110th Anniversary Celebration 1908 - 2018

                                      NY to Paris Car Race - an epic test of men and machines










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Film Documentary


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Videos

 

Recent Events:

The Great Race of 1908 with unbroken car racing world records, stirs a century of interest and press coverage!

For video highlights of the Thomas Flyer and the New York to Paris Race, as well as the Glidden Tour (which George Schuster also participated in) click the following:
 
                  
 
 < Click for Preview[New!] The Great Race New York to Paris 1908 DVD is now available!  See the incredible story unfold in the words of the winner George Schuster, as told by his Great Grandson Jeff Mahl.  Packed with original images from the epic 1908 Race, the saga of this triumph of men and machines brings to life a turning point in automotive history.  For his accomplishments, George Schuster was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame and the winning American built Thomas Flyer is featured in the Harrah Collection of the National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV.  This professionally produced DVD is now available click: Request for DVD The Great Race - New York to Paris 1908

 

 
 
  <Click Video Clip - BroadBand Connection Recommended>  "The Greatest Auto Race on Earth" a 2 hour TV documentary is now available on DVD from the film creators  Frame 30 Production

 

           Videos <BroadBand> Larger files, please allow time to load:

 

[New!]WGRZ-TV Concord Historical Exhibit
George Schuster's Dodge Bothers car dealership recreated
"life-sized" in new Heritage Building - Springville, NY

  Thomas Flyer - World Champion
 Thomas Flyer inducted into the National Historic Vehicle
 Register by the US Dept. of Interior & Library of Congress
 
  A&E 10 Greatest American Cars
 The Thomas Flyer is named one of the top 10 American
 Automobiles
 
  WGRZ-TV news
 The Thomas Flyer and what it did for Buffalo, NY history
 
  I've Got a Secret-TV
 Host Garry Moore with Jane Mansfield, Betsy Palmer
 Bill Cullen, and Henry Morgan interview George

 
  WNED-TV (PBS)
 PBS reports on the 1908 New York to Paris Race
 
 
  WKBW-TV news
 Coverage of the return of the Thomas Flyer to Buffalo
 where it was built
 
  You Asked For It-TV
 Jack Smith interviews Ralph Dunwoodie of the Harrah
 Automobile Collection with the Thomas Flyer
 
 
  Speed-TV
 Behind The Headlights series looks at the legacy of
 the Thomas Flyer and its place in automotive history
 
 
    KREX-TV
  World Race 2011 commemorates the epic 1908 Race
  running the route from Times Square to the Eiffel Tower
 
 
Audio Delights <BroadBand> Please allow time to load:
           Classic Car Show [New!]Host Steve Rinaldo talks with Jeff about 2018 New York to Paris
           Old Cars Radio Host Brian Earnest explores the with Jeff the epic 1908 Race
           Classic Car Show  Host Steve Rinaldo talks with Jeff on 1620 Radio, Atlanta
           Thomas Flyer Running Sounds of the Flyer 60 hp. engine running
 WESB Race Interview University of Pittsburg at Bradford explores the Great Race

 
For insight into the race winner click:  George N. Schuster, Sr.
 
Winter Driving  Listen to George Schuster describe winter driving in 1908!

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Interesting Images and Websites:

  The new Driving America Exhibit at The Henry Ford Museum opened in January 2012.  It features a larger than life image of the Thomas Flyer crew after leaving Buffalo, NY with Monty Roberts at the wheel, and George Schuster front right.  George Miller is back left, with T. Walter Williams (New York Times correspondent) standing in the rear.  Just below is a 1906 Thomas, as well as artifacts carried by George Schuster in the case below.  On display are George's sextant which he used to navigate the world route and the crude map he purchased in Vladivostok.
(Click images to enlarge)
 

  Poster by R. Cinkel with the Thomas Flyer exhibit National Automobile Museum
                          

 

 

 
 

   The restored Thomas Flyer on exhibit at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance


 

  Actor Tony Curtis who starred in "The Great Race" movie, a comedy loosely based on this historic race.  Mr. Curtis gets in the driver's seat of the Thomas Flyer that won the "real" Great Race.


