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In 1993, the county historical society What was it like going through every-
asked if they could add his collection to thing to prepare for this auction? It
their annual town tour. That year, their must have been overwhelming!
attendance increased 5 to 10-fold over the
average number of participants with people Mecum has a great operation and they’re
wanting to see what he had. There was great very organized. In terms of the cars,
interest, and it was well-received, so mom motorcycles, road art kind of things –
and dad decided they would open up the we think they are the best in the world.
following summer for a weekend each They’ve been cataloging what will be sold
month, and then they just started adding and will be videoing items up for auction
additional summer dates and welcoming in-place, where they now reside, which
car clubs. makes this an easier process. This auction
consists of the larger items in the collection
What was your role in the collection? – bikes, motorcycles, pedal cars, signage, and
Do you find yourself with the same other automobile-related items.
penchant for collecting as your father?
The Duellman Family Did you hold anything back from the
The Museum was mom and dad’s thing, auction that you personally want to keep?
but we helped. There are six of us kids and a 19-year difference
between the oldest and youngest so we were all around during Nothing except a 1932 Ford Pickup – it has the Elmer Museum
different phases of his building of the collection. I am the oldest, so I sign on it. It was the truck my dad took his last ride in – his casket
was around for his collecting cars phase – the big things. We did car rode in the back of the pick-up from the church to the burial site. We
shows and swap meets together. I’ve always been a car guy. I’ve been are keeping it so that our mother will take her last ride in the same
driving race cars since I was 13 years old, and I continue to race. I’m vehicle as Dad.
the racing nut of the family - racing was another of dad’s passions and
that’s the one he passed on to me. And, I also build race cars for other
people on the side (Les is a mechanical engineer). After I went off to
college in 1981, he started buying items to fit into the space he had
rather than adding more buildings on the property. He wanted to
show as much as he could. That’s when he started buying smaller
items such as toys and pedal cars. The younger siblings saw that part
of the collection built.
In 1992, my brother Brad and I purchased the salvage yard from
mom and dad. Elmer’s Auto Salvage was started as a part-time effort
by my father in 1962 and became his full-time business in 1964.
We’ve always been a full-service auto salvage business selling to body
shops, auto repair, dealerships, and the retail
public. We deliver daily to a 100-mile radius
and ship both regionally and nationally. I
definitely have the passion for cars as a result of
my dad even though I don’t really have the
collector bug. Dad did enough collecting for What else would you like to
ALL of us!!! share about your father

and his collection and
contributions to this
collecting hobby?

When a five-book series on
the evolution of the pedal cars
was being worked on, he provided
a lot of the information and pic-
tures. As an offshoot of that, he
was asked to create a toy price guide – Elmer’s Price Guide to Toys.
Two editions were published. Every toy in these books was from his
collection – with details, manufacturing information, and pricing …
He became an expert in everything he collected.
In 2003, eight of his pedal cars were part of an exhibition at the
Stamford Museum & Nature Center in Stamford, CT, titled Pedal
to the Metal: A History of Children’s Pedal Cars. That same year, he
and my mother gifted one of their pedal cars, a circa 1953 Kidillac,
to the Smithsonian to be a featured part of a display called America
on the Move within the National Museum of American History.
Why bring the collection to auction now?
For more information on the Elmer’s Auto and Toy Museum
My dad passed away in July 2019. He knew we weren’t going to collection auction and all other scheduled 2022 auctions, visit
run the museum forever and told us that when the time was up for Mecum.com. Bidder registration is available online in advance and
us, he wanted these items to go into the hands of other collectors. He on-site at the auction for $200, and it includes admission for two
wanted others to cherish and enjoy these items as much as he had. We persons to the four auction days. For those unable to attend in person,
are honoring his wish with this auction, but it will be a bittersweet enhanced remote bidding options are also available, with options for
weekend. both online and telephone bidding.

34 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles