Pics that follow are crops from originals via Shorpy. You can click the pictures to see them at Shorpy full sized.
Hit the jump to read more about this pair of adventurers...
This grubby looking pair are Percy Megargel and David Fassett. This picture was taken in New York City, after the duo had completed one leg of their cross country trek from San Francisco to New York - and back again - in 1905-06. I love their tall boots, leather coats, and hats. All very stylish, though dirty, and all necessities for people taking to the open road back in those days.
Want to know what the road conditions were like across the US in 1906? Take a look at the street they are on in these pictures, and it will give you an idea.
That's Huber's Hotel, in the Bronx. in the background. Huber's was located at Jerome Avenue near 162nd Street. That also happens to be the modern day location of Yankee Stadium. Even major city streets often were not paved in those days. Once outside the "Big City", the roads were pretty damned rough and hard to navigate by today's standards.
The vehicle that took them across the country, twice, is an REO Mountaineer - 15 horsepower and chain driven. The chain drive is beneath the vehicle, covered by an oil splotched tarp that kept it from being damaged by rocks, brush and other road hazards. And speaking of hazards.... notice the rifle butt sticking up out of the scabbard? They pair used the rifle and carbide powered spotlight to protect themselves from wolves while crossing the Plains and the Mountains during their trip. How much trouble would you get into driving into the Bronx today with a rifle in a scabbard by the driver's door? :)
For one leg of their journey, they left San Fransisco on November 21, and arrived to have these pictures taken in New York on June 9. No wonder they look a little road weary.
You can see a PDF copy of The New York Times from 1908, here, that gives some of the details from their adventure.
3 comments:
It is a much different world now because of people like these men. Set for advenure, they have been he bricks which consructed the instant communication era.
Scotty is still working on that tactor beam ;)
Wow. Those were the days. You think a cross country road trip (even here in Canada) is an adventure but it's nothing compared to what it used to be.
Long length-scale trips are awesome. Take a look at "Long Way Round." Two men motorcycle from London to New York. My husband and I are planning on doing route 66 in the near future.
We've done several cross country trips, mostly in Penske moving trucks. We're really looking forward to developing a relationship with the road.
On a tangential subject, people who say the world is overpopulated have NO idea what they are talking about.
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