 

bullet National Automobile Museum
bulletBuffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum
bulletAntique Automobile Club of America
bulletHorseless Carriage Club of America
bulletVeteran Motor Car Club of America
bulletZust - Historic 1906 Restoration

  Thomas Flyer Bronze sculpture by Stanley Wanlass on exhibit at the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum

 

  "I've Got a Secret" TV show with host Garry Moore and George Schuster who was a contestant, July 16, 1958.  The celebrity panel included Jane Mansfield, Betsy Palmer, Bill Cullen, and Henry Morgan.  This was the Thomas Flyer prior to its restoration.  Click the vintage video link from July 16, 1958 to see George stump the  I've Got A Secret celebrity panel

 

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Books and other Coverage of The Great Auto Race:

The Great Automobile Race - New York to Paris 1908

  From the original account of the race with forward written by Jeff Mahl (great-grandson of George Schuster), this limited edition book is still available.  The 85 pages include details of the winning Thomas Flyer and the epic event, as well as numerous original photographs.

  "It shows the American car is on a par with the foreign machine and it marks the beginning of the end, in my opinion of the European supremacy."   - American Automobile Association, 1908

"Original account of the greatest race ever... It's a must" Read the Antique Automobile review in the May/June 2008 issue of the Antique Automobile Club of America member's magazine.  If you would like a copy of The Great Automobile Race - New York to Paris 1908 signed by the author, click: Request for copy of The Great Automobile Race

  [New!]Profiles Volume II: Historic & Influential People from Buffalo & WNY - the Early 1900s
Author Rick Falkowski 
profiles 75 people that contributed to industry, business, politics, law, communications, sports, entertainment, and culture in Western New York during the early 1900s (1900 to 1950). The book differs from Volume I: Historic & Influential People from Buffalo & WNY - the 1800s as the biological sketches are more detailed and include information about family members and/or associates of the individual being profiled, along with the residences, buildings, and businesses they built.

 

PRIVACY: The Great Auto Race acknowledges the importance of protecting your privacy.  Any  information provided is never shared with any third party or organization.

 The Western New York Heritage Press Winter 2008 illustrated article by Alan Manchester "The Great Auto Race: Buffalo and The New York to Paris 1908 Automobile Race" tells the epic story from a hometown perspective.

 


 

  Horseless Carriage Gazette Jan. 1994  article by Jeff Mahl.

  For complete article click Was it the Men or the Machine?  

  NOTE: Please allow a minute or 2 article load time for slower dial-up connections.  This is an Adobe .pdf file, a common format for documents with PC or MAC compatibility.  You may click here for details on FREE Adobe Acrobat "Reader" if not already installed on your computer.

 

