Archive of 14 vernacular photographs of open wheel races at the Iowa State Fair, circa 1950s

N.p.: N.p., 1950. Archive of 13 vintage single-weight vernacular photographs and 1 vintage double-weight vernacular photograph of open-wheel racing events held at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, circa 1950s.

The photographs in the archive show close-ups shots of races at the Iowa State Fairgrounds' original half-mile dirt track, with the idiosyncratic vehicle designs and paint schemes of the era on full display. Also included in the archive are several photographs of the Bardahl Special #2, "The Black Deuce," a champion racing car owned by noted car collector Hector Honore Jr., with the car's second driver, Bobby Grim, behind the wheel. (truncated)

Open-wheel racing was first sanctioned in the US by the AAA Contest Board, who introduced the first track season national championship in 1905. The sport grew in popularity after World War II, attributable in large part to the rapid innovations in auto engineering and design throughout the 1950s. In the ensuing decade the rise of the Chevy V8 would quickly render prewar four-cylinder and flathead engines obsolete, making the photographs in the archive a valuable record of early race car construction and use.

Photographs generally Very Good plus, lightly and evenly faded. (Inventory #: 151268)