The Tim Harding Collection of Motoring Photographs represents a most important collection of photographs which is probably unequalled anywhere in its size and breadth. It was amassed over a lifetime of collecting by Tim Harding, a motoring historian who had an encyclopaedic knowledge of early vehicle marques.
Tim Harding died in 2018 and the collection is now to be dispersed at auction. Such is the size of the collection that this will be the first of two sales. The first sale will be held by Toovey’s in Washington, West Sussex, on 27 October 2021.
The collection comprises a most important body of images in all formats from full plate to ‘box brownie’. The photographs, well over 20,000 in number, cover the period from the very earliest days of motoring to the early post-war era. Most are loose but some are framed and mounted, and there are also ‘family albums’ compiled in period.
Our headline picture is of Nervo and Knox (members of the original Crazy gang) in their Aston Martin.
Whilst mainly focussed on cars, the collection also covers commercial vehicles, cyclecars, motorcycles, racing cars, motorsport generally, trials, rallies and racing including Brooklands. Some lots will cover period garages, workshops and motor accidents, as well as postcards of motoring in topographical settings.
In addition there are a number of items of automobilia such as manufacturers’ catalogues from the 20s and 30s, and dealers’ brochures.
For more information about the auction, please visit https://www.tooveys.com/forthcoming-auctions. The auction is not yet listed in detail (there is a grey placeholder for 27 October), but more details will be available nearer the time, and a call or email to Toovey’s will elicit a helpful response.
Here are three more images from the collection:
A Singer at picnic time
Marseal trade stand
A racing postcard of Sam Wright at the TT
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