Automobile parade
About this video
Film by Thomas Edison, Inc.
- Date created
- November 4, 1899
- Duration
- 1:52
- File
- Flash Video
- License
- This work is believed to be in the public domain. Users are advised to make their own copyright assessment and to understand their rights to fair use.
- Source
- Original video housed by Library of Congress
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for automobiles and transportation.
In the classroom
You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video.
Download video file (Right-click or option-click)
This may be the first annual automobile parade, held on November 4, 1899 in downtown Manhattan. At least ten different makes and models are seen, including electric and steam powered machines. Only three years earlier, in 1896, Henry Ford, Charles Brady King, Alexander Winton and Ransom Eli Olds had each introduced their gasoline cars. In 1900, the first National Auto Show was held at Madison Square Garden and the favorites were the electrics and the steamers. In 1901, new oil fields in Texas made gasoline affordable. That same year, mass production techniques were introduced into car manufacturing. These two factors would prove to be key developments in the rapid growth of the American automobile industry.
