[Two Mounted Photos of an Electric Car Driven by Automotive Pioneer Dr. Carlos Booth]

[New York: May 30, 1896. Very good.. Two mounted albumen photographs, 3.75 x 4.75 inches on cards 4.25 x 5.25 inches. Contemporary ink annotations on mounts, minor wear and soiling. Two photographs of one of the vehicles in the second-ever American automobile race, which began in New York City and ended in Westchester County, near our offices. The first race was held on Thanksgiving Day in 1895; this race was run six months later, on May 30, 1896. Six cars participated, five of which were imported from Europe. The sixth car was a DIY affair built by Dr. Carlos Booth, an Ohio physician who disliked horses and had eagerly embraced the new horseless carriage. Thus, these photos would seem to show one of the first-ever American-built cars. Both show the car at the starting point in City Hall Park in Manhattan, one with a view of the front of the car and the other showing the rear of the vehicle. Dr. Booth's car did not win the race, alas, but it did manage to reach the finish line in Ardsley.