Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 262
1910 Pope-Hartford Model T 40HP Limousine Engine no. 6201
Sold for US$96,000 inc. premium
Lot 262
Property from the Collection of Don C. Boulton
1910 Pope-Hartford Model T 40HP Limousine
1910 Pope-Hartford Model T 40HP Limousine
Engine no. 6201
Engine no. 6201
299.4ci T-Head Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
40bhp
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Front and Rear Semi-Elliptic Leaf Springs
Rear-Wheel Drum Brakes
*Offered from the Don C. Boulton Collection
*One of the most famous American marques of the Brass Era
*Very rare survivor with original formal limousine coachwork
*Never fully restored; fascinating history including long-term Uruguayan ownership
*An ideal basis for a concours restoration
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
During the 1960s and 1970s, many of the great automobiles in Europe and South America moved to a booming United States market. Such was the case with this Pope-Hartford Model T Limousine, which is believed to have originally been shipped to Uruguay. According to the vintage Uruguayan registration book that remains with the car, it had been owned by Diego Pous, and was registered in his name in 1919 and 1920. At one time Pous was the Uruguayan Ambassador to the Holy See, and is said to have used the car while in Rome and Vatican City. Pope Pius X is reported to have ridden in the car during its service abroad. It was delivered with two bodies, this limousine and a touring.
The car was acquired from a young man by the name of Pablo Puppa by Ed Zenko of Spring Lake, Michigan, in 1978, and imported back to the United States for, likely, the first time since it was a new car. Letters in the file note that the car had been stored for sixty years in a grain warehouse, with the limousine body mounted and the touring body up in the rafters. Photographs on file show the car as it appeared when found, as a somewhat tattered but solid and intact vehicle, with what is believed to be registration no. 6275. The touring car body was also re-imported and eventually restored on another Pope-Hartford Model T chassis.
Later the Pope-Hartford was part of the collection of well-known Brass car enthusiast, David Noran of Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, who sold it to Wayne Leonard of Colorado in 2002. It was in the Bolton Collection erelong, and has remained there since. Much of its finishes appear to be from the 1970s, including the paint and interior, but it retains the original body panels and woodwork. The Gray & Davis lights were electrified many years ago and a starter added for ease of operation, but otherwise the car remains quite "stock" and in complete order.
Accompanied by the aforementioned photographs and Uruguayan registration documents, extensive correspondence covering the car's return to the U.S., and some original Pope-Hartford literature, this is one of the few surviving examples of grand American closed coachwork from the Brass Era, on one of the period's finest chassis.
Saleroom notices
Please note that the original owner of the car was Diego Pons, not as cataloged. Additionally note, this vehicle is titled under titled under chassis no. 6201POPE
Additional information
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