The Society of Automobile Historians (SAH) is an organization dedicated to the preservation and study of automotive history. It was founded in 1969 by a group of individuals who shared a passion for automobiles and their historical significance. The society’s primary goal is to promote research and scholarship in the field of automotive history.
From its inception, the SAH has aimed to foster research, documentation, and publication of automotive history by bringing together scholars, collectors, and enthusiasts interested in the subject.
The SAH was founded on the initiative of G. Marshall Naul and Richard Brigham, who were alarmed at the speed with which automotive heritage was disappearing both in North America and around the world. At the same time, they were well aware that much of the automobile history being published in books and magazines was not only inaccurate but also noted how many individuals were working in isolation, often duplicating work that had already been done by others.
Brigham and Naul thought a dedicated organization might be the answer to these problems. They mailed out a questionnaire to gauge community interest in early 1969. Receiving an enthusiastic response, they published the first newsletter, announcing an organizational meeting to take place in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on October 11 of that year.
The meeting was held in the offices of the Antique Automobile Club of America, generously offered by then AACA president William Jackson (Member #002). Those present at the meeting voted to establish the Society of Automotive Historians and its primary objectives — preserving automotive history, rectifying errors in historical records, facilitating information exchange among members, and exploring and recording the history of all types of self-powered road vehicles worldwide, particularly those that were lesser-known.
The SAH was off to the races (pun intended)!
Following the foundation of the SAH in 1969, membership grew rapidly, and much of the early work focused on creating rosters, which are lists of all the makes and models of cars and trucks ever made. Even members were surprised to discover just how many early cars and companies there were — over 5,000 in the United States alone, not to mention Britain and Europe. This work evolved into the many Standard Catalogs and World Encyclopedias of various cars and countries published over the next decade or two, becoming standard tools for automobile historians.
Meanwhile, members continued to research little-known makes and models, often hunting for unusual firsts, and they still do. But once the basics were established, interest shifted to the social, cultural, and economic aspects of automotive history. Numerous articles on these topics have appeared in the Journal and the Review, as one can see by looking at the table of contents for the Society’s publications.
One very important organizational step took place in 1975. That’s when the SAH formally incorporated as a not-for-profit organization (501(c)(3)). Incorporation as a nonprofit reinforced the existing goals of the Society but added an additional “public good” element to the SAH’s activities.
The newly formed SAH first promoted automotive history by providing a platform for its publication.
This platform was the Society Newsletter, which not only kept members informed about events, meetings, and conferences, but also served as an information exchange. Its pages were filled with letters seeking assistance in identifying old makes and models, along with short articles about research conducted by members.
In 1982, the Newsletter was renamed the SAJ Journal. More than 320 issues and thousands of articles later, the Journal continues to live up to the goals set by its first editor, Dick Brigham: “to preserve automotive history; to rectify as far as possible the errors in existing compilations and articles; to explore and record the history of all types of automotive vehicles, especially the many obscure makes of which little or nothing is known; and to share this information with all members via this and other publications.
In 1974, the SAH provided the community with a second place to publish research by establishing the Automotive History Review. This publication allowed members to publish longer articles than what was possible in the Journal.
First editor Dick Brigham, ably assisted by Grace R. Brigham, emphasized that this would not be just another magazine focusing on old cars. Instead, it would uniquely concentrate on well-researched automotive history, exploring all aspects of the automobile’s history. Its magazine format was designed to make research permanent and to promote automotive history to a broader public, serving the society’s purpose effectively.
Over the years, the Review has continued to publish articles, photo essays, book reviews, and interviews. These contributions capture the diverse and dynamic nature of the automotive industry’s past, appealing to both lay and academic audiences
The pages of the Society’s Journal and the Automotive History Review are filled with information and articles covering a diverse range of topics in automobile history. To further encourage research and writing, the SAH presented its first prestigious Cugnot Award in 1972. Initially, the Cugnot was awarded for the best book on automobile history published in the previous year. Soon, an additional Cugnot Award was introduced for the best article appearing in a magazine or periodical.
These awards quickly gained recognition as a high honor among authors, publishers, and the press. They were so successful that the SAH has adjusted and greatly expanded its awards program over the years. Now, eight separate annual awards are given out for books, articles, periodicals, student papers, and multimedia, including websites and videos, as well as for service to the automotive history community.
The SAH has been actively seeking out and promoting the best in automotive history for more than 60 years.
Awards and publications are not all the SAH has done to promote automobile research. It has worked tirelessly to build up the research community by bringing people together.
From 1996 to 2018, the Society co-sponsored eleven Automobile History Conferences in association with organizations such as the Henry Ford Museum, the National Association of Automobile Museums, and the Historical Vehicle Association. The Society has sponsored sessions at meetings of the American Historical Association and has also been involved in several international conferences over the years.
These meetings and conferences featured an amazing number of papers on a variety of topics. Many of which have been published in full or in abstract in the Automotive History Review. Unfortunately, the Automotive History Conferences were brought to an end by the COVID-19 epidemic and have not yet resumed.
In the meantime, the SAH has partnered with the International Motor Racing Research Center to hold the Michael Argetsinger International Racing Symposium at Watkins Glen, NY. Presentations were given in person and streamed over the internet. The first of (hopefully) several virtual conferences was held with the Automotive Historians of Australia in 2022.
More conferences are on the way.
It’s hard to think back to the 1970s, a time without the internet or cell phones, when long-distance calls were so expensive that hardly anyone ever made calls to another city. Communication was mainly through letters or newsletters, and apart from that, you had to physically gather to exchange information.
Accordingly, since its founding in 1969, SAH members have continued to meet at the large annual Fall meeting and car show held in Hershey, PA, by the Antique Automobile Club of America.
In addition, the early SAH encouraged the formation of regional chapters, where members could meet and connect. The first chapter was established in Toronto, Canada, in 1977, soon followed by chapters in the United Kingdom, the Northeast, Detroit, Wisconsin, California, and Indiana.
While several of these physical chapters have come and gone over the years, the internet now provides a means to form virtual communities around any interest. For instance, the SAH Motor Sports Chapter was formed in 2004 in this way. Always keen on building community, the SAH is hopeful that more virtual chapters will be established in the future.
The founding of the SAH was a significant milestone in automotive historical research, providing a much-needed central forum for historians, researchers, and enthusiasts. It facilitated a collective approach to exploring and preserving the rich and diverse history of automobiles.
Over the years, the Society has played a crucial role in raising awareness about the importance of preserving and studying automotive history. It has made significant, scholarly contributions to the body of knowledge in this field — contributions that were recognized when the Society affiliated with the American Historical Association in 2003.
Driven by the vision of its founders and the passion of its members, the SAH has made a lasting impact on how we view and study the history of self-propelled vehicles. It continues to foster a spirit of inquiry and scholarship, ensuring that the rich tapestry of automotive history is not only preserved but also continually explored and expanded.
As always, the biggest challenge facing the society is to build the community. Will you join us?
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