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A 5.5x3.5" vintage RPPC photo postcard from the estate of a vintage automobile postcard collector. This was part of a huge collection of antique postcards.
Photo Overview
This early real photo postcard captures a Panhard et Levassor racing car in motion on a dusty country road, with the driver hunched low at the wheel and a passenger seated alongside. The handwritten caption on the front reads "Heath. Panhard," identifying the machine as one of the great early French Panhard racers associated with the pioneering American automobile racer George Heath.
The image is a genuine action photograph of one of the fastest and most respected cars of the earliest days of international motor sport. Panhard et Levassor of Paris was the dominant force in the very first automobile races, and George Heath campaigned Panhard cars to great success in the enormous city to city and circuit races of the early 1900s. The photograph preserves a moment from the heroic pioneer era of motor racing, when these open, chain driven machines pushed the limits of speed on unpaved public roads.
A scarce piece of early automobilia from the estate of a dedicated vintage automobile postcard collector, this card will appeal to collectors of pioneer motoring, French marque enthusiasts, and early auto racing history buffs.
Historical Notes
George Heath was an American born racer living in Paris who became one of the most celebrated Panhard drivers of the pioneer era. His crowning achievement came in 1904 when he won the very first Vanderbilt Cup race on Long Island, New York, driving a Panhard and defeating the best European competitors on American soil. Heath continued to campaign Panhard machines in the great open road contests of Europe, including the Gordon Bennett Cup and the fearsome Paris to Madrid race. Panhard et Levassor, whose cars set the fundamental layout for the modern automobile with a front engine and rear drive, remained a prestige French marque for decades before merging with Citroen in the mid twentieth century, with the passenger car name finally retired in 1967. The great open road races that these Panhards ran were eventually banned after mounting fatalities, giving way to the closed circuit racing that defines the sport today.
Browse our complete RPPC Photo Postcard photograph collection.
Text Present
Handwritten in ink on the front lower left: "Heath. Panhard"
Printed on the back: "POST CARD / THIS SIDE FOR THE ADDRESS / PLACE ONE CENT STAMP HERE"
Print analysis
This is a real photo postcard printed on a divided back photographic postcard stock of the early 1900s. The continuous tone photographic image, the undivided appearance and the "Place One Cent Stamp Here" box are all consistent with an American photo postcard of the c1904 to c1910 period. This is an early original photographic print produced on postcard stock close to the time the image was made.
Condition
All postcards we sell are in fair to excellent vintage condition. Please see photos for any tears, folds, smudges, or other age damage that may be present.
