An Amazing Discovery: Brand new “still in the box” 73-year old Tucker luggage
Thanks to my friend Rob Ida, I have added a pair of "new" Tucker luggage for Tucker 1044. In this photo, I met with Mike and Sean Tucker and Bob and Rob Ida to collect these pieces of Tucker history.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Rob Ida's April 15, 2021 Facebook story behind the Tucker Luggage discovery
1948 NY, A sharp, well educated 34 year old architectural engineer from the Kodak Corporation is ready for a new vehicle for his Family. Mr. Richard Aquilina, a technology wiz, finally found a car that really excited him and can serve the whole family, his wife Carmella and their two young children Alice and Gail. He saw Futuristic styling, performance and safety all in one car and he runs right over to his local Tucker Dealership in Rochester NY and puts an order in on a brand new Tucker ‘48. For his $331.60 deposit, he was able to choose accessories from the Tucker catalog for him to keep. He picked out the most expensive package Group 6. Leather luggage for him and her, a radio and seat covers. Then Mr. Richard Aquilina waits for his car and watches the drama surrounding Preston Tucker and his car unravel.
For the next 60 years he and His family would often gather around the Sunday dinner table and talk about the experience involving Tucker. The story was passed down for generations. Like myself with my grandfather, his granddaughter Laurie Ashodian heard the stories and shared the memories. Mr. Aquilina was a very meticulous man and kept track of all things Tucker. He never used the luggage and even kept the pieces in their original boxes with the Tucker shipping labels still attached. Inside the NOS pieces are the original order form, receipt, instructions, and mail correspondence. His Tucker Corp. stock certificates, stockholder updates, newspaper articles and even the “True Magazine” that he learned about the car in.
I’m proud to be the current caretaker of this collection, although I may have to see this go to my friend Howard Kroplick as he can pair it with his Andante green 1948 Tucker which we recently restored for him.
Richard hoped one day he’d be able to own a Tucker before he passed in 2005. Now I’ll be sure the luggage ends up where Mr. Aquilina hoped it would, inside a Tucker ‘48 in New York.
Postscript: Rob Ida did sell me (at his cost) the luggage and all the documents. They are now part of the Tucker 1044 collection. Thanks Rob!
All below photos courtesy of Rob Ida.
The Luggage
Still in the box with Tucker labels
The Tucker Order
Mr. Aquilina's order for a Tucker on June 16,1948
The Tucker Accessory Group Order
The Tucker accessory purchase order for $331.60.
The order consisted of Cowhide Man's Two-Suiter, Woman's Wardrobe Case, a radio and seat covers.
The order was ready for delivery on September 28, 1948
The Luggage
The kit included a shoe horn.
Instructions
Comments
Great addition to the Tucker collection, Howard! Thanks for sharing. i wonder if the brass plate on the luggage was often times engraved with the owner’s name.
Wow, how great….
Great story. Beautiful luggage!
Holy Cow! What an amazing find.
Howard,
What a great story and congrats on the luggage to complete the car.
Regards, Mark
This is a great find. It’s nice to see that Richard and his family preserved these pieces so well. Having the documents too is a bonus.
Wow! What a find!
Howard, congratulation to you on your fabulous Tucker find. I know you will be very magnanimous and allow the automobile public to see a great bit of Tucker memorabilia. Thanks you for all you do to preserve history for all to share.
Congratulations Howard, that is one of the best stories I’ve heard in a long time. You are the perfect person to preserve and share the collection and the luggage will now have a home its been waiting for over half a century! It must be wonderful to have such good friends in the Ida’s and the Tucker families. All the best, stay safe and well.
Neet addition to your living time capsule . Wonder if their are more bits of tucker mobilia to be discovered ? Thanks Howard for taking us on your adventures !!
Fantastic! You just have to wonder how many other NOS boxes of this sort of material are gathering dust in attics and garages across the country
Wow yet again! And they are actually nice pieces of luggage! Very practical!
That luggage is an impossible find, and more amazing, it eventually fell into the right hands. Thank you Mr. Ida for preserving these items after all these years. But I missed the cue, what was “the drama surrounding Preston Tucker?” Did Mr. Aquilina ever receive his Tucker, or just a partial shipment? Howard or Rob, what was the drama behind the car purchase?
Frank, Unfortunately, Tucker ‘48 never went into production so no orders were filled. The 50 pre-production Tuckers that were made with the prototype Tin Goose were made for the Tucker dealer showrooms. Most, like Tucker 1044, were sold off in the 1950 bankruptcy auction at the Tucker Factory in Chicago.
https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/about/detail/tucker_48_1044
Enjoy,
Howard
I finally watched the movie recently; what an insane story, yet what an amazing car.