There were 17 of them on the table at the auction house – the five brass cups with extended handles were most impressive. Lying on the table in front of them were plaques, and standing to the left of the cups were larger trophies.
The cups were marked 1927 Rolls Royce and the owner belonged to the Classic Car Club of America. I was drawn to the trophies because I love antique, vintage and classic cars. There’s something about the hugeness of them, and their sleek and elegant lines that shout luxury.
The family was giving away the trophies of one who appeared to have been an avid classic-car collector. He wasn’t anonymous because his name was on some of the trophies. He was Stanley Tarnopol, and here’s what I found out about him via Google:
He was a Philadelphia collector.
His Rolls was featured in a 1956 article in Sports Illustrated about classic cars:
“Rolls-Royce Pall Mall tourer, American-built in Rolls plant at Springfield, Mass. in 1927, was refitted for Stanley Tarnopol, a Philadelphia furrier, with white kid tire, trunk and spring covers, white fox tonneau rug and burnished aluminum hood.”
I wasn’t able to find a photo of it, but it sounded gorgeous. A real prizewinner.
The article talked about the difference between antique and classic cars, and what cars fell into the classic category: American Auburns, Cadillacs, Duesenbergs and Packards, and European Bentleys, Daimlers, Mercedes-Benzes and Rolls Royces. (In case you aren’t sure what category your baby belonged in).
One collector, the Classic Car Club’s first female-owner drive, described her love affair with the Packard, the first of which she rode in as a youth as the car speeded at 95 miles per hour:
“When I found one just like it a couple of years ago,” she told the reporter, “I put my arms around it and we became engaged. It is beautiful and long and black and sleek, and riding in it is like sitting in the best chair in the living room.”
(I haven’t ridden in a Packard, but I can imagine the feeling. I did live in a converted apartment building in Philadelphia that once was a Packard showroom and assembly plant. There were two neon outlines of Packards in the lobby).
I couldn’t find a photo of Tarnopol’s Rolls. But here’s a type of Pall Mall Tourer, a 1926 Rolls Royce Phantom I that may be similar.
I was able to find other cars that he had once owned (search for his name on the Stanley page to locate the car):
1921 Stanley Steam Car, Model 735A
1910 Stanley Steam Car, Model 61
1922 Locomobile Model 48 Sportif Tourer
I’m sure these trophies were items that Tarnopol cherished, but not as much as those beautiful cars he owned. The trophies were primarily from the 1950s and one was from 1962, and some were for other classic cars.
They weren’t the only bit of car memorabilia at the auction. In another room – where items of higher value were auctioned – propped against a wall were flat tin racing-car emblems that had been framed. On a shelf below the tins were black and white photos of antique cars and nice reproductions of early Mercedes models. Could these have also belonged to Tarnopol?
Even with the pedigreed name, the trophies went for a steal:
Five cup trophies – $8
Two tall and heavy trophies (very nice designs) – $3
One all-brass trophy from 1954 – $5
Nine plaques and trophies – $3 (The buyer had also purchased the two large trophies. He said that he runs a car show and wanted to display them there.)
As for me: Keep the trophies. Bring on the cars.
