The 1956 Glidden Tour of antique automobiles

This is a home movie of the 11th annual Glidden and Reliability Tour, filmed in 1956 by my father, Edward H. Roberts. 200 antique cars covered 450 miles during September 23-29, and it was hosted by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA). The chairman was Dr. Wendell Stadle, and this year’s “hub-style” tour began in French Lick, Indiana. This film documents the day’s departure from General Electric Appliance Park in Louisville (where my father was a design engineer in refrigeration).

1956 Glidden Tour at GE Appliance Park in Louisville

The digitized 8mm film plays in this window:

Glidden Tour 1956 – Louisville from Steven K Roberts.

Tech Notes

In December 2019, I digitized this blurry and shaky 8mm home movie… a service I also perform for clients as Harbor Digitizing. Raw scan of every frame was done at 2K, and export was to 1080p (4:3 aspect ratio). In 2020, post processing was performed to slightly adjust color and add titles. The film is a succession of pans as the cars passed, so stability is not ideal… but there is a ton of history here.

The Glidden Tour of 1956 lines up at GE Appliance Park in Louisville (photo by Edward H. Roberts)
October 1956 issue of The Bulb Horn, published by Veteran Motor Car Club of America… sponsor of the 11th annual Glidden Tour. This copy is currently for sale on eBay (not by me).
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