HISTORIC VEHICLE ASSOCIATION AN UPDATE FROM THE HVA
THE STEWARDSHIP OF HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT AUTOMOBILES
A new book compiled by Simeone Automotive Museum founder Fred Simeone and a team of respected histo- rians, restorers and other collector car professionals, including HVA president Mark Gessler, details the ethics, aesthetics and collector guidelines for preserving historic automobiles.
Anyone who’s ever sat through an episode of Antiques Roadshow knows that “restoration” is a bit of dirty word among collectors of everything from old paintings to antique firearms. Dare one strip the shellac on a Townsend desk? Alter the face of a Rittenhouse clock? Re-blue a Civil War-era Spencer rifle when there was really no reason to
do so? The value of any historic item can take a significant nosedive if re- sponsible care isn’t taken.
Not so in the world of cars. Not until recently, anyway.
Whether you believe it a sign of maturing car collectors’ tastes or simply a backlash against the over-restoration of show-circuit cars, old vehicles preserved with their “wrinkles and all” have become more important in the collector world.
The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles (Coachbuilt Press, $60) brings together an all-star lineup of car-collecting luminaries to offer their insights on this popular new trend, and is at least partly an outgrowth of an HVA-sponsored symposium on preservation held at the Simeone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia in June 2011.
Enlightenment, not criticism, is the narrative backbone of book chapters discussing the academic, philosophic and technical aspects of preservation-class vehicles. Where did this movement originate? What does it mean for the future of car collecting?
Here you’ll find Miles Collier offering insight into the emerging ethos of collecting historic vehicles. Past con- servator for the Henry Ford Museum, Malcolm Collum, explains the goals of preservation, while Leigh and Leslie Keno of PBS’s Antiques Roadshow discuss the impor- tance of originality, along with tips for preservation-class car owners: For starters, make sure to keep original parts (even if they’re damaged or worn out) as well as photo- graphs, manuals and past trophies.
Edited by Dr. Fredrick Simeone, a neurosurgeon and owner of one of the greatest collections of vintage sports racing cars in the world, The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles is available now. For more infor- mation, and to order, go to
simeonemuseum.org.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76