Vanderbilt Cup, 1904
- Description
- William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. and AAA established America’s first international auto race in 1904. Held annually on Long Island’s public roads, the race was aimed at improving the performance of American automobiles. The trophy, a silver cup made by Tiffany, is inscribed with the winning entries and an image of Vanderbilt in his Mercedes race car. After a spectator fatality in 1906, Vanderbilt constructed the first highway designed for automobiles, the Long Island Motor Parkway, where races resumed in 1908. After more fatalities, the race relocated to Georgia, Wisconsin, and California. Vanderbilt donated the cup to the Smithsonian in 1934.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1904
- maker
- Tiffany & Co.
- Measurements
- overall: 23 in x 20 in; 58.42 cm x 50.8 cm
- ID Number
- TR.310894
- accession number
- 131820
- catalog number
- 310894
- Credit Line
- Gift of William K. Vanderbilt, Jr.
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
- Transportation
- Road Transportation
- Sports & Leisure
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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