Advertising signs, petroliana, rare old vehicles do well in Miller & Miller's September 10th auction

NEW HAMBURG, Ontario - Sept. 15, 2022 - PRLog -- Three extremely rare, turn-of-the-century motor vehicles – a 1907 REO Model A 5-passenger touring car, an 1899 Stanley Stanhope No. 1 "Locomobile" and a prototype of the 1911 Model H REO pickup truck – sped away for a combined $120,950 in Miller & Miller Auctions' online-only Petroliana & Advertising auction held on September 10^th.

All figures quoted are in Canadian dollars and include an 18 percent buyer's premium.

The 1899 Stanley Stanhope Model No. 1 "Locomobile", made by the Locomobile Company of America, was the auction's top lot, selling for $44,250. It was very popular and quickly became known as the "Stanley Steamer" due to its quiet but powerful two-cylinder steam engine. The literature boasted it "weighs less than 400 pounds and is odorless and noiseless when in use."

The 1907 REO Model A 5-passenger touring car sold within estimate for $41,300. This early and unusual vehicle was the brainchild of Ransom E. Olds (creator of the curved dash Oldsmobile). It was restored in 2006. For years the car was on proud display at Richard Bennett's Horseless Carriage Museum in Fenelon Falls, Ontario. All three top lots, in fact, came out of the museum.

The eye-catching variant and potential prototype of the 1911 Model H REO pickup truck, made by the REO Motor Truck Company in Lansing, Michigan, had been fully restored and featured signage for the merchant "Ballantine & Taby" ($35,400). Ads for the truck (also designed by R. E. Olds) claimed it could "do the work of three horse-drawn trucks at less than half the cost."

"For decades Richard Bennett added unusual items to his museum," said Ethan Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. "Buyers clamored to own what he collected. It was an exciting sale.

Brass-era vehicles added the 'wow factor' to an auction that was packed with automobilia, steam engines, advertising and music machines. All categories were received with enthusiasm."

Mr. Miller added, "While categories in mature markets such as brass-era automobiles performed slightly beneath what we expected, gas/oil and soda advertising performed well beyond our estimates. Richard Bennett added unique and interesting items to his museum whenever the opportunity arose. His vehicles in the auction helped boost the sale's overall gross to $553,951."

To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. and the firm's upcoming auctions, please visit www.millerandmillerauctions.com.