Friday Foto #10 Solved: Willie K. in the 1902 Paris to Vienna Race in his Mors

Re: “It is amazing how active the sales of American cars were in England and Europe pre WWII and also that sales material printed and developed there on American cars showing European coachwork was part of what was produced.”

If you would like to see miracles, visit the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, USA. There are sales statistics from 90 (!) countries from the 1920s, 1930s by type (car, truck, bus) and by brand.
Plus hundreds and hundreds of photographs, not just cars, but a lot of other stuff. And it shows a lot of American cars outside USA. I attach a few examples.

Furthermore. Michael Sedgwick is my idol. I just love his writing style, his throughness and his knowledge.

From Mystery Friday Foto #17 Solved: The Gordon Bennett Cup

Hi
The surviving Rumpler is in the Deutsches Museum in Munich
The Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin is also a nice museum, but they don’t have a Rumpler.
Otherwise great story. I am curious what else you will find there 😊

From Greg O's Garage: From the Helck Family Collection: Strange and Unusual Cars #2-1920s Rumpler

1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes race held on Oct, 10. The race was the christening of the newly built Motor Parkway (1908-1938) by the AAA Race Commission. Photo was taken looking west in between the Levittown Grandstand and Official’s Stand/Press Box (1908-1910). The Italian #42 Isotta driven by Herb Lytle finished in 1st place with an average speed of 64.25 mph, meaning this racer had periodically achieved speeds in excess of 70 mph throughout the course. Very impressive for a 1908 vehicle!
Herb Lytle (Lyttle) participated in more Vanderbilt Cup Races than any other driver.

Extensive coverage of this race here—> https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/races/story/1908_motor_parkway_sweepstakes

From Mystery Friday Foto #18 Solved: Herb Lytle winning the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

Mystery Foto #18… The car pictured was #P42 Isotta as driven by Herb Lytel.
And this driver participated in more races associated with the Vanderbilt Cup than any other driver. The race was the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes held on October 10. Herb Lytel took the big Isotta to victory in that race at an average speed of 64.25 mph. And two weeks later would finish second in the Vanderbilt Cup Race.

From Mystery Friday Foto #18 Solved: Herb Lytle winning the 1908 Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

The booklet on the Gordon Bennett races notes “research by Michael Sedgwick” . Mike Sedgwick was a great friend of mine as we were both active in the Society of Automotive Historians decades ago. He was the man in charge of the library at the National Motor Museum - Beaulieu . He contributed considerably to that book. After he left his position at Beaulieu he lived in Midhurst , West Sussex. He had his office in the attic of a 17th/18th century building on the main road in Midhurst that you accessed by a narrow flight of crooked stairs, 4 stories up! It was Mike that introduced me to his friend Peter Moore of Pulborough , West Sussex and that is how I acquired most of my archives of European and British auto sales literature, motor show programs ,coach builders photographs and catalogs , car mascots, toys etc all pre war . Peter Moore acted as my agent to find things for me and also ran a great auction catalog of automobile material that came out 6 times a year. When Mike Sedgwick passed away I was in England soon afterwards and helped remove the contents from his office and purchased a fair amount of it that I still use in my research. It is amazing how active the sales of American cars were in England and Europe pre WWII and also that sales material printed and developed there on American cars showing European coachwork was part of what was produced. Some totally outstanding material with incredible art. Most American collectors have no idea that this stuff exists or was even produced. Much of it disappeared in WWII.

From Mystery Friday Foto #17 Solved: The Gordon Bennett Cup