Mystery Auto #28 Solved: 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Owned by Wallace Bird and Henry Austin Clark, Jr.
We made it through another week! Several celebrated by solving this weekend's Mystery Foto.
Answers to the Mystery Foto questions:
-Identify the make, model and year of the Mystery Auto
1925 Bugatti Type 35
-Identify the Long Islander who was the original owner
Wallis C. Bird of Locust Valley was the original owner and inherited by his wife Winnie in June 1940.
-Identify the Long Islander who was the second owner
The second after the Birds was Henry Austin Clark, Jr. for $1,750 ( $13,800 equivalent today) at the Farnesworth Garage Auction in May 1962.
-What is the estimated value of the Mystery Auto?
This Bugatti was sold by Gooding at their 2017 Scottsdale auction for $3.3 million.
-Kudos question: Where can the Mystery Auto be found today?
Bird's Bugatti is currently at the newly opened and currently closed Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, Florida.
Comments (15)
Congrats to Robert Grenhaus, Art Kleiner, Kristen Domiano, Steve Lucas, Paul Parisi, Walt Gosden, Mark Thomas, Sam Berliner III, Randy Reed, Dick Gorman, Chris Battestin and Greg O. for identifying the Bugatti Type 35.
Kudos to Robert Greenhaus, Art Kleiner, Steve Lucas and Randy Reed for identifying the Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, Florida.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Close-Ups
Courtesy of Andy Beckman, The Brumos Collection
Wallis C. Bird and Marjorie Winifred Kendall Bird Family Album. Courtesy of Steve Kendall
The Bugatti can be seen on the bottom right in Wallis Bird's garage.
At the 1962 Car Auction of the Century
The Bugatti is being checked by a teen in the middle.
2017 Gooding Auction
The Farnesworth Garage: Then & Now
Circa 1935. Courtesy of Steve Babinsky
2013
Comments
Identify the make, model and year of the Mystery Auto?
• 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix
Identify the Long Islander who was the original owner?
• Wallis C. Bird
Identify the Long Islander who was the second owner?
• Henry Austin Clark
What is the estimated value of the Mystery Auto?
• In excess of $3.3 million.
Kudos question: Where can the Mystery Auto be found today?
• The Brumos Collection, Jacksonville, FL.
The car is a 1925 Buggati Type 35 Grand Prix.
First LI owner was Wallace Bird (Farnsworth Estate - second pic), second LI owner was Austin Clark.
The car was sold in 2017 for $3.3 million to its current owner, The Brumos Collection (third pic), which opened this year in Jacksonville, FL which is where the car is currently exhibited.
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/the-brumos-collection-opportunity-meets-racing-history
Mystery Foto #28
-Identify the make, model and year of the Mystery Auto
Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix, chassis no. 4487, year 1925
-Identify the Long Islander who was the original owner
Mr. Wallis Clinton Bird
-Identify the Long Islander who was the second owner
Henry Austin Clark Jr.
-What is the estimated value of the Mystery Auto?
upwards of $3 million
-Kudos question: Where can the Mystery Auto be found today?
That’s a 1925 Bugatti Type 35. The original owner was Wallace (or Wallis) C. Bird who lived at the Oyster Bay “Farnsworth” mansion and bought the car new while on his honeymoon in Paris. The second owner was Austin Clark, of L. I. Automobile Museum fame, who bought the car at the estate auction of Mrs. Bird in 1962. It was sold at the 2017 Scottsdale auction for $3.3 million so I guess that’s the approximate value today. If you want to see it today, you’ll have to go to the Brumos Colllection in Jacksonville, FL.
1925 Bugatti Type 35 Roadster
Wallace C Bird 1st Long Island owner
Henry Austin Clark Jr 2nd Long Island owner
3.3 million dollars
Total guess Vermont
the car is a Bugatti type 35, year perhaps 1935-1936, original owner was Wallis Bird of Oyster Bay, NY; second owner was Henry Austin Clark Jr. who bought it at the auction of the Bird estate cars in 1962. ( Austin attended the sale in his maroon Phantom I Roll-Royce that was built in Springfield, Mass. by RR of America. )
I do not follow or know or care about current values of cars. I have no idea where the car is today.
