To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' Amelia
Island event, 8 - 9 March 2019.
Estimate:
$80,000 - $120,000
- Offered from a private collection
- Custom coachwork by New York's finest shop; one of two
known
- Beautiful concours-quality restoration
- Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) First Prize
winner
- Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Senior First Prize winner;
100 points
The Great Depression had a wide-ranging effect on luxury car sales
in America. Even those whose immense wealth had survived the stock
market crash did not feel it appropriate to cruise past breadlines
and tent cities in the massive cars of years past, and so there
emerged a new trend for elegant custom coachwork on smaller, more
practical chassis. Few executed the trend more beautifully than New
York City's finest coachbuilder, the Rollston Company, which began
to specialize in small formal town cars on a wide variety of
chassis, most frequently the "junior" Packard One Twenty.
This One Twenty, a 1937 15th Series model, is one of two known
survivors with Rollston's elegant all-weather cabriolet body, a
chauffeur-driven model with an open driver's compartment and an
enclosed rear compartment with buttery soft broadcloth upholstery,
jump seats, vanity compartments, and fine wood trim. It is
testament to Rollston's skill that they were able to "scale down" a
large formal design to the One Twenty and still make it a
beautiful, cohesive design.
Extensively restored for the present owner by John Greenleif after
being found in upstate New York, with a Mrs. Bailinsky, the
granddaughter of the original owner, the car was submitted to the
Classic Car Club of America, which recognized and accepted it as a
Full Classic. Accordingly, it was shown in CCCA National
competition and eventually received Senior honors (badge no. 3067)
with a perfect 100-point score at the 2012 New England Grand
Classic, as well as Best in Show and the Mayor's Award at a meet at
the National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio.
Desirable accessories for one's driver include a large dash-mounted
clock, heater, and intercom, while the exterior sports a very
elegant leather-padded roof along with a rear-mounted spare. The
restoration is still fresh in most every regard and is ready for
continued showing with a new owner, who will enjoy owning a truly
special and unique "junior Packard" and Full Classic.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/am19.
