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A Digital Souvenir: The 1900 Automobile Club 1,000 Mile TrialMain MenuA Digital Souvenir: The 1900 Automobile Club 1,000 Mile TrialCover Page of Scalar PresentationTable of ContentsHistory of the First TrialLearn about the historical context surrounding the first ever 1,000 Mile TrialParticipantsWho were the people that undertook this historic event?Automobiles of the Early 20th CenturyBefore cars were in wide use, they were a luxury status symbol at the turn of the 20th century. This section contains descriptions of some of the types of cars that ran in the original race in 1900.Motor Vehicles in the 1,000 Mile Trial of 1900Motor vehicle model descriptions and information of the 1900 Trial.PhotographyDiscover how the photographic image was developed in this time period as well as more insight about the photographer, Argent Archer.Mapping the TrialCheck out some of the major stops along the route of the TrialAdditional ResourcesFor more information about the exhibit's topics and the 1,000 Mile Trial we have compiled resources here.Technical NoteIncluded here are the standards and specifications used for our digitization process.Victoria Coxb6b429effc5a3354fbe01db6f3461bce17db18e6Russel Petersonaf2e495a4787f60dbe42dc4b7a481750d36a6fcfDana Reijerkerk3c44fb85ab096c2290175e81dd4f16f0002a41e0
[motor vehicles were] “not a toy dangerous and troublesome alike to the public and its owner, but a vehicle under as perfect control as a Bath chair, capable of accomplishing long journeys in all weathers and over every kind of road with ease and safety, destined to take its place with the train and bicycle as a common object of daily life, and as superior to them, in many respects, as they are superior to the horse and cart.[1]
These words summarize the accomplishment of the first ever 1,000 Mile Trial of the Royal Automobile club in Great Britain. The founders of the club and those who initiated the race set out to prove that automobiles were not a menace to society, as much of the general public still believed. Indeed, they were a history-changing innovation to be embraced and celebrated. Clearly, the club was fairly successful in it's pursuit of changing perspectives - the 1,000 Mile Trial remains to this day, a highly anticipated and widely enjoyed annual tradition in British society.
The Trial wrapped up in London on May 12th, 1900 with forty-six of the original sixty-five vehicles that started the race. The final forty-six finishing vehicles after the trial were exhibited for a week after the trial at the Crystal Palace, London, England.
The Trial was also a competition to encourage motorists to join its ranks. At the end of the race, finishers were judged in twenty-four separate categories that established rankings based on price, weight, mechanical efficiency (this was judged by the hill-climbing trials, which were timed speed trials of the motor vehicles going up hills at a steady speed), accessibility of mechanism, workmanship, and regularity of running.[2]
This site is the result of project to digitize, at a professional level, a souvenir photo album of the first 1,000 Mile Trial in 1900. What follows are examples of the resulting digital photographs accompanied by historical context of the race, it's participants, early automobile history, and the history of photography in and around the turn of the twentieth century.
This project was produced by Tori Cox, Russel Peterson, and Dana Reijerkerk as part of a master's level course in Digitization of Cultural Heritage Materials at the University of Michigan's School of Information.
