Bertoia's August 28 Automobilia Sale featured rare items from the David Bausch lifetime collection plus other fine items

Highlights: bronze sculpture by Stanley Wanlass, $34,800; 1929 Franklin Series 11 automobile, $13,200; service station sign for Franklin Motor Cars, $10,200

VINELAND, NJ, UNITED STATES, September 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A hand-painted polychrome bronze sculpture by Stanley Wanlass (American, b. 1941-) depicting an early touring car overtaking a man on horseback sold for $34,800, and a handsome 1929 Franklin Series 11 sedan automobile chugged off for $13,200 at Bertoia’s August 28 Automobilia Sale. The auction featured automobilia items from the celebrated David Bausch collection, an exceptional assemblage encompassing more than a century of automotive history, advertising and design.

Longtime car and automobilia enthusiast David Bausch’s collection is so massive, many of his treasures have been featured in seven auctions conducted by Bertoia’s. About half the items entered in the August sale were from his collection, all automobilia. They included posters, prints, enameled gas and oil signs; statuary, early automotive-themed objets de vertu and gentlemen’s dresser items, Roseville dishware and more. Fine-quality pieces from other consignors were also offered in the 550-lot sale.
Five of the auction’s nine top lots were whimsical hand-painted, polychrome bronze sculptures by Stanley Wanlass, all of them richly detailed and exhibiting an automotive theme. His circa-1930 Passing of the Horse, from an edition of 30, depicted the transitional years during which the car replaced the horse as America's primary means of transportation. The 32-inch-long sculpture atop a carved walnut base is among Wanlass's most acclaimed works. The $34,000 selling price surpassed the $24,000 high estimate.
The 1929 Franklin Series 11 automobile, a 1992 Classic Car Club of America original car award winner, was finished in dark green with black fenders. It exemplified the advanced engineering that distinguished the H H Franklin Manufacturing Company (Syracuse, NY, active 1902-1934). This well-preserved example represented one of America's most innovative independent luxury automobiles of the Classic Car Era. It sold above its high estimate for $13,200.

A large, single-sided porcelain service station sign advertising Franklin Motor Cars, produced circa 1920s, realized $10,200 against a pre-sale estimate of $4,000-$6,000. Measuring a stout 48 inches by 27 inches, the sign featured bold black, white, and yellow graphics, and was manufactured for display at authorized Franklin dealerships, as well as service stations. It was a desirable example from one of America's early American automobile manufacturers and was graded in excellent to pristine condition.

Fetching an identical selling price of $10,200, an Art Deco-style bronzed pewter figural lamp depicted a graceful allegorical female personifying the spirit of flight, balancing an illuminated early biplane above her outstretched hand. The 30-inch-tall lamp, made in France circa 1925-1935, was mounted on a marble base with the figure standing atop a winged pedestal marked "L'Air." It boasted wonderful form and was in excellent condition. The selling price easily bested the $2,500 high estimate.

An official 75th Anniversary commemorative scale model of the 1903 Model A Ford, produced in 1978 by the American Silversmiths Guild for Ford Motor Company, garnered $9,000. It was from a limited edition of 1,708 examples crafted in sterling and gold. Measuring 14 inches in length, the model stood on a walnut and Belgian block base and was accompanied by its original certificates of authenticity, dealer order form, appraisal, and Ford correspondence. The selling price more than quadrupled the $2,000 high estimate.

An exceptional circa-1910 Voiturette IVRY advertising poster, signed by Harry Eliott and depicting a stylish motorist bundled against the evening chill while navigating by map in a bright red IVRY voiturette, left the room for $7,200 against a $6,000 high estimate. The 50-inch by 64-inch poster was illuminated by the company's distinctive light bulb emblem. It was issued to promote a Parisian builder of lightweight automobiles from 1906-1913, retaining extraordinary color, crisp detail, and outstanding visual appeal.
A French glazed porcelain figural lamp depicting two goggled motorists in an early open touring racer, executed with expressive Art Deco styling and mounted on a shaped walnut base, changed hands for $6,000 against a high estimate of $1,400. The sculpture was stamped "Déposé" and numbered 443, retaining its original dual-light socket assembly. This was an uncommon and highly decorative automotive lighting piece measuring an impressive 24 inches in length, and in pristine condition.
A rare, circa 1905-1907, Michelin advertising poster titled Le Pneu Michelin a Vaincu le Rail (“Michelin Has Defeated the Rail”), signed by Montaut, depicted a speeding red racing automobile leaving a steam locomotive behind as it rounded a sweeping curve. Created to promote Michelin's pneumatic tires, the 51-inch by 68-inch poster celebrated the automobile's triumph over rail travel by proclaiming the Paris–Biarritz journey could be completed in less than 30 hours over 900 kilometers. It sold for $5,400.
A lithographic print of a poster painting by William Harnden Foster (1886-1960), depicting a powerful Oldsmobile touring car racing past a steam locomotive amid clouds of smoke in a dramatic test of speed and endurance, was signed and dated by the artist and finished at $4,500, besting the $3,000 high estimate. The action-filled image, 28 inches by 38 inches, demonstrated the confidence of the American automobile industry during its formative years. The prints were made in limited numbers of about 100-200 pieces.
Lot #274 was a lovely Roseville pottery planter in the Tourist pattern, showing an early automobile scene of a couple tending to a flat tire in a colorful country setting. The 18½-inch by 10-inch piece was in excellent to pristine condition and hit $4,800, more than double the $2,000 high estimate. Also, a silver-plated enameled aviation panel cigarette case with sailboat graphic and gold washed interior, 3½ inches long and in great condition, brought $3,000 against a $2,000 high estimate.

A large, boxed Ichiko (Japan) toy version of a 1967 Cadillac Eldorado, 28 inches long and with a working friction motor, blew past the $800 high estimate to cross the finish line at $1,140. The sharp-looking car was in near-mint condition.

The David Bausch collection illustrated the many ways in which the automobile influenced not only transportation, but also the art, fashion and popular culture of the 20th century. Adding further depth to the auction, the Lenny Hummel Collection offered an outstanding selection of pre- and postwar Japanese tinplate automotive toys from some of the hobby's most desirable manufacturers. Overall, the August 28 Automobilia Auction provided serious collectors with an exceptional opportunity to acquire objects representing nearly every facet of automotive history.

Bertoia Auctions is currently accepting high-quality toys, banks, holiday antiques and collectibles for their future sales. Bertoia Auctions’ president, Michael Bertoia, welcomes the opportunity to discuss the consignment process with collectors, whether they have a single piece or an entire collection. All enquiries are kept strictly confidential and there is never any obligation to consign. Tel. 856-692-1881 or email toys@bertoiaauctions.com. Keep up with Bertoia’s via their website: www.bertoiaauctions.com.
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All prices quoted in this report are inclusive of buyer’s premium as stated on Bertoia’s website https://www.bertoiaauctions.com. To view the catalog and prices realized for Bertoia’s August 28, 2026 Automobilia auction, visit https://bid.bertoiaauctions.com/auctions/1-CS4OQ4/automobilia-august-2026

Michael Bertoia
Bertoia Auctions
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