Descripción
THE MONACO SALE 'LES GRANDES MARQUES À MONACO'
13 May 2022, 15:00 CEST
Monte Carlo
Monaco, Fairmont Hotel
LOT 118
Offered from 47 years of private ownership
1927 Bugatti T35 B
Auction Estimate: €2, 000, 000 - €3, 000, 000
Offered from 47 years of private ownership
1927 Bugatti T35 B
Chassis no. 4888
Engine no. 127 TC
• Delivered new to the Netherlands
• Matching numbers
• Highly original
• Known ownership history
• Present ownership since 1975
• Excellent history
Footnotes
The magnificent car we are privileged to offer here is an early Bugatti Type 35B. The 2. 3-litre Type 35T engine, number '127', was modified at the factory on 15th April 1927 as a Type 35B unit with a supercharger added, "pistons 26mm, assembled like engine N° 114". It is one of the very early proper Type 35TC/ B engines, the first one being '94TC/ 4814' for Kracht, then '113TC/ 4806', '114TC/ 4845', '120TC/ 4848' for Eyston, '126TC/ 4817' for Chiron, '131TC/ 4849' for Keiller and '132TC/ 4868' for Junek.
First owner Dr Johannes Last (1873-1942) was born in The Hague on 26th March 1873. His father was the artist Johannes Anthony Last (1837-1901), whose father Carel Christian Last (1808-1876) was a lithographer and intermediary draughtsman working in Amsterdam and The Hague. As far as we know, Dr Last always lived with his parents on Hugo de Grootstraat 75 in The Hague. He worked as a lawyer and prosecutor, as recorded in his death certificate dated 6th January 1942. He never married and bought his first Bugatti Type 35, chassis '4490/ 39', in May 1925. His personal mechanic was J F Branse.
Dr Last's second racing Bugatti, the Type 35B chassis '4888' was delivered by road from Molsheim to La Haye, with temporary plates '1641 WW 5' issued between 14th and 19th May 1927. A little later it was sent again from Molsheim to the border at Kehl, probably after a mechanical service, with temporary plates '1765 WW 5' issued between 9th and 14th July 1927. Dr Last kept the Bugatti for four years and sold it back to the factory when he bought the ex-Prince Leopold Type 43A roadster, chassis '43306', in 1931.
A fascinating note from the factory 'used cars' book reads: "4888 (4797) Dr Last sold to M Anguenot for 13. 000 fr when bought 43306 for 50. 000fr." As the Type 49 cars sold new on the same page are chassis '49300'-'49302' and '49308', all delivered around July 1931, we may deduce the second delivery of '4888' to Anguenot is in that same period. That note indicates that the car was supposed to get chassis number '4797', described as 'not delivered' in factory records. The frame number of '4888' is very near to that of chassis '4796', delivered in Germany and preserved in a collection.
Dr Last had ordered chassis '4797' on 10th November 1926 and got a bill for 125. 000. ff, paid in January 1927. However, in April 1927 the car was delivered in supercharged configuration with a new chassis number, '4888'. There is no mention of an invoice for '4888' in April 1927 as it had already been paid as '4797' in January. Chassis '4817' was likewise ordered on 10th November 1926 for 100. 000ff (not paid) and delivered as a 35B, no longer 35T, to Hoffmann for Chiron. 135. 000ff were paid, which is more consistent for a blown car.
Next owner Maurice Marcellin Anguenot was born on 31st January 1907 in the village of Villers le Lac where his grandfather Ulysse Anguenot (1849-1937) whose watch-making company, Fabrique d'Horlogerie Anguenot Frêres, built its first factory that very same year. Marius Anguenot (1876-1938) built a new factory in 1924-1925, and after his death his widow and Maurice ran the company, which was consisted of six different watch factories. Maurice's father Marius had bought a new Type 44 in November 1929 and would keep it until December 1935. Maurice Anguenot probably sold the Type 35B when he bought second-hand in October 1935 an amazing Bugatti Type 46S with a Million-Guiet aluminium body. Just before the war, in 1939, M Anguenot had bought another second-hand Bugatti, Ventoux chassis '57372', from the Charbonnier family in Jura.
