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LOT 86

A Private Omnibus by Million & Guiet

Sold for US$106,325 inc. premium
Lot 86

Formerly in the collection of Baron Casier and believed to have been owned by Ettore Bugatti
A Private Omnibus by Million & Guiet

A Private Omnibus by Million & Guiet



This regal Omnibus bears brass hub caps of Million & Guiet, each cast with the number 3766. This number stamping is repeated on various pieces of the ironwork, including the front road springs and mounting, and may be assumed to be the coachwork build number. The name Million Guiet will certainly resonate with collectors of European pre-war automobiles, as constructors of a number of bodies on Bugatti, Hispano and other great European marques.

According to its provenance, it was formerly in the collection of Baron Casier, who was well known as one of the more prolific collectors of carriages, housed at the Chateau Nokere in Belgium. Part of this collection was acquired in the 1980s by John Kluge, the legendary billionaire and once richest man in America.

Casier was known to have acquired the Bugatti family's collection of horsedrawn vehicles and it is assumed but not documented that the Omnibus was part of that acquisition. It is understood to have left the Casier collection later than the Kluge purchase, to have been restored and later to arrive here in America.

The Omnibus is listed in the reference work Horseman Bugatti by Andres Furger as reference "EB22", and illustrated in a paint scheme perhaps more readily known to Bugatti collectors of a black over yellow, and with an 'EB' in the oval panel below the driver's seat. Interestingly, Ettore Bugatti's association with Million Guiet extended to his ownership of a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost bodied by this house for most of his later years.

In prior ownership the carriage was refurbished externally to the current dark green paint scheme. Its front seat has been renewed, but in the rear compartment the upholstery is seemingly both original and in remarkably good order.

The Casier collection of carriages was something of legend in this community, and Bugatti's fondness for both horses and carriages runs deeply through the aesthetic of all his automobiles. It is easy to imagine friends being collected from the railroad and delivered to the Chateau St. Jean in Molsheim in this regal conveyance.

Footnotes

Lots 84 to 91 are available for preview by appointment in Framingham, Massachusetts during the week of May 10 to 14. Please contact [email protected] for inquiries.

Additionally, Lots 84 to 91 are being sold with the 'Non-Motor Vehicle' Buyer's Premium as listed in the Conditions of Sale tab on the Amelia Island Auction web page.

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