This past month, I was called back to the O’Quinn Garage for the final time. There were only 8 cars left in the entire collection, and they too would soon be sent away to the Hershey Auction in early October. It was a sad moment walking back into the huge empty garage, with 8 cars tucked away in a corner, a far cry from the packed-to-the-gills state the warehouse was in just a little over a year ago. It almost had the solemn feeling of the deceased passing on, leaving only empty space where one of the world’s greatest collections once stood.

When I first arrived at the warehouse in April 2011, I was under the impression that it would be a small collection of maybe 15-20 cars. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I walked in – cars of all years, makes, and types as far as the eye could see. It was a playground for someone interested in automotive history, and I spent the better part of 8 hours the first day just walking around with the employees and listening to all the great history that these cars had. Al Capone’s personal Cadillac, Marlene Dietrich’s Rolls Royce, Howard Huges’ Duesenberg, to name only a few. I took videos with my phone, the whole time completely shocked that what I was recording was actually real. I’ve attached a few so that you can see the enormity of the collection. These videos were taken when the collection was at about 2/3 it’s full size, roughly 750 cars. Looking over the videos now, I can pick out the many that I had the pleasure of shooting over the course of these two years – an experience I won’t soon forget. Apologies for the video quality, they were taken with a now archaic Blackberry.

The remaining cars were a hodgepodge of years and makes, ranging from the spindly 1903 Stevens-Duryea Model L, when cars were still very much “horseless cariagges” to the virtually unknown Belgian made 1912 Minerva. The stately 1933 Rolls Royce Sedanca de Ville was easily the most visually impressive of the bunch, as Rolls Royce tends to be. Due to the frequency of the cars being sold, I began to take shooting amazing cars like this for granted, but it really struck me while finishing this last session up how lucky I’ve been to be a part of something this special, something of this magnitude that most likely won’t happen (anywhere near me, anyway) ever again.

I have thought about putting together a post with my favorite cars from the entire collection, from start to finish. I should have some time in the next few months to put this together, if anyone would find it interesting. I’m sad to see something truly special like this collection go, but I am excited for new projects that are forming on the horizon!

On to the photos!

1933 Rolls-Royce Sedanca de Ville LWB Limousine by Thrupp & Maberly

You can read more about Rolls Royce Limited on their Wikipedia Page, also coachbuilders Thrupp & Maberly

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1929 Gardner 8 Cylinder Roadster

The Gardner Motor Company was established by Russel E. Gardner in 1920. Having previously found success manufacturing and selling Chevrolets, he decided that he wanted to branch out and have a try at his own automobile. Sales were very promising in the first few years of business, doubling their sales of 3,800 cars in 1921 to 9,000 cars in 1922. Soon though, with the mounting success of large American automakers like Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler, Gardner began to feel the pressure of declining sales and only catering to a niche market. The Great Depression would do them in, and Gardner ceased production in 1932.

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1922 Liberty Touring

I wasn’t able to find much on the history of Liberty Motor Cars. Established in Detroit in 1916 by Percy Owen, the company had a very short run of production, eventually closing for business in September of 1923. This is only speculation, but when I judged the Liberty next to its peers of equal, lesser and greater value, the Liberty seemed to fall a bit short in every category. I would chalk it up to another company that was not adequately prepared for the breakneck pace at which the industry improved upon itself, leaving others that were not as quick to adapt in the dust.

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1912 Minerva Touring Car

Yet another of the hundreds of automakers lost to the ages, Belgian-born Minerva got its start manufacturing bicycles and early motorcylces in the early 1900’s. In 1903, Minerva Motors was created, and quickly gained the reputation as a sturdily built, desirable car for the upper class. Charles S Rolls (last name sound familiar?) got his start as a Minerva dealer before branching off to form a partnership of his own, of which he borrowed many ideas and manufacturing standards from Minerva. Rolls Royce and Minerva soon became direct competitors, both known for their quality and attention to detail. As with most of the marques of the day, the Great Depression sent Minerva into a tailspin, merging with another Belgian company, Imperia, then Verviers a decade later. After World War II, Minerva obtained a government contract from the Belgian army to make a Land Rover-esque vehicle. This sadly was not enough to keep the brand afloat, however, and Minerva finally folded in 1956.

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1933 Packard Standard 8 Victoria

You can read more about Packard on their Wikipedia Page

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1904 Northern Runabout

Northern started production of its Runabout in 1903. Starting at $750, or around $19,000 today, the car had a single cylinder, water-cooled engine producing a anemic 6hp. By 1908, with its ownership leaving for larger automotive companies, Northern ceased production.

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1903 Stevens-Duryea Model L 2/4P Runabout

Beginning production in 1901, Stevens-Duryea sold its first Runabout for a very pricey $1,200 ($32,600 today). 403 Runabouts were produced in the 1903 fiscal year, all with a flat mounted, water-cooled twin engine (although this particular example has since had its engine replaced with a two cylinder Harley Davidson motor). The company began to grow in the next few years, offering cars to the upper class costing as much as $9,500 ($125,000 today!). The cost of these automobiles versus the other quality options that were becoming available in the later part of the “‘teens” became too much for the small company to bear, and Stevens-Duryea was sold in 1923 to Owen Magnetic to produce gas and electric cars. This venture failed as well, however, and by 1927, Stevens-Duryea was all but history.

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1912 Ford Model T Speedster

The Ford Model T is best known as the car that made all other cars possible. Created on Henry Ford’s famously efficient assembly lines (by 1913, a car could be completely built in 2 hours and 40 minutes), the Model T was one of the first automobiles that was widely available (and obtainable) to the general public. Starting out at just $550 in 1912 (originally $850 at it’s debut in 1909), the Model T cost around $13,000 by today’s standards. This meant that the automobile was no longer just a toy for the rich, and a new possibility of affordable transportation for the average man came about.

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