1908 Hower Trophy

This image was originally published in the June 6, 1908 Indianapolis Star and provides a look at the Hower Trophy for that year.  The Hower Trophy, commissioned by Frank B. Hower who was, among other things, the chairman of the American Automobile Association (AAA) tour committee. This award was for a category of car referred to as a "runabout," or a smaller, less expensive version of the touring cars that competed for the Glidden Trophy - which was initiated by telecommunications millionaire turned automobile advocate, Charles J. Glidden.
 
Typically trophies were loving cups but this unique prize is obviously a plaque. The following year a more traditional loving cup was once again the top prize of the Hower Tour ran in tandem with the Glidden event as a kind of support event. The original Glidden Tour was conducted from 1902 through 1913. It was revived in 1946 as essentially a traveling antique car show and continues today.
 
The original caption to this photo read as follows:
 
"The Hower Trophy this year is one which marks a departure, one which is generally being commended. Instead of being a cup the trophy is a handsome silver shield with convex surface that stands in relief against a rosewood board. The shield is a heavy one, of pure silver handsomely chased and engraved with a runabout containing two men shown in the lower part against a background of fields, while on the upper part is the inscription, '1908 Hower Trophy for Runabouts Fifth Annual Reliability Touring Contest of the American Automobile Association. Buffalo-Boston-Saratoga. Presented by Frank B. Hower."