2,000 no-reserve lots from Elmer’s Auto and Toy Museum to sell at Mecum Auction

Mecum Auctions is so stranger to unique lots crossing the block and that doesn’t just include standard vehicles. For those that don’t know, they sell quite a bit of unique signage, gas pumps and vintage toys.

This is where the collection from Elmer’s Auto and Toy Museum comes in. This collection will cross the block at the September 14th – 17th auction in Fountain City, Wisconsin and the entirely no reserve collection is a sight to behold.

Known worldwide as a preeminent authority and collector of pedal cars, the late Elmer Duellman purchased his first pedal car in 1971 and never looked back. He eventually amassed one of the world’s largest and most encompassing collections of its kind. Throughout his time collecting, Elmer became so knowledgeable and so well known within its realm that he contributed to a series of books on the topic and was often sought out as a reference by others. Elmer and his wife, Bernadette, gifted one of their pedal cars, a circa 1953 Kidillac, to the Smithsonian in Washington DC in 2003 to be a featured part of the display “America on the Move” within the National Museum of American History.

After months of taking inventory, photographing, researching and preparing, I can tell you that the nearly 2,000 lot collection has almost 800 pedal cars, pedal planes and pedal tractors. More than 230 bicycles and tricycles, 120 classic and collector vehicles, an estimated 120 sleds, carriages and ride-on toys. Due to the historical significance and provenance of some of these items, it has attracted global attention.

Amongst the highly collectable pedal cars and planes are a 1927 American National Lincoln Pedal Car (Lot W377). It retains the windshield frame, hood ornament, headlights, bumper, fenders, suspension, spotlight, horn and spare disc tire and is considered to be one of the finest original pedal cars available. An original 1925 American National Pedal Car (Lot F84), previously used as a barbershop chair and an original 1920’s Steelcraft Spirit of St. Louis Pedal Airplane (Lot W523) with a metal body and chain drive mechanism are just some of the highlights.

There are over 120 cars and 160 motorcycles in Elmer’s collection and they will be auctioned Saturday, September 17th, all no reserve, and headlining the cars are a 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T (Lot S182), powered by a numbers matching 383 CI Magnum V8 and original TorqueFlite automatic transmission with a mere 55,787 miles on the odometer, a 1970 Ford Torino GT Convertible (Lot S128) with a 429 CI V8, 4 speed manual transmission and 36,020 miles on the odometer and a one owner 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Silver Anniversary Edition (Lot S155) showing just 5.4 miles on the odometer.

The motorcycle headliners are no slouch either. This includes a 1951 Harley Davidson Model S 125 (Lot S56) with a mere 21 miles, a 1950 BSA Bantam D1 (Lot S57) with a 1948 Harley Davidson 125cc single cylinder engine and a 1959 Indian/Royal Enfield Chief (Lot S68) with a 700cc carbureted OHV parallel twin engine and a 4 speed manual transmission.

If you’re looking to purchase from the collection, bidder registration starts at $100 dollars and can be completed online or on site at the auction. If you are unable to attend, enhanced remote bidding options are available and include both online and telephone bidding. This is important to note, only registered bidders will be permitted on the grounds during the auction. No general admission tickets are available.

For more information on Elmer’s Auto and Toy Museum Collection, you can visit Mecum.com or call (262) 275-5050.