There’s an old saying that you can restore a car any number of times, but it’s original only once.
Jasper Wiglesworth, a lifetime truck and heavy equipment dealer in Kansas City, Mo., and one of the earliest members of the Horseless Carriage Club, would have agreed. He collected antique cars for 60 years until his death in 2003, and he loved low-mileage examples.
When Bonhams and Butterfields auctions his collection Saturday in Shawnee, Kan.–at no reserve–any tearful moments may be from mothballs as much as sentiment.
“There are about 115 cars and trucks, and we hope they all go to good homes,” says son Tim, one of five Wiglesworth children and an attorney in Kansas City. “We’re keeping one car for certain–the 1923 Pierce-Arrow touring–and we may buy one or two more. That was the car he bought just before he went overseas [with the army]. He wrote to my mother and asked her to save it until he came back.”
He loved Pierce-Arrows and fire engines, of which there are a dozen, sporting names such as American LaFrance, Stutz, Mack and Packard.
Among cars in the auction, Lot 731 is a near-perfect 1936 Pierce-Arrow DeLuxe 8 Coupe with 5,598 miles; Lot 721 is a 1912 Winton seven-passenger tourer showing 7,257 miles and Lot 760 is a 1946 Ford Super DeLuxe two-door sedan showing 14,689 miles. Most cars for sale register less than 60,000 miles.
Early cars include an 1895 Benz, which Henry Ford bought from Mercedes-Benz in about 1930; a 1903 Autocar; 1903 Curved-Dash Oldsmobile; 1906 Orient Buckboard; 1912 electric start Cadillac tourer; and a huge 1914 Stanley Steamer Model 712 roadster.
The glittering centerpiece is a restored supercar from the brass era, says Andrew Reilly, motorcar specialist at Bonhams. Lot 801 is a 1913 Mercer 35J Raceabout, with a remarkable story. It was discovered by collector Dick Hempel in a barn owned by in Malvern, Ark., in 1969, where the owner, a Mr. McMillan, had parked it in 1923 after it threw a rod through the crankcase. McMillan had made no provisions for retirement, but payments from Hempel, who had bought the car for a year’s salary in 1969, turned out to be sufficient.
“It’ll probably achieve the highest sale price, though it’s hard to say what that will be,” says Reilly. It’s estimated at $750,000-$950,000 and Christie’s sold a similar car in 2002 for $865,000.
Other intriguing elements of the Mercer include a number of additional gauges, which suggest it was used for racing, and trim of nickel-plated instead of brass.
The second focus car at the auction is Lot 764, a Benz Phaeton with canopy, estimated to have been made in 1895. The model was offered from 1894-97 and made at the rate of 50 a year. This car has certain mechanical features this indicate it is early, though Benz records are incomplete and unreliable.
The engine number is 38, and a plate indicates a connection with Fritz Held, a Benz employee who may have owned it. Wiglesworth bought it from the Ford Museum in 1985. It’s fairly scruffy but utterly genuine and expected to bring $250,000-$300,000.
Another extraordinary offering, Lot 714, is a replica of George Stephenson’s Rocket, the first steam engine to pull a train effectively in England in 1829, when it won the Rainhill Trials at 30 m.p.h. Henry Ford had the same Stephenson company build four replicas for the centennial of the trials, and this one was displayed at the Rockefeller Center in New York before Bill Harrah bought it in 1950. If you’ve got $10,000-$15,000 (and a few miles of track) a great opportunity awaits.
Several motorcycles also are on the block. Lot 746 is a restored 1925 Harley-Davidson, Lot 737 is a 1925 Ner-A-Car and Lot 738 is an original 1911 Indian, which Wiglesworth’s son David recalls riding in the 1960s while he was in high school. It’s expected to fetch $20,000-$25,000.
Wiglesworth also dabbled in electric vehicles, which intersected with his truck habit in Lot 757 the 1918 Walker Electric Truck and Lot 718, a 1918 Walker Electric utility vehicle. Lot 761 is a a “ladies carriage,” a 1911 Waverley electric.
“Dad bought that for mother from the original owner. She used to drive it in car shows in period dress,” says Tim Wiglesworth.
Lot 725 is a 1961 Henney Kilowatt (one of 1,200) which started life as a Renault Dauphine. It’s expected to go for $800 to $1,200.
Pierce-Arrow and Lincoln collectors should have a field day with 12 models of each on offer. Lincolns range from a 1921 Leland Model L roadster to several “Kennedy” convertible sedans from the 1960s, known as such because it was the type of car President John was riding in when he was shot. Cadillacs also are well represented. Lot 810 is a gigantic 1930, V-16 Transformable Limousine in which Wiglesworth managed to combine his love of cars and trucks in one chassis. This is a formal limousine with a chauffeur’s compartment that could be open. It’s as big as a school bus – 20 feet long and with a 6-foot hood. It’s expected to attract $80,000-$100,000.
And if you want to buy things you can carry home, Wiglesworth’s collection of automobilia is staggering. Some 333 lots encompass everything from gas pumps, signs, toys, steam engines, antique bicycles, hood ornaments, music boxes, and pop machines to a Cretors steam-powered popcorn wagon.
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The facts
What: The Wiglesworth Automotive Collection
Where: 21320 Midland Drive, Shawnee, KN 66218
When: Sale: 11 a.m. Sept. 18. Preview: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 16; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 17; and 9-11 a.m. Sept. 18
How to register as bidder: Call 415-391-4000 for catalog, complete bidder’s form and fax to Bonhams and Butterfields 415-861-8951. Can also be done at auction site.
Admission: Preview is free. $45 day of sale, which admits two and includes catalog.
