More than 100 Brass Era, Veteran and orphan cars from the Merrick Auto Museum Collection have been consigned to RM Sotheby’s 13th annual Hershey Sale, scheduled for October 10-11 during the annual AACA Eastern Division Fall Meet in Pennsylvania’s Chocolate City.
“Jim Merrick and his son, Richard, first started their collection more than 25 years ago in Nebraska with 11 fully restored antique automobiles, officially incorporating The Merrick Auto Museum in 1992,” RM Sotheby’s said in announcing the consignment.
“Over the years, they transformed their small assembly of cars, with the help of grandson Russell, into a diverse collection of over 100 fascinating American Brass Era, high-wheeler, and pre-war cars spanning from 1900 to the late 1930s, alongside a wide array of memorabilia, signage, vintage motor car parts and ephemera. As avid automobile enthusiasts with a passion for both the hobby and the history of the industry, the Merrick family has extensively researched every car and piece of memorabilia they acquired, amassing a full research library.”
The Merrick cars will be offered at no reserve.
“The Merrick Auto Museum Collection is an incredible historical work put together by multiple generations from one passionate family of enthusiasts,” added Gord Duff, RM Sotheby’s global head of auctions. “Many of these cars represent marques, models, and technology lost to time, which have been wonderfully preserved in the Merrick Collection.
“Overall, the Collection is a journey through the many quickly evolving stages of early motoring and will be of exceptional interest to discerning Brass Era collectors.”
Featured vehicles heading to the auction include:
• A 1925 Duesenberg Model A Touring by Millspaugh & Irish, with a 3-speed sliding gear transmission, straight-8 engine and 4-wheel hydraulic drum brakes that formerly was part of the Harrah Automobile Collection and was the 1996 Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival poster car.
• An Edwardian Era 1900 De Dion-Bouton Series E Vis-a-Vis, in which passengers sit in front but facing the driver.
• A 1900 Rockwell Hansom Cab, which RM Sotheby’s says was a “staple of New York’s cobbled streets in the early 1900s… this seldom-seen ‘working class car’ should not be passed up.”
• A 1902 Gasmobile Stanhope, which RM Sotheby’s says was America’s first luxury motorcar and among the fastest cars of the early 1900s. This car, the auction house adds, was an AACA national first prize winner in 1977.
• A 1904 Pope-Waverley Chelsea electric car.
• A 1906 Queen Model E believed to be one of fewer than 15 produced.
• A steam-powered 1906 White Model F touring.
Several of the cars from the Merrick collection will be available for viewing May 29-June 1 when RM Auctions stages its annual spring sale in Auburn, Indiana, the auction company added.