Books - Magazines - News Articles

bulletThe Great Automobile Race, by Jeff Mahl, Intrepid Publishing 1992
ISBN: 0-962-5793-2-7
bulletThe Longest Auto Race, by George Schuster Sr., John Day Company 1966
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 66-13752
bulletDas langste Autorennen aller Zeitenby George Schuster Sr., Motorbuch Verlang Stuttgart 1968
(German Edition of the Longest Auto Race)
bulletThe Long Road to Paris, by Ed and Janet Howel, Xlibris Publishing 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4568-1859-3
bulletAgainst All Odds, by Bob Cinkel, National Automobile Museum, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9800703-0-9
bullet1908 New York to Paris - la course qui se voulait un tour du monde, by Rene Ville, Amicale de Dion-Bouton, 2008
bulletParis or Bust, by Shirley Blackstaff, Printorium Bookwoorks, 2008
bulletThe Great Race, by Gary L. Blackwood, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2008
ISBN:13: 9780810994898
bulletAmerica 1908, by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 2007
ISBN:13: 978-0-7432-8077-8
bulletRace of the Century, by Julie Fenster, Crown Publishers 2005
ISBN: 0-609-61096-1
bulletRailroad Valley, by Jeanne Sharp Howerton, Central Nevada Historical Society 2003
ISBN: 0-9652908-1-6
bulletHard Driving, by Dermot Cole, Paragon House 1991
ISBN: 1-55778-360-8
bulletThe Long Road, by Alise Barton Whiticar, Wake-Brook House 1981
ISBN: 0-87482-029-4
bulletAuto Racing Highlights, by Marshall Burchard, Garrard Publishing 1975
ISBN: 0-8116-6673-5
bulletThe Great Auto Race of 1908*, by Kana Riley, Level 140B Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers
ISBN: 0-673-62594-X  
bulletThe Great Auto Race and other stories of Men & Cars*, by Ruth Carlsen, T604 Scholastic Book Services 1965  
bulletThe Great Race, by Marvin Albert, Dell Publishing Co. 1965
bulletRoad Race Round The World*, by Robert B Jackson, HZ Walck Inc. & T832 Scholastic Book Services 1965
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 65-14365
bulletGreat American Automobiles, by John Bentley, Prentice Hall, Inc. 1957
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 57-8467
bulletAdventurer's Road, by T.R. Nicholson, Cassell & Co, London 1957
bulletNew York to Paris 1908, by Scott Bailey, Automobile Quarterly Vol. 1 # 2 1962
bulletThomas, by Maruice Hendry, Automobile Quarterly Vol. 8 # 4 1970
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 62-4005
bulletHarrah - My Recollections, by William Harrah, University of Nevada-Reno
Part II Oral History Project Transcribed 1978
bulletMotorcars of the Golden Past, by K. Purdy, Atlantic Monthly Press 1966
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 65-21363
bulletThe Good Years, by Walter Lord, Harper & Brothers 1960
Library of Congress Catalog card number: 59-10585
bulletIm Auto Um die Welt, by Hans Koeppen, Ullstein & Co. Berlin 1908
bulletRound the World in a Motor Car, by A. Scarfoglio, Grant Richards 1909
bulletNumerous magazine and news articles including:
Around The World,
by George Schuster, The Reader's Digest Jan. 1963
New York Times Archives,
by various reporters, NY Times Archives - 1908
Autorennen um die Welt,
by George Schuster, Reader's Digest Mar. 1963
Auto Race That Stirred the World, M. Scully, The Reader's Digest Mar. 1949
2008 Amelia Island Concours,
Zach Gale, Motor Trend Mar., 2008
The Great Race of 1908,
David Garcia, Porscheforus Mar. 2008
New York to Paris - The Hard Way,
Jerry Garrett, The New York Times and NYT Gallery Feb. 10, 2008
Большие гонки, Mikhail Mandrika, Autoreview-Russia Feb. 2008
The Greatest Automobile Race of 1908,
Cindy Brake, Coin World Feb. 18, 2008
The Great Race,
Tony Long, WIRED Feb. 12, 2007
The Longest Race,
by J.M. Fenster, American Heritage Magazine Nov. 1996
Men or the Machine?,
by Jeff Mahl, Horseless Carriage Gazette Jan. 1994
New York to Paris, by George Schuster, Antique Auto Club of America 1957
Bill Harrah, by Leon Mandel, Car and Driver Magazine April 1978
The New York to Paris Auto Race of 1908, 
Commemorative Issue, NY Times 1968
to mark the 1968 Transcontinental Reliability Tour - NY to San Francisco
Det lange billopet, AV George Schuster, Norsk Ukebland 17. mai-21. juni 1967
Thomas Flyers Atop Pikes Peak, by Sam Arnold, The Bulb Horn Nov.-Dec. 1964

*Titles suitable for younger student reading levels

 

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