A Digital Souvenir: The 1900 Automobile Club 1,000 Mile Trial Main Menu A Digital Souvenir: The 1900 Automobile Club 1,000 Mile Trial Cover Page of Scalar Presentation Table of Contents Introduction Welcome! History of the First Trial Learn about the historical context surrounding the first ever 1,000 Mile Trial Automobiles of the Early 20th Century Before 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 1900 Motor vehicle model descriptions and information of the 1900 Trial. Photography Discover how the photographic image was developed in this time period as well as more insight about the photographer, Argent Archer. Mapping the Trial Check out some of the major stops along the route of the Trial Additional Resources For more information about the exhibit's topics and the 1,000 Mile Trial we have compiled resources here. Technical Note Included here are the standards and specifications used for our digitization process.

Participants

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In 1900, automobiles were not a common sight in Great Britain. Often, they were seen as luxury items of status for the upper echelons of society. The 1000 Mile Trial was no different, as upperclass Englishmen and women posed from their automobiles and participated in the race. The spectacle of being seen in a "horseless carriage," as it were, could not be resisted.


Some of the most prominent participants were soon-to-be pioneers of Britain's burgeoning automobile industry. In fact, the winner of the gold medal of the first 1000 Mile Trial was Charles Rolls, one of the founders of Rolls-Royce (along with Henry Royce). [1] Among other industry heavyweights was Sir Charles Friswell, pictured with his wife Edith below. Friswell was an importer of French vehicles in 1900, but three years later he became involved in the Standard Motor Company, resuming the role of chairman in 1907. [2] His tenure oversaw a boom in British car manufacturing and he was knighted in 1909 for entertaining a group of delegates to the Imperial Press Conference. [3] His greatest achievement was securing a contract to provide all motor transport for the coronation durbar in India for King George V in 1911. He left Standard a year later due to financial woes, of his own making. [4]



While some of the participants we were able to identify, like the Lord Mayor of Reading below, we were still unable to identify a sizable majority of the participants documented in this photo album. Archer's handwriting is not consistently legible, creating difficulties for modern users to ascertain the identities of the subjects of these photographs. Nevertheless, the creation and preservation of metadata that we have embedded in these works will hopefully help identify these subjects in the near future. 




Citations:
[1] "Grace's Guide." Royal Automobile Club (RAC). Accessed April 13, 2018. https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Royal_Automobile_Club_(RAC).
[2] Foreman-Peck James and Bowden, Sue. The British Motor Industry. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995. 
[3] "Sir Charles Friswell." TImes [London, England] 17 Dec. 1926: The Times Digital Archive. Web. Accessed April 9, 2018. 
[4] Storey, Richard A. "Friswell, Sir Charles Ernest Hain (1871-1926)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/47012
 

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