‘Out of Africa’ plane makes return trip for €201,250 via Bonhams

The 1929 American Moth Corp. De Havilland 60GMW Gipsy Moth biplane, which was featured in the Sydney Pollack-directed movie starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, sold to an anonymous telephone bidder in Kenya. The auction was held during the capital’s Rétromobile week. The sale set a new world record for a Gipsy Moth.

Bonhams’ second visit to the historic automotive venue, following a spectacular first sale in 2011, realized just short of 13 million euros from 86 motor cars, 84 motorcycles and more than 100 lots of automobilia.

In the motor car section the top lots were a 1929 Bentley 6 1/2-liter Speed Six tourer that beat its estimate to realize 828,000 euros, a 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Vantage cabriolet that more than doubled its estimate at 805,000 euros, and the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Coupé that was formerly owned by Ettore Bugatti himself and sold for 690,000 euros.

Meanwhile the collection of former architect Charles H Brown realized over 1.2 million euros, with the top-selling lot a 1931 Bentley 8-liter sports tourer at 483,000 euros. Outside the collection, a 1928 Rolls-Royce "Playboy Roadster" that was formerly in the collection of self-made multimillionaire commercial real estate developer Jerry J. Moore realized 287,500 euros.

In the motorcycle section, two headline collections realized a combined total of almost 600,000 euros. Top-selling lot in the Garelli Grand Prix Collection was a 1926 Garelli 348cc racing motorcycle at 29,900 euros, while a 1917 Indian 7-horspower Powerplus led the way among the bikes of the late Claude Lesellier, selling for 28,750 euros.

Top motorcycle lots were a 1968 Egli-Vincent 998cc racing motorcycle at 40,250 euros, a 1952 Vincent 998cc Series-C Rapide at 37,950 euros, and a circa1941 Zündapp KS750 Sahara Motorcycle Combination at 35,650 euros.

Immediately after the auction, a 1925 Coventry-Eagle 980cc Flying-8 Sidevalve was sold for 40,090 euros.

On the automobilia side a fine cased picnic set for six persons by G.W. Scott & Sons, circa 1910, was the top lot at 23,750 euros. Meanwhile, one of only five 1:8 scale models of a Bugatti Type 57S “rolling chassis” constructed by master craftsman Jean-Paul Fontenelle sold for 12,500 euros, and a Bugatti radiator realized 6,250 euros.

For the first time, Bonhams' motoring team was joined by the 20th century decorative arts department, which held a separate sale at the venue. Top-selling lot was a circa 1910 gilt-bronze figural lamp cast as the famous performer Loïe Fuller by François-Raoul Larche (1860-1912), which realized 36,250 euros.

“Following a 1,200-person reception the night before, bidders turned up in large numbers for a marathon 11-hour sale, resulting in 80 per cent of lots sold across the board,” noted Philip Kantor, head of Bonhams’ mainland European motoring department.

(1 euro = $1.34 US)