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45 of 170 lots
Lot 45
1930 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl ‘Barrelside’ Phaeton
Estimate:
$3,000,000 - $4,000,000
Starting bid:
$1,500,000
Sold for
$2,700,000
Live Auction
Pebble Beach Auctions 2023
Description
William Keane Ryan Jr., New York, New York (acquired new in 1930)
Harry R. Nelson, Branchville, New Jersey (acquired via Schoonmaker & Jacod in 1931)
Harold Bertrand, Auburn, New York (acquired from the above in 1947)
Harold Landgraf, Austin, Minnesota (acquired from the above in 1949)
Herbert and Bob Horn, Sarasota, Florida (acquired from the above in 1954)
Walter Bellm, Sarasota, Florida (acquired from the above in 1967)
Current Owner (acquired from the above via Leo Gephart in 1979)

Coachwork by LeBaron

Chassis: 2323
Engine: J-318

Salesroom Addendum
Please note that all windshield wind wings have been removed from the vehicle for purposes of auction display and that one of the front windshield wind wings is damaged.

A Unique and Highly Regarded Model J Duesenberg
The Sole Long-Wheelbase Example of the Seven “Barrelside” Phaetons Built
Well-Documented Provenance from New; Just Three Owners Since 1954
A Genuine Duesenberg Retaining Its Original Chassis, Coachwork, and Engine
Former AACA National First Prize and CCCA Grand Classic Award Winner
Well-Kept Earlier Restoration with Recent Engine Rebuild by Straight Eight of Troy, Michigan

420 CID DOHC Inline 8-Cylinder Engine
Single Schebler Updraft Carburetor
265 BHP at 4,200 RPM
3-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Front Solid Axle with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs and Shock Absorbers
Rear Live Axle with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs and Shock Absorbers

Introduced at the New York International Auto Show in December 1928, the Duesenberg Model J was a sensation. It was more powerful, faster, and better built than any other American automobile. With an immense DOHC straight-eight engine, its 265 hp rating was nearly double that of its next most powerful competitor. Priced at $8,500 for the bare running chassis, and with completed cars reaching $15,000 and beyond, exclusivity was guaranteed for the wealthy, famous, and influential.

Incredibly powerful, beautifully constructed, and technically advanced, it was equally adaptable to both open and closed designs – and even with the heaviest and most elaborate coachwork, it could easily outrun its competitors. E.L. Cord and Fred Duesenberg’s Model J, with its specification in many cases not improved upon for decades, earned and deserves its continued reputation as the greatest of all American classics. Today, nearly a full century since its introduction, its status remains unchallenged.

Of the long and distinguished list of coachbuilders that provided bodies for the Model J, LeBaron firmly established itself as one of the most celebrated and memorable. Although the coachbuilder produced a variety of body styles for Duesenberg, the most popular and emblematic designs were its handsome, open four-door phaetons, offered in two distinct styles – referred to today by the nicknames “Sweep Panel” and “Barrelside.”

Attributed to LeBaron stylists Hugo Pfau and Roland Stickney, the “Barrelside” Phaeton was far more exclusive, with a total production of just seven bodies – less than half that of the “Sweep Panel” Phaeton. Immediately distinguished by its sculpted cowl, folding windscreens, and distinctive side moldings, the “Barrelside” Phaeton features a unique curvature throughout the bodywork that likely earned the design its popular designation.

The “Barrelside” Phaeton coachwork originally fitted to this Model J is unique. Not only was it the sole example built on Duesenberg’s more costly long-wheelbase chassis, but it is also further distinguished by its unusual hood louvre treatment. Bearing chassis 2323 and engine no. J-318, this LeBaron-bodied Phaeton reportedly cost approximately $18,000 when new and was originally finished in a two-tone beige and brown paint scheme.

On April 22, 1930, the one-of-a-kind Duesenberg was delivered to its first owner, William Keane Ryan Jr., the grandson of Thomas Fortune Ryan, a tobacco, insurance, and transportation magnate who, at the time of his death in 1928, was the 10th richest American, with holdings estimated at $200 million.

According to various accounts, the new Duesenberg was delivered to Ryan Jr. in Paris, with shipping papers addressed in care of Munroe & Company, an American bank operating in France, with headquarters located at 4 Rue Ventadour, near the exclusive Opera District.

