Seventh Grader Sketches Oldfield - 1910

This is a one page document lifted from a 1910 newspaper featuring art submitted by a seventh grade boy and his impression of Barney Oldfield in the powerful Lightning Benz. The effort was an entry in a scholarship competition. Note his attention to detail right down to including Oldfield's cigar. Also, note how he wrote "Lightning Benz" on the side of the car, recording Oldfield's decision to rechristen the machine from its original moniker, "Blitzen Benz." What I really like about this otherwise trivial artifact is that it captures a feeling about the sport of auto racing that transcends the decades that separate us from that simpler time. The imaginations of children of every generation are stirred by events that speak to them. It happened to me, and it happens to kids today. It's powerful and wonderful and creates possibilities. Anyway, that's what I see. Plus, the kid did a pretty fair job. I wonder if the kid got the scholarship?