InstGRAM Report: The Wallis C Bird 1962 Auction Brochure for the “Car Auction of the Century”
The 1962 automotive auction brochure for the estate of Wallis C Bird has been rediscovered, showcased here in its entirety as well as updated information on where the cars are today.
This article would not be possible without the help of Steve Krask, who recently rediscovered the auction brochure after looking for it six years. Steve Krask's grandfather and Winnie Bird's nephew Ben Berdan maintained the Bird collection at the Farnesworth Estate.
The wait was worth it, because we now get to share what each of the vehicles that got sold off in this famous automotive auction that was called a “Car Auction of the Century” by those who attended in 1962.
By Gram Spina
Ben Berdan, Steve Krask's grandfather and Winnie Bird's nephew, who maintained the Bird collection.
Ethel Berdan, Steve Krask's grandmother, on a ride in front of the Bird garage.
The garage is still standing today on Planting Fields Road in Oyster Bay.
Before we get started on the auction brochure, I would like to mention that we have published articles in the past discussing Wallis C. Bird and the significance of his iconic collection of pre-WWII automobiles. See our previous articles about Bird and his car collection — from his racing Bugatti's to his Duesenberg's — here.
The auction was advertised by word of mouth and through a few small local newspapers in the Brookville, Long Island, New York area. About 2,000 people were in attendance, but there were only a few automobile collectors in the crowd. Most spectators were simply on hand to witness this once-in-a-lifetime event.
Here is the cover page for the 1962 automotive auction featuring the cars from the estate of Marjorie Winifred Bird, who inherited her husband’s collection when he died in 1940. After Marjorie’s death (without a will) in 1961 in Lausanne, Switzerland — the estate, including the car collection — was put up for auction. Interestingly, both Marjorie and her husband suffered untimely deaths. Wallis crashed his plane flying upstate and Marjorie was poisoned and killed by a con man suitor who passed himself off as a prince; he and an accomplice were later convicted of her murder.
As you can see, the first page of the auction catalog shows some truly iconic cars; almost all of the cars descriptions include the engine serial numbers.
We have a deep dive article that focuses on the top nine cars sold during this auction, including the stories of how Wallis C. Bird acquired these cars; click here to read that article.
This article specifically features each car that we have photographs of from the 1962 auction. I am including information about the sale price and where they are today, if it is publicly available.
1930 Duesenberg Model J Beverly
Sold to Jacques C. Tunick of Stamford, Connecticut for $5,300. Jacques may have been a relative of David Tunick who owned Tucker 1044 from 1969 to 1973.
1926 Hispano -Suiza
Sold to Harry L. Gladding of Baltimore for $3,770.
1928 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Roadster
The second automobile sold to Jacques C. Tunick of Stamford, Connecticut for $3,650.
1930 Bentley 8-Litre
Sold to James P. MacAllister of New York for $3,500.
1935 Duesenberg Model J
(The auction catalog mis-identified the year as 1931.) Sold to Dieter Holterbosch for $10,000.
Today it has been fully restored and has won its class at Pebble Beach in 2015.
We did a full article on this Duesenberg back in 2020, click here to read the full story.
1931 Alfa Romeo 6C
The third automobile sold to Jacques C. Tunick of Stamford, Connecticut for $3,100.
1929 Bugatti Type 43 Grand Sport
Sold to Gurdon B. Wardes of Oyster Bay, New York for $1,850
1928 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix
Sold to Henry Austin Clark, Jr. of Southampton, New York for $1,750.
This car was on display inside the Long Island Automotive Museum for many years.
Fast forward to today — it is now owned by Brumos Collection Museum in Jacksonville, Florida
Here's the second and final page of the auction catalog.
1930 Mercedes Benz 680S
The fourth automobile sold to Jacques C. Tunick of Stamford, Connecticut for $5,000. He must have been as excited as a kid in a candy store when acquiring these iconic classic cars.
1940 Buick Woodie Wagon
Sold to an unknown bidder for $875.
While there are no images of this particular wagon from the estate car collection, this is a photo of the car as it looks today, it is currently offered for sale for the price of $169,500 by Vintage Motors.
Buick only built 495 examples of these woodie wagons, and I would not be surprised if only a small hand full are still around today.
I could not find any photos or additional information on the rest of the cars sold off during the auction, but if anyone has any more details, we would enjoy hearing from you in the comments below.
Thank you again to Steve Krask for sending us the auction catalog!
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