Vintage Carnival Game Rubber Band Racers Folk Art Carved Painted Gravity Racer

Description

This is a pair of Carnival Game race cars. The game was mostly a home made game that involved sending a car down a board with pins along the side. At the ends of the board were stretched rubber bands that would bounce the car back. The object was to have your car stop at a pin with a number on it that would be higher than your opponent and win a prize. You can see the one car has a leather strip on the side that would flick on each pin as it went by and the one it stopped on was your number. Much the same as a carnival game wheel which would stop on the winning number.
These cars are wood, we have seen them made of different materials and kind of heavy. The wheels are ball bearing wheels that spin easily. As stated before this game was more of a home made game, we could not find a manufacturer for this game. These cars are from the mid 1900's when carnivals and carnival games were at their peak. You can see on the bottom that holes had been drilled in the car before it was painted and filled with more than likely lead weight. There is a two ounce difference between the two which might just have made a difference. Both are brightly painted as they should have been if used in a carnival.
People have referred to this type of game as a "Gravity Racer", but an old Carney person called it a Rubber Band Racer. We have pictured an example of another type of car and the playing board.
Each car is 14" long x 4 1/2" wide and 4" tall.
Item ID:
4231