Second Annual Hill Climb. Bridgeport Automobile Club. Sport Hill, Easton Conn. Connecticut: May 30, 1907
Black and white photograph, mounted on board
11.5 x 14 inches, overall
Provenance: Estate of James Carr
$350
Automobile Hill Climb, Easton Connecticut
Vintage Photograph, Berliet Auto, 1907
Vintage Photograph, Berliet Auto, 1907
Photograph of an early 40-horsepower Berliet automobile driven by a duo during a hill climb sponsored by the Bridgeport Automobile Club and Yale University Automobile Club held at Sport Hill in Easton, Connecticut, on Memorial Day in 1907. The observers are seen in the background through the rising dust.
The Berliet was manufactured in Lyon, France. The company was named for its founder, Marius Berliet (1864-1949), who assembled his first one-cylinder vehicle in 1894. By the early 1900s he had established thriving factories, thanks to strong sales in North America. He also established successful lines of commercial vehicles, and stopped producing passenger cars to concentrate on industrial vehicles and trucks in 1939. The company was sold to Citroen in the early 1960s and is now a part of the Renault Industrial Vehicles division.
Inscription on verso: “Second Annual Hill Climb. Bridgeport Automobile Club. Sport Hill, Easton Conn. Memorial Day, May 30, 1907. 40 H.P. “Berliet” Driver, W. J. Morden. Yale University Automobile Club.”
Condition: Generally very good with the usual light overall toning, soiling, scratches, mild wear, mostly to edges. Mounted on thick pasteboard, probably as issued.
Reference:
Fabrice01. “Re: Berliet.” Plebicity. http://www.plebicity.com/Membres/Produit.asp?idRubrique=2419 (24 August 2004).