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Densmore (W. R.) Photograph Album of Early Automobile
Touring
photCL 231
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library Photo Archives
Title: W. R. Densmore photograph album of early automobile touring
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 231
Physical Description:
1.17 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1904-1915
Abstract: An album of over 100 photographs
chronicling early automotive tours across the United States, 1904-1915.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. W. R. Densmore photograph album of early automobile touring, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Alta California Bookstore, 1979.
William R. Densmore (1874-1943) was a businessman in the early automotive industry. A
friend of Henry Ford, he became a dealer with the Packard Motor Car Company in 1903, then
for five years he was the Packard distributor in Buffalo, New York. He was especially noted
as a travelling promoter for the automobile industry, engaging in many famous early auto
races, such as the Vanderbilt Cup, and early overland auto journeys. In 1904 he made a
sensational overland auto journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco which gained wide
notoriety and established a new time record for motor car travel between the two cities.
An early automobile photograph album and scrapbook compiled by W. R. Densmore of the
Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit. The album contains over 100 professionally-made
photographs, with 19 approximately 8 x 10 inches, and also contains newspaper clippings
about Densmore, early automobiles, and races. The album primarily chronicles Densmore's
driving tours, although it also contains material dealing with other aspects of his life.
Many images chronicle the famous Los Angeles to San Francisco drive of 1904, with Densmore
and three companions seen in a Packard touring car. The other men were: H. B. Larzelere of
Pacific Motor Car Company, San Francisco; Wallace W. Everett, guide; and H. A. French,
correspondent for The Automobile magazine. Other images record similar overland auto
journeys, in the White Mountains (1905); Long Island, New York (1905); the Wilkes-Barre
Mountains, Pennsylvania (1905); and a grand tour of Italy (1913). Most of the automobiles
featured are early Packard models, with riders in open-air cars, often wearing goggles and
duster coats.
Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa late-20th century. In 2021, Suzanne Oatey
created a finding aid.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Automobile industry and trade -- United
States -- History
Automobile travel -- West (U.S.) -- 20th century
Automobiles -- History
Packard automobile
Photographs
Photograph albums
Clippings (information artifacts) -- 20th century
Densmore, William R.