Fred Willets?
-Identify the make, model and year of the Mystery Auto
1924-1931 Bugatti Type 35 grand prix Racer with a straight 8 with supercharger; The same engine that Mike Caruso cut in half and in his 1937 sprint car. See story on Car: http://hixnews.com/1904/Hixtory.htm
-Identify the Long Islander who was the original owner
Wallis Bird from Long island
-Identify the Long Islander who was the second owner
Henry Austin Clark
-What is the estimated value of the Mystery Auto?
1 million
-Kudos question: Where can the Mystery Auto be found today?
In some private collection or Maybe Howard’s place??
Well, it’s clearly a Bugatti, probably a 1925-31 Tipo 35-39. I’d guess a 35C. Sam, III
1925 Bugatti T35.
Wallis C. Bird, 1925. Mrs. Marjorie Bird inherited in 1940.
Some claims that the car was still in France in early 1930s.
Henry Austin Clarke, 1962. Bought $1,750.
Unknown new owner, 1980.
Estimated current value, in my opinion unknown.
Brumos Museum in Jacksonville, Florida, 2017. Bought $3,000,000/3,300,000.
Mystery Foto #28… The photo shows the 1925 Type 35 Bugatti, Chassis #4487.
It was bought new in 1925 by Wallace Bird of Locust Valley (or Brookville).
Eventually sold to Henry Austin Clark of Southhampton for $1750 in 1962.
As for value, the car was sold at a Gooding an Co. auction in 2017 for $3,300,000.
Addendum to my earlier reply to Mystery Foto #28… Another Long Islander who owned a Type 35 Bug was cartoonist Charles Addams (The Addams Family). See attached photo of his black Bugatti which appeared in his cartoons at least once shown on a trailer being towed by a hearse.
Third reply, Mystery Foto #28…One more pic of the Charles Addams Type 35 at Bridgehampton.
It’s a Bugatti Type 35, late 1920s-ish, small 4 cylinder possibly supercharged. Very popular race car at the time.
1925 Bugatti Type 35B valued around 5 million today.
Howard, Another aspect of the sale that might be of interest is that it was held 22 years after Bird died. He was killed in a plane crash on June 4, 1940 piloting his own plane , a 4 passenger Beechcraft, no one else was aboard. I got a hunch one of the reasons he purchased the Billings estate was because it came with a 20 car garage.
Then& Now images of the Farnesworth Garage have been added to the post.
Two new Bugatti images have been posted from The Brumos Collection.
Howard, Among the nine automobiles sold that day was another Bugatti, a roadster, I think 1928-1929. It sold for a thousand dollars more than the Type 35 That one also went to a Long Islander. Wonder what that one is worth today.
Per the original 30 Jun 2014 Bird auction post, I vas dere Cholly! Like Walt, couldn’t care less about value (or about Bug. details). However, I’m chiming in again because of my great interest in Chas. Addams and in Austie Clark. Super pix! No one commented that there’s Austie facing us in the right rear of the last Addams pic. O. K., all you experts; who’s the passenger in that pic, Tee Miller Addams? No Barbara I or II (Morticia), she. Sam, III
Sam, Is that Mrs. Carroll Oelsner in the Addams Bugatti ?
Al; I dunno. I remember that name but no more. If it’s a mystery photo, I am not the solver. Googling didn’t help much; Carol (Mrs. Warren James) Oelsner of Centre Island, mayhap? You seem to know more than I on this. Sam, III
Sam, I believe Carroll was married to John Oelsner and they lived in Glen Cove near Clark. She and Clarke’s wife were members of the Buckram Beagles Club.
Details, details! Note the Addams Bug radiator cap, windscreen, and headlights changes. Two cars? Sam, III
Sam, Bugatti made a street version of the Type 35. it was known as the Type 37 and was sold as a “take home version” of the Type 35.
As a kid in NE PA, my dad took me to piles of antique car shows including by us in Clarks Summit PA, McKungie, Hershey and more. I remember seeing not just a 35 once in a while, but a miniature one probably for a rich kid - yes, it was engined. They truly stood out for good reasons!