To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Amelia Island event, 8 - 9
March 2019.
- Best in Class, 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
- Fabulous Derham custom coachwork with many special features,
including crank-operated top
- Formerly of the Julian Eccles and James Weston Collections
- Original chassis, engine, and bodywork; superb
authenticity
- Spectacular restoration by noted specialists Stone Barn
- Not shown since Pebble Beach; numerous opportunities available
to a new owner
- A highly significant and unique Full Classic, full custom
Senior Packard
The Derham Body Company of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, was among the
most highly respected Classic Era American coachbuilders, noted for
the breadth and depth of their skills across a wide variety of body
styles and designs. They were capable of everything from formal
limousines to sporting bodies, the latter certainly encompassing
their Convertible Roadster, distinguished by its long hood and rear
deck line and relatively small top and side windows, as well as a
daringly low windshield. This style was produced on a handful of
the costliest chassis during the Classic Era, including Lincoln,
Duesenberg, and, of course, Packard.
A handful of the Style No. 3410 Convertible Roadster by Derham
survive, only two of which are on the Packard 845 chassis. The
example offered here features a fascinating crank-operated top,
similar to that found on the Walker-LaGrande Duesenberg convertible
coupes. This is a feature not found on all Derham Convertible
Roadsters, due to its prohibitive cost of $100. Additionally, it
features two unique features, being the only example ordered on a
Packard chassis with dual rear-mounted spares and chrome hood
doors.
The Derham records, held in the Classic Car Club of America Museum,
record this car as having been ordered by the Packard Washington
Motor Car Company of Washington, D.C., with the body alone priced a
whopping $2,000. Approximately 60 pages of correspondence document
it as having been delivered in Black with Ronan's Perfect Red Extra
Pale window reveals, wheels, chassis, and gas tank; an interior in
Blanchard & Lane Devon Grain leather; and a top and rear spare
covers in waterproof black mohair. The paperwork further documents
the serial numbers and fitment of the aforementioned crank-operated
top, dual rear-mounted spares, and chrome hood doors.
This example found a home on 28 November 1930, shortly after its
delivery to Packard Washington. Its history picks up in 1954 with
Anthony Fiocco of Westlake, Ohio, who appeared with the car in the
1954 Annual Review issue of The Classic Car and that year in a CCCA
CARavan. Around 1960 it was acquired by famous Packard enthusiast
Julian Eccles of Oregon, in whose ownership it was restored in the
early 1980s and displayed at the 1982 Pebble Beach Concours
d'Elegance. The Convertible Roadster was offered from Eccles'
estate in 1987 and ultimately sold to James Weston of San
Francisco, who exhibited it as a display-only entrant at Pebble
Beach 1999. He retained it until his passing, and shortly after it
was purchased by the current owners.
They elected to have a fresh and meticulously researched
restoration performed by the noted Stone Barn Automobile
Restoration of Vienna, New Jersey, using the original colors and
upholstery described in the detailed Derham build records.
Inspection of the car revealed that it retains its original
firewall data tag, as well as the original Derham body tag, under
the passenger seat, and the original chassis, engine, and front
axle, amazingly numbered a digit apart, confirming their
originality to the car.
The result has been exhibited only once since completion of the
restoration, again at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance,
where it was aptly awarded Best in Class in an always-competitive
Packard Class for its fantastic, correct, and authentic
presentation and well-documented history. It is offered here with a
wealth of new opportunities available for a new owner who wishes to
exhibit the car and add to its roster of trophies at any number of
concours events.
The possibilities are endless, just as they were on the showroom
floor of Packard Washington; it is a spectacular machine.To view
this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please
visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/am19.