In the world of collectible cars, it is not just the cars that have become collectible. During the past 20 years, a huge new market has developed in the trivia that surrounds cars rather than the cars themselves.
There are as many kinds of car collectibles as there are people to collect them. These range from relatively inexpensive items, such as oil cans and gas-station incentives, to fabulously expensive hood ornaments worth tens of thousands of dollars.
There is more than 100 years of history surrounding the automobile and collectible materials that revolved around the car. Collectibles from the dawn of motoring include such things as the acetylene and kerosene coach lamps and bulb horns carried on the cars themselves to the sales and promotional material that was used by the thousands of competing companies to promote their automobiles.
Much of the advertising art used by car companies in the 1920s and 1930s was commissioned from great artists of the day and the ads often revelled in the Nouveau and Art Deco schools of art. Companies such as Pierce Arrow and Packard commissioned outstanding art and the large original posters can sell now for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.
Of course the more expensive the car, the rarer and more expensive the collectibles associated with the car. Original Bugatti collectibles, for instance, can be as ridiculously expensive as the cars are in comparison to other vintage automobiles.
I have an original factory vise, an item that Bugatti created for internal use, which is dramatically better than any other vise I have ever used. Not long after I got it, I was offered $14,000 (U.S.) for it by an English collector who had dropped by for a visit. I did not sell it but at least I got an inkling of its value.
Other Bugatti items that I have, such as original blueprints and promotional items, are also worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. Such items for a 1930s Oldsmobile would be worth at best $40 or $50.
It goes without saying that racing generates a huge amount of collectibles, as demonstrated by the incredible scope of NASCAR material being produced. Formula One helmets, driver's suits and even face plates are hotly contested on eBay and are available at specialty stores all over the world. Vintage racing material is even more collectible these days and trinkets from races dating from as far back as the early 1900s are offered at auction houses with large reserves.
Original paintings from the periods depicting famous automotive events are very much sought after and interested buyers will flock to auctions from all over the world.
In some cases, the auctions will go to the buyer. One of my favourites is on-line at l'art et l'automobile's website, arteauto.com.
Jacques Vaucher, who owns an automotive memorabilia store in East Hampton on New York state's Long Island, deals in original posters and other significant memorabilia, largely European, which are often pre-war and racing-oriented.
He holds a couple of on-line auctions each year, with hundreds of items available. He sends beautifully illustrated catalogues out to interested parties as well as reminding them of closing dates and auction reserves by e-mail. I am always tempted and have succumbed several times to his auction's siren call.
If you are not interested in racing posters or Bugatti vises, there are other things to tempt you, like gasoline pumps. I remember congratulating myself about 10 years ago on selling a double-headed clear vision gas pump from the 1920s for $3,000. Now it would sell for $15,000.
Some collectors specialize in gas-station memorabilia from individual firms, such as Texaco or White Rose, and everything from gas cans and billing pads to large outdoor signs and the actual gas stations themselves are grist for their mills.
There is no doubt that collecting automobilia can be infectious and just as serious a malady as collecting classic cars themselves.
Even the owner of a single classic car like a 1957 Chevy can get hooked the first time he buys an original '57 Chevy sales brochure or dealer incentive model to display in the garage alongside his car. On the other hand, he will always be easy to buy for at Christmas.
David Grainger owns an automotive restoration company.
