Le magazine et marché mondial pour les passionnés de voitures classiques, par des passionnés.
Le magazine et marché mondial pour les passionnés de voitures classiques, par des passionnés.
We received a nice batch of photos from Japan from Jos Theuns. All cars show Japanese drivers and passengers. Still there are doubts if this specific photo was made in Japan. The Wright Flyer (?) in combination with the chimneys may not fit in the period landscape. But possibly we are wrong. Mr. Kawasaki opened his first factories long before 1900. And Mr. Okura (yes, the hotel-chap) loved fast cars. Check the well-known photo showing the 1907 Fiat and Mr. Okura. And maybe - we like to stress, maybe - this could be the same car...? First check the car a bit closer (click) and also the heavily retouched close up (click). Now if you know Japanese, the mystery will be solved in seconds we think. Who can tell?
UPDATE by editor: despite our note that these photos presumably are made in Japan, we receive various comments that this is not in Japan, primarily based on the aeroplane. Why not widen your horizon a bit and check Wiki (not wikileaks :-) for the flight of Yoshitoshi Tokugawa with a "Kai-shiki 1 g?ki" on the Tokyo fairgrounds in 1911? Or the fisrt flight with a Henry Farman in 1910!
The photo shows the daredevil aviator Lincoln Beachey flying his V8 Curtiss biplane in one of the many 'Champion of the Universe' exhibition contests he put on with his partner, the legendary cigar-chomping automobilist Berna (Barney) Oldfield, between 1912 and 1914. Beachey's favourite trick was apparently to knock Oldfield's hat off with his landing gear as the pair sped past the hollering grandstands...