Apparently 28-year-old Ryan Jr. and his younger brother Thomas Fortune Ryan III – later a co-owner of Lockheed Aircraft – “raced” the Model J around Europe for about a year before selling it upon their return to New York.

In 1931, Manhattan-based car dealer Schoonmaker & Jacod sold J-318 to Harry R. Nelson of Branchville, New Jersey. Mr. Nelson, a chemical engineer who had patented the Nelson Electrolytic Cell in 1915, reportedly paid $7,500 for the lightly used Duesenberg.

According to a 1958 letter written in the car’s file by Harry Nelson’s son William: “Dad kept it for the better part of 16 years and I believe gave him more pleasure than any other thing he bought. He took many trips to California in it, most of them by himself…The air horns were made by a man named Larry Grover in Los Angeles as the result of following a truck for 80 miles without having enough “hornpower” to get him to move over…My father was an extremely law-abiding citizen and not at all a fast or reckless driver, but I believe the experience out of which he got the largest charge was running away from an extremely belligerent police officer, at which time he said the needle in the speedometer reached 118 mph after which he said he was afraid to look. Needless to say he was not apprehended.”

In 1947, Mr. Nelson sold J-318 to Harold Bertrand of Auburn, New York. Around this time, Mr. Bertrand and his partner Margaret Lewis opened a museum for antique automobiles in Skaneateles Falls, New York. The Duesenberg remained in their collection until 1949, when Ms. Lewis sold it to Harold Landgraf of Austin, Minnesota.

In 1954, J-318 was sold for $2,000 to Herbert and Bob Horn, brothers who had recently established a museum – Horns’ Cars of Yesterday – in Sarasota, Florida. According to a November 1957 article published in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the Horns owned more than 70 cars, as well as an array of music boxes, bicycles, and other turn-of-the-century artifacts. During their ownership, the “Barrelside” Phaeton was illustrated on one of the museum’s souvenir postcards. The color photo shows the Model J finished in its original brown and beige color scheme, complete with the custom air horns Mr. Nelson had fitted during his ownership.

In 1967, the Horn brothers sold their museum to Walter Bellm, founder of Bellm Freight Lines, a St. Louis-based trucking company. Mr. Bellm was also an avid car enthusiast, and he expanded the museum to accommodate his own growing collection. The Duesenberg remained a fixture in the museum, now called Bellm Cars & Music of Yesterday, until 1979, when it joined the consignor’s prominent Ohio-based collection of classics, including several other notable Duesenbergs. It has remained in single family ownership ever since.

After an extensive restoration, J-318 went on to earn a streak of awards throughout the early 1980s, including AACA Junior and Senior National First Prizes, a perfect 100-point score at a 1982 CCCA Grand Classic, and the Mayor’s Award at the ACD Annual Meet. Following these outings, the “Barrelside” appeared on the cover of Torque, the official magazine of the Michigan Region CCCA, and was the subject of a featured story titled “My Affair with J-318.”

Lovingly maintained and scarcely shown since the 1990s, the Duesenberg remains in lovely condition throughout and is finished in an attractive, two-tone gray color scheme with orange highlights and brown leather upholstery. Significantly, the Model J recently received a complete engine rebuild overseen by the respected Duesenberg specialist Straight Eight of Troy, Michigan. During this process, the consignor confirmed that the engine is the original unit supplied by Duesenberg in 1930, with J-318 stamped on the bellhousing and crankshaft.

In the nine decades that have passed since leaving Duesenberg’s Indianapolis factory, this glorious automobile has benefited from a well-documented chain of knowledgeable, appreciative owners. With one caretaker from 1931 to 1947, followed by many decades spent as a museum display, this Duesenberg has always been treasured. The car’s highly presentable condition and authentic appearance today is a credit to these owners, and to the continued efforts made by the family that has cherished it since 1979.

Not only is this a particularly attractive and highly regarded Model J, it is among the few, genuine Dual Cowl “Barrelside” Phaetons known to exist – and a unique example at that. Compared to the relatively numerous “Sweep Panels” and the similarly styled La Grande Phaetons built by the Union City Body Co., these distinctive LeBaron Phaetons belong to a rarefied breed, and are prized by knowledgeable collectors.

Gooding & Company is honored to present J-318, truly a Duesenberg of distinction, and trust that it will continue to be admired by those with a sincere appreciation of the great American classics.