Fumagali (photographer)
Grand Prix of Tripoli, 1937, Herman Lang in Mercedes-Benz
Grand Prix Mercedes-Benz Racecar
Mercedes-Benz, Germany: c. 1937
Gelatin silver prints
17.5 x 23.5 inches each
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.
Grand Prix of Tripoli
Herman Lang Mercedes Photographs
Herman Lang Mercedes Photographs
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Two promotional action photographs of Mercedes-Benz race cars by the Italian photographer Fumagali. In Grand Prix of Tripoli, 1937, a Mercedes-Benz race car is driven by Herman Lang through a grove of palm trees. The companion photograph is a close-up view of another Mercedes-Benz race car at a dramatic angle. The Tripoli race, which kicked off the 1937 racing season, was the first win in Lang’s distinguished career.
Hermann Lang (1909-1987) raced sidecars and became the German mountain sidecar champion in 1931. When the Depression ended sidecar racing, he found a job at Daimler-Benz as a race car mechanic and test driver for production cars in 1934. His driving talent was recognized by a supervisor, who made him a reserve driver. He began competing in 1935, quickly moving up the ranks and becoming part of the four-man Benz team in 1937, despite the condescending attitude of some of his fellow racers, who saw him as a mere mechanic. That year he came in first at Grand Prix races at Tripoli and Avus. In 1939, he won the European Championship after finishing first in five out of eight races he entered, and considered by many the world’s top racing driver. Then World War II intervened, bringing his career to a seven-year standstill. He won his last major race driving a Mercedes at Le Mans in 1952 and retired in 1954.
Grand Prix of Tripoli, label verso: “Mercedes-Benz Waldbild, (unverkauflich), Grofzer Preis von Tripolis 1937, Sieger Herman Lang, Taken By: Fumagali," [Mercedes-Benz Moving Picture, (not for sale), Grand Prix of Tripoli, 1937, Winner Herman Lang, Taken By Fumigali.]
Also verso, the paper is imprinted with the manufacturer’s name and brand, Agfa-Bravira.
References:
“Herman Lang.” Grand Prix History. 24 January 2005. http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/lang.htm (8 February 2005).
Snellman, Leif. “The Mechanic that became the best of Mercedes-Benz.” 8W. May 1999. http://8w.forix.com/lang.html (8 February 2005).