The Automobilia Auction will take place each morning before collector cars begin to cross the block during the 2024 Scottsdale event, January 20-28 at WestWorld. Register to bid for the opportunity to add authentic automobilia to your collection.
Written by Nicole Ellan James
Each Barrett-Jackson Auction attracts the best-of-the-best collector vehicles and automobilia. The 2024 Scottsdale Auction continues this tradition. Notably, Barrett-Jackson will proudly showcase the Mark Lange Estate Collection during the 2024 Scottsdale Auction. Lange, recognized as a passionate “car guy,” owned and managed numerous classic and vintage car dealerships, with a specialization in European and American classics. Upon relocating to Lodi, California, in the 2000s, Lange acquired a Packard dealership from the 1920s, transforming it into the Vintage Reserve Garage, through which he bought and sold hundreds of classic cars.
Lange led a life deeply intertwined with automotive enthusiasm, engaging in numerous car events. His participation extended to showcasing a 1930 Duesenberg at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Beyond display, he actively raced vintage race cars across multiple racetracks nationwide. According to Rory Brinkman, Barrett-Jackson’s Automobilia Director, in addition to his love for cars, Lange also had a love for automobilia and he decorated his entire dealership with authentic tin, porcelain and neon signs.
“His dealership was quite impressive with the way it was decorated,” Brinkman said. “What no one realized is that he also had his own compound, home and winery with numerous storage buildings that were literally just filled from floor to ceiling with automobilia and rare vintage car parts.”
It took Brinkman and his team over a week to go through all the buildings and sort all the pieces for the automobilia auction. “Lange had literally stacks of signs, 30-40 at a time,” Brinkman said. “It was something we had never seen before, and the majority of these pieces hadn’t seen the light of day for 15 to 25 years.”
The Mark Lange Estate Collection is now headed to the 2024 Scottsdale Automobilia Auction, where it will be sold with No Reserve.
Some of the amazing pieces set to cross the block at scottsdale include several dealership signs. Among the most notable is a gorgeous 1940s Lincoln Mercury Automobiles double-sided neon porcelain dealership sign (Lot #9490.3), an extremely rare circa 1940s-50s Plymouth Automobiles single-sided neon porcelain dealership sign (Lot #9495.1) with day-one gloss and colors and a stupendous 1953 Ford Jubilee double-sided neon porcelain dealership sign (Lot #9491) that has undergone professional restoration, mainly to the perimeter edge. The 1953 Ford Jubilee sign is considered one of the most desirable of period neon signs.
Oil and gas companies are also represented in the collection with an outstanding circa 1940s-50s Mobil Oil double-sided neon porcelain rotating Pegasus service station sign (Lot #9489.4) and a rare new-old-stock 1971 Cougar Oil of Alabama double-sided porcelain service station sign (Lot #9470) that was found in the original box and never displayed. It is one of only several survivors known and was featured on the History channel show “American Pickers.” And is considered by many to be the finest example. Additionally, the collection will include a monumental and large circa 1940s Oregon Chief Gasoline double-sided porcelain service station sign (Lot #9468). According to Brinkman, it is one of the most sought-after signs among collectors and features bright colors and gloss.
Other unique items crossing the block include a near-perfect circa 1930s-40s Garage Autos – Trucks double-sided neon porcelain dealership sign (Lot #9397) with a fabulous bullnose design complemented by art-deco styling, as well as a magnificent and large new-old-stock 1928 AAA Auto Races framed poster (Lot #9559.2). The poster is of museum quality and was professionally dry-mounted to canvas, then framed.
LOT #9492 – LARGE 1950s PLUTO SINGLE-SIDED PORCELAIN WITH NEON STUDIO SIGN – NO RESERVE
Lastly, the collection includes two pieces of Disney memorabilia: a large 1950s Pluto single-sided porcelain with neon studio sign (Lot #9492) and a late 1940s-early ’50s Pluto coin-operated kiddie ride (Lot #9493). The neon studio sign features marvelous colors and the face has been restored to perfection, while the kiddie ride has been professionally restored to day-one condition.
In addition to the Mark Lange Estate Collection, the auction will feature items from Part Two of the Carl Bomstead Lifetime Collection. Part one of the collection was a highlight of the 2023 Scottsdale Automobilia Auction. Bomstead is known for his role as a longtime judge at the Pebble Beach Concours. The docket will include hood mascots from his collection as well as service station pieces and more. Several other collections will also be included in the auction.
The entire Scottsdale Automobilia Auction will feature over 1,100 items comprised of over 120 neon porcelain signs, rare vintage gas pumps, service station pieces and a highly restored kiddie ride collection, in addition to soda-related pieces, general store items and more. “This may be our best offering to date,” Brinkman said of the upcoming Scottsdale docket.
The Automobilia Auction will take place each morning before collector cars begin to cross the block during the 2024 Scottsdale event, January 20-28 at WestWorld. Register to bid for the opportunity to add authentic automobilia to your collection.