An original (not modern reprint) 8x10" vintage photo from the Marty Himes estate.

Provenance: This photograph comes directly from the Marty Himes Racing Museum Collection, assembled over decades by Marty Himes - racer, restorer, and lifelong archivist of American racing. Every piece he preserved tells part of the story of motorsport’s rise from dirt tracks to the spectacle of the Indy 500. We acquired the majority of his photo collection after his passing. Many of his photos are extremely rare or even one of a kind. Professionally packaged in a rigid mailer for safe delivery.

Photo Overview

A striking Bruce Craig black and white racing photograph hand signed “To Marty” by African American driver De Otis Taylor, showing Taylor seated in his open-wheel race car in full helmet and goggles with an African American crewman standing by the tail, taken at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania during the first postwar race after World War II, from the famed Marty Himes Racing Museum collection.

De Otis Taylor was among the pioneering Black drivers who competed on Midwest and East Coast dirt tracks in the 1940s, racing in an era when segregation and limited opportunities kept most African Americans out of mainstream motorsport. Williams Grove Speedway, opened in 1939, quickly became one of America’s premier half-mile dirt ovals and helped shape the careers of many open-wheel greats; the first races held there after the war marked the rebirth of big-time dirt track competition. Own this scarce, museum-sourced autograph photo now and secure a centerpiece piece of early postwar racing history before it disappears into another collection.

Text Present

Front, upper left, black marker autograph:
"So Marty"

Front, upper right, black marker autograph:
"De Otis Taylor"

Front, lower right, white paint on negative:
"LOU VOLK
PHOTO 109 8E
FRANK SCOTT
CHICAGO, ILL.
NEWS"

Back, upper left, handwritten in ink:
"1ST RACE WMS. GROVE.
AFTER WAR"

Back, center, photographer’s stamp (partial, in ink):
"Craig
PHOTOS
[illegible line]
[illegible city], N.J. [illegible]"

Print analysis: Front shows a glossy, continuous-tone silver gelatin print with white painted negative lettering crediting Lou Volk, a period motorsports photographer, while the back carries a Bruce Craig “Craig Photos” stamp indicating it later entered his working file. Bruce Craig prints made after 1950 are known to be Type 1 originals; this image’s style, subject, and postwar Williams Grove notation all point to late 1940s photography with printing likely within a few years. Given the combination of original negative lettering, period paper, and professional stamp, this is best classified as a Type 1 original photo printed c1940s.

Condition: Please see scans of the image we have provided for the most accurate and complete state of the photo. Many of the photos in this collection are very old and have age related wear, chips, creases, curling, etc. Others are remarkably well maintained.