We know the 35B was then taken back by the factory. It received a new sump numbered '202B' from one of the two Type 51 prototype engines assembled on 19th September 1930, the other being '201B'. Engine '201B' had 41mm high pistons and crankshaft number '161'. Engine '202B' had 37mm high pistons (the crankshaft number is not recorded). Crankcase '202B' ended up in '4888' in 1938 before the car was sold to its next owner, Henri Meurdra (1910-1997). The Type 35B is listed in the cars delivered in February 1938: "23. February 1938 – 4888 - Voit. Course MEURDRA (ex Last). 5, 000ff." This shows that they remembered that the car had been owned by Last. The price of 5, 000ff is nothing compared to the 125, 000ff paid by Last ten years previously! The Bugatti was registered - as new - on 19th March 1938 with the plate '630 NV 4' in the name of Henri Meurdra, 5b rue Prechter in Strasbourg.
Henri Meurdra was born in Saint Quentin on 21st January 1910. Having lost his mother from pneumonia in 1917, as an only child, he was educated in Paris by his grandfather, Mr S Gomez- Vaez from the Bordeaux and Bayonne area. Gomez-Vaez ran its Spanish operations for the perfume manufacturing company Houbigant, whose factory was in Neuilly-sur-Seine and main shop at 19 Faubourg Saint Honoré in Paris. Henri Meurdra was a dedicated Bugatti enthusiast, owning 11 between 1931 and 1955. He graduated as an engineer in 'Arts et Metiers' in Paris around 1930 but never had to work as his grandfather died and he inherited enough money to buy an hotel in Strasbourg. He ran the hotel until 1973.
Henri's first Bugatti was a Type 30 bought in June 1931 and kept for one year. In January 1934 he bought a Type 35A which he sold in July 1935. Then he owned a Type 44 early in 1937 before buying '4888' in March 1938. That very same year on Christmas Day he bought a lovely Stelvio. Between 1949 and 1955 he bought a Type 49 and then four closed Type 57s! When Henri Meurdra met his wife around 1957 he had already sold his last Bugatti. The Meudras sold the Strasbourg hotel in 1973. Henri died in Valence on 23rd March 1997. Family members recall Henri telling his children that his 35B was capable of 185km/ h on the narrow Alsatian roads.
The Type 35B was next owned by John Forge, who recalled his post-war Bugatti days in the July 1986 issue of The Automobile magazine: "In 1949 I bought a Type 35B Bugatti from a firm, then known as Chipstead Motors in the Fulham Road. (NDLA: at Onslow Garage, 197 Fulham Road, Kensington, SW3.) It was euphemistically described as road equipped which meant that two headlamps were mounted either side of the radiator and although bulbs were included, there was no support system by way of dynamo or battery; there were also four light mudguards; this car was my introduction to Bugattis and I drove it on the road for a great many miles. On every occasion it was the most exciting and exhilarating experience. At this time I was farming in Kent and I had a girlfriend who lived in London; the car would idle through the tedious journey from Westminster Bridge to Blackheath with only very occasional stops - when I stalled the engine and had to recruit a passenger to give a pull on the starting handle. But when the A 20 was reached it would slip quickly into its stride and although the only indication of speed was the belt driven revolution counter which always started to slip about 2, 000rpm, it was very fast indeed. After about a year I swapped this gorgeous car for a 1750 supercharged Alfa Romeo."
The car's history after Forge's ownership was partially recorded in the 1954 Bugatti Book published by Barry Eaglesfied and C W P Hampton: "Chassis 4888/ 202B, registered LMF 961 from 9th April 1941. Owned by Steve Gumble, Hillside Road, Sudbury, Suffolk. Car originally white and autographed by famous Continental drivers, now blue. Comments says: Ex Louis Giron, Grane. Subject of article by G H Deason in Model Cars. Imported by Jack Lemon-Burton from France in 1938. Believed to have been used as Brooklands outer circuit car."
Thanks to historian Leigh Trevail from the Eastern Counties Motor Club (ECMC) and collector T J Cardy, we were able to determine that the car raced at an ECMC meeting in Fersfield, Norfolk on 17th June 1951, driven by G R I Boulton from Lynford Lodge near Thetford. He had race number '40' in Event 4 (five laps for cars over 2, 500cc). One picture shows him spinning on the circuit, which is probably why he is not listed in the results. The following year, the car was entered in the Snetterton Airfield ECMC meeting on Saturday 26th April 1952. It is in the list of entries as a 2300cc supercharged Bugatti in the name of G R I Boulton but driven by S Gumble. The photograph of the car on the starting line clearly shows the race number '22' and registration 'LMF 961'. The event programme, various photographs and other interesting documentation relating to the car's provenance, including copies of factory records, may be found within the very comprehensive history file (close inspection advised).
