I purchased the photo on Ebay from someone in Indiana. They said it was acquired at an estate sale, but knew nothing about it otherwise. My main reason for wanting it posted is to see if anyone can tell me anything about it other than what I already know. Everything I know is posted with the picture at Flickr.
Allen
Via E-mail
1/25/2008
Allen
Via E-mail
1/25/2008
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| Taken by the firm of Webster & Stevens in Seattle, in the very early 1900s. The car is covered in mud and is stocked with supplies. Unsure of meaning but could probably be a cross country race. Webster and Stevens are well known photographers of historical Seattle images. They were the official photographers for the Seattle Times from1903 to 1946(?). The Seattle Times was located at 1402 2nd ave. The paper moved into a new building in 1916. The building pictured here has long since been demolished. Th is address is now a Thai restaurant. |
I’m having a hard time remembering the dates and the name of the documentary/show I saw which depicted a very famous early 1900′s coast to coast automobile race/contest. Googling it is tough work! I wonder if this is the final destination of that race?
Well look at this.
“The first automobile, a Wood’s Electric, arrived in Seattle in 1900. It belonged to Ralph Hopkins, former president of Treen Shoe Co., who drove it cross-country from Chicago to Seattle.”
That would certainly explain the Chicago flag.
I wonder if it is the 1909 cross-country AYP race? Detailed here at Historylink
The drivers look similar at least…
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=2151
[John] If so, it wasn’t the first or second place cars, pictured here, though it certainly seems like a similar design.
My explanation doesn’t quite fit with the photographer’s timeline unless the 1900 date was just an estimate (elsewhere I’ve heard 1904) or unless they started snapping pictures before 1903.
Actually, after further inspection I think it is the car on the left on my link (currently awaiting moderation). That’s the winner of the race after the Ford was disqualified, the Shawmut.
Ya, it’s very similar, but there are a few differences. (see: headlights, mud flap position, back seat, etc). Perhaps these changes were made when it was to go on display?
Having moved here from Indiana 20 years ago to be nearer to where my parents grew up I find this picture more than just charming.
I agree with matt. see the second image here:
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50893/62584.html?1218729999
note the big searchlight near the windsheild. the car is numbered 5.
After looking at the original photo closer. I don’t believe it was the Shawmut that was in the 1909 AYP race. Although the car may very well be a Shawmut. There are some definate differences, IE number of lugs on the wheel, back seat, headlights, etc. Also if it is Bert Scott and James Smith, who is the third guy?
The second picture at the University Library wesite gives a different view of the winning car.
http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/ayp&CISOPTR=16&CISOBOX=1&REC=2
It’s MADDENING how close the AYP race would fit this picture yet it doesn’t!
Does anybody know anything about the Chicago to Seattle race mentioned above?
All I know is that it looks like the entire staff of the Seattle Times left their jobs to pile into the street and have their group photo snapped with, of all things, a muddy car.
Its amazing and a little awe-inspiring to me to realize that my Grandmother was probably alive (very small, but alive) when an automobile that had travelled cross-country was such an extraordinary thing that an afternoon’s work was lost at the major daily newspaper while everyone lined up for a photograph.
I drove my 1997 Ford Escort station wagon, which has also been motored without mishap to Syracuse, N.Y. and back to Seattle, over to the Seattle Times headquarters just the other day, and not one staff member came out to have their photo snapped.
Allen, I see the differences now: the car outside the Times lacks front headlights entirely. There is no cinch-strap on the hood. I have played with photoshop to see if I could make the ghost of a numeral 5 appear on the hood, and I do not. The Times car is also missing the extensive rear upholstery seen in the shots from UW. The UW car has a box on the running board inscribed ‘New York- Seattle.’ The wheel spoke designs are different.
They are different cars. I concur that the Chicago-Seattle idea needs to be pursued.
Here’s the race I referred to in the first comment:
http://greatracegarage.com/wpmu/2008/page/4/
I’m not good with cars, so I can’t tell if it’s the same one. But there are three guys on the car, just as the diary entry says, and they were met by a Times reporter while in Seattle. If same race, it was March 29, 1908.
Sadly none of the six cars pictured look like the car above. They all have headlights and hard mudflaps.
It doesn’t appear to be the Great New York to Paris Race either. Although, once again, it does look similar.
It’s definitely not the Chicago-Seattle Race because that was a completely different car. It also wasn’t a race, it was just one car I think.
The car in my photo is definitely a later model around 1908-1911 roughly.
This is going to require a trip to… *GASP!* THE LIBRARY!
I have replaced the photo on my Flickr account with a larger version of the same image so it could be studied in detail.
I think this photo was taken between 1912 and 1916, if that helps. The reflection in the window shows the large Bon Marche addition, across the street, at the NW corner of Second and Union, that was completed in 1912.
Webster and Stevens are prolific studio team that pioneered the use of photography in commercials.
PEMCO,their work has been preserved by the Museum of History and Industry.
I finally started revving up my efforts at solving the mystery of this photograph. A trip to Seattle’s main library branch turned up nothing but I was given some ideas of where else to search. I subscribed to a genealogy database that gives me access to an extensive archive of newspapers from all over the country dating back to the 17th century. I cross referenced everything I could think of and have still come up short.
The search continues!
MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No sooner had I posted the comment above when I found the answer!
And here it is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crackdog/4940698304
Nice work! Awesome article as well. I’m jealous of your access to that newspaper archive. What genealogy database do you use?
GENEALOGYBANK.COM
You have to pay for it, but It is extensive.
The librarian recommended it.
He also said that the UW library has access to it and you don’t have to pay.
I get a kick out of looking through a lot of of some of these comments. Particularly fulfilling reading.