Classic Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

The first Michelin guide was published in 1900 by the eponymous tyre company.

The thirties became a period when mass production and Art Deco style combined to power cars to new heights of usage and popularity before war intervened

The world record for a car sold at auction was broken last month when a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé was hammered down for €135m (£112m) on May 5.

The vendor of this 1966 Mercedes W111 250 SE Auto Coupé won it in a competition.

This exciting 1968 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA 1300 emerged for auction at Tennants (10% buyer’s premium).

Lancashire singer, comedian and actor George Formby (1904-61) performed to audiences around in the world in the 1930s-40s. Famous for his comical and occasionally double entendre-laden songs, he became Britain’s highest-paid entertainer at the time.

Charterhouse (25% buyer’s premium) has been holding auctions of classic cars, motorcycles and automobilia for nearly 20 years.

Described by Bonhams (15% buyer’s premium) as “the ultimate in rally equipment from the 1960s”, a pair of stopwatches mounted on an original Heuer plate intended to be attached to the dashboard of a racing or rally car received a suitably enthusiastic response.

‘Significant damage and rust’ was spot on as a catalogue description when it came to an enamel sign sold at Cotswold Auction Company (22% buyer’s premium) on February 8. It was a mess.

While classic, vintage and antique cars have a sizeable collecting market, the wider worlds of automobilia and petroliana also attract dedicated enthusiasts with plenty of auctions featuring a variety of lots.

The You Can Be Sure Of Shell adverts are some of the most familiar and renowned examples in British graphic design.

This London Transport poster for the Motor Show that took place from October 17-26, 1935, in Olympia, west London, was designed by Heather Perry – known as Herry Perry (1897-1962). It was printed by The Dangerfield Printing Co, London.

French illustrator Robert Falcucci (1900-89) was famous for his graphic works of the Art Deco era – particularly the Monaco Grand Prix posters.

Spirit of Ecstasy has adorned the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car since February 6, 1911.

Lyon & Turnbull notes that while mascots made no functional contribution to a car, they “certainly added style, and generally have fared better over time than the cars to which they were mounted”.

Ewbank’s (24% buyer’s premium) held a dedicated Cars, Motorbikes, Scooters & Automobilia auction on December 2 in Send, Woking.

Top price among a selection of car mascots offered in Newcastle came for a design in honour of the French aviator George Guynemer.

Pedal cars are regular visitors to salerooms but rarer powered versions were also produced for children to use, partly for road safety training