Steve Gumble lived at 39 Hillside Road in Sudbury, Suffolk. We may suppose Gumble bought the 35B from Boulton not long after, as in the ECMC race meeting at Snetterton on Saturday 25th April 1953, the Bugatti with race number '16' is listed as owned by S Gumble. The Bugatti raced in the combined five-lap scratch race for cars over 2, 500cc and in the five-lap handicap race for cars over 1, 500cc. Gumble also raced a Type 38A torpedo, chassis '38471', in another class.
The car then appears for sale in the August 1956 issue of Motor Sport, offered by a firm called Chiltern Motors at 11b Water Lane, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. The Bugatti is described as "35B Grand Prix Bugatti supercharged 2. 3 Litre 2 seater. Ex Louis Giron. One of four still left in original condition in this country. Capable of approximately 120 mph. In road trim with traditional Bugatti road-holding. Fitted with four almost new racing Dunlops and in excellent order throughout. £295."
Mrs Mary Suzanne Moore of 25 Cold Harbour Lane, Haynes, Middlesex bought the car in the summer of 1956, probably from the advertisement, and stored the car at her home until December 1957 when Kenneth Neve (1911-1996) answered her advertisement offering it for sale. Born in Sevenoaks in 1911, Kenneth Neve went to Tonbridge School and left in 1930 to serve an engineering apprenticeship with Vickers Armstrong Ltd, but decided against pursuing a career as an engineer. He joined asbestos manufacturer Turner & Newall with whom he stayed until he retired, having risen to become a director of the company. He was president of the VSCC from 1960 to 1963.
In 1969 the Type 35B was purchased by the late Anthony William Rippon (1933-2021). His son Allan has written the following biography for us: "Anthony Rippon, or Tony as he was known, was by profession a lawyer who worked in industry for various listed companies. By inclination, however he was a lover of all things French and most of all of fine French food and wine and Bugattis. He acquired his first of five Bugattis, a Brescia, at the age of 21 and retained it throughout his life; his two sons still drive it. His second of three Grand Prix Bugattis, '4888', was acquired in 1969 and driven on continental rallies and raced regularly by him and his friends during his seven years of ownership. '4888' was painted yellow by him in honour of and with the consent of Madame Junek, who came to the UK from behind the Iron Curtain in the year he acquired the car. Only the need to pay school fees was enough to force his sale of '4888' in 1976. His ownership of '4888' coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Grand Prix Bugatti's debut at Lyon, which was celebrated with an international Bugatti rally. '4888' drove to and from the event on the open road. Amongst various roles, Tony Rippon was editor of Bugantics, Chairman and President of the Bugatti Owners' Club. After a lifetime spent driving all sorts of historic cars, he always believed that a 35B such as '4888' represented the best experience that motoring had to offer."
Additional information
Directions to Fairmont Monte-Carlo
As the Hotel is situated on the race track, special access is required when the track is closed to the public.
The track closes at 09:30hrs on Friday and is scheduled to re-open that evening at 20:30hrs
During this closed track period, hotel guests and Bonhams customers are required to access the Fairmont via Casino Square and enter via the hotel's roof terrace.
The track is open to the public all day Thursday and up until 09:30hrs Friday
Normal access via the hotel's main entrance is permitted when the track is open to the public.
Day of sale instructions
Step 1:
AFIM Real Estate, 1 av. de Grande Bretagne, close to Hotel Metropole.
YOU WILL FIRST NEED TO GO TO THIS ADDRESS ON FRIDAY 13 MAY TO REQUEST A COMPLIMENTARY ACCESS BADGE.
This badge will allow you access to cross the bridge at av. des Spéluges and to access the Fairmont Hotel's roof-top entrance close to the Buddha Bar.
Step 2:
BRIDGE OVER THE CIRCUIT
to cross av. des Spéluges on Friday 13 May.
Step 3:
FAIRMONT HOTEL BONHAMS AUCTION
Access by roof-top only from 09:30hrs on Friday 13 May for people with complimentary badges.
Buyers Premium and Charges
Motor Cars
15%+VAT of the hammer price
Automobilia
27. 5%+VAT Up to €25, 000 of the hammer price
26%+VAT from €25, 001 to €700, 000 of the hammer price
20%+VAT from €700, 001 to €4, 000. 000 of the hammer price
14. 5%+VAT from €4, 000, 001 and above of the hammer price
Buyers' Obligations
ALL BIDDERS MUST AGREE THAT THEY HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD BONHAMS' CONDITIONS OF SALE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM, AND AGREE TO PAY THE BUYER'S PREMIUM AND ANY OTHER CHARGES MENTIONED IN THE NOTICE TO BIDDERS. THIS AFFECTS THE BIDDERS LEGAL RIGHTS.
