Swiss Elegance With American Muscle... [PIC]

Art deco beauty.🤑

its stunning, thanks Rich. I've looked into this car in the past too. Could never find out anything about the red/black version. Love these shots of it on the road.

@geoff-jowett There were two other Graber cabriolets made but I don't know if they were identical. Are there dates on the photos? It could have been the same J chassis or a different number. Ya got me!

Cool cars!

Posted by: @geoff-jowett

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its stunning, thanks Rich. I've looked into this car in the past too. Could never find out anything about the red/black version. Love these shots of it on the road.

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Geoff, just type "Graber" in the search box above to find this:

https://diecast.org/community/1_24/the-graber-story-pic/#post-78796

This car was originally black/silver, then brown/orange in Harrah's collection (the colors above are mispresented in the old pictures), and finally dark blue/blue in the Sam Mann ownership.

PS: I do have the catalog of Harrah's collection, will try to find it and see if the car was there before ...

Another interesting fact about this model is that the Duesenberg logo on the hood was inverted on the early models (including on Richard's pictures above). I notified Jim and Raffi and they corrected the following batches of the model. I have a blue one with inverted logo and a silver/black one with correct logo orientation.

Posted by: @chav

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Posted by: @geoff-jowett

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its stunning, thanks Rich. I've looked into this car in the past too. Could never find out anything about the red/black version. Love these shots of it on the road.

-- attachment is not available -- -- attachment is not available -- -- attachment is not available -- -- attachment is not available --

Geoff, just type "Graber" in the search box above to find this:

https://diecast.org/community/1_24/the-graber-story-pic/#post-78796

This car was originally black/silver, then brown/orange in Harrah's collection (the colors above are mispresented in the old pictures), and finally dark blue/blue in the Sam Mann ownership.

PS: I do have the catalog of Harrah's collection, will try to find it and see if the car was there before ...

 

PS just went back to have a look at Chavs link. Really worth it gents.

Gorgeous car and beautyful model, congrats))) Pity it doesn't exist in 1/43

@geoff-jowett 

So, the Duesenberg Graber was not in Harrah's auction catalog from 1986 that I have (see pic at the bottom, the catalog lists over 200 cars, and there were many private sales and 2 other earlier auctions). However Google AI made this summary for the ownership of the Duesenberg Graber:

• William Harrah: For approximately 20 years, the car resided in prominent museums, including the famous collection of American casino magnate William Harrah in Reno, Nevada.
• Eric Traber: Following the liquidation of Harrah's collection in the mid-1980s, the car was purchased by Eric Traber and housed in the same building where the Graber workshops once stood.
• Sam Mann Acquisition: Sam and Emily Mann first saw the car at an auction in 1986 but did not acquire it until 1996. Some sources record the purchase year as 1998. 

• Restoration: Upon purchase, the Manns took the car on a 1,000-mile tour of the southwestern U.S., during which they had to perform constant roadside repairs. This led to a world-class, ground-up restoration that changed the car's color from bronze and gold to its current iconic two-tone blue.
• Awards: The car debuted post-restoration at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance (appearing in both 1999 and 2010), where it was a Best of Show finalist and won the "Most Elegant Open Car" trophy. "

Posted by: @chav

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Restoration: Upon purchase, the Manns took the car on a 1,000-mile tour of the southwestern U.S., during which they had to perform constant roadside repairs. This led to a world-class, ground-up restoration that changed the car's color from bronze and gold to its current iconic two-tone blue.

Amazing stuff, thanks Chav

PS just went hunting for that catalogue. There were a few sold items on ebay, at reasonable prices. I'll keep looking

Posted by: @geoff-jowett

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Posted by: @chav

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Restoration: Upon purchase, the Manns took the car on a 1,000-mile tour of the southwestern U.S., during which they had to perform constant roadside repairs. This led to a world-class, ground-up restoration that changed the car's color from bronze and gold to its current iconic two-tone blue.

Amazing stuff, thanks Chav

PS just went hunting for that catalogue. There were a few sold items on ebay, at reasonable prices. I'll keep looking

@geoff-jowett Geoff, most of the pictures of the cars inside are small, but the gem is a poster of the Bugatti Royale on 3 pages, make sure that that poster is included when you shop for the catalog.

eBay image:

Posted by: @chav

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Geoff, most of the pictures of the cars inside are small, but the gem is a poster of the Bugatti Royale on 3 pages, make sure that that poster is included when you shop for the catalog.

@geoff-jowett Geoff, just got a book on the Harrah's collection. The Duesenberg Graber was in the collection (purchased in 1964). When purchased it was black and silver, it was restored in 1977 and pained Dark Chestnut and Orange Bronze, it won 2nd place in the Duesenberg section of the 1977 Pebble Beach. I know from Raffi, Sam Mann hated the brown/orange combo and did not agree Automodello to make the model in these colors.

@chav thanks Chav, I kinda like the Dark Chestnut and Orange Bronze as its presented here.