1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow
- Engine
- 7.0L (429 cu. in.) side-valve L-head V12, 160 bhp
- Colour
- Lightly metallic pewter with dark charcoal molding and red striping
The 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow was one of five handbuilt show cars created for the Chicago World's Fair, combining 12-cylinder power with radical streamlined coachwork designed by Phillip O. Wright. This example, chassis number 2575029, is widely accepted as the car exhibited at the 'A Century of Progress' exposition. After passing through several distinguished early collectors — including D. Cameron Peck and Henry Austin Clark Jr., founder of the Long Island Automotive Museum — the car was fully restored by the celebrated Reuter Coach Works in 1950 and later featured in the inaugural issue of Automobile Quarterly.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$3,740,000
- 1933 →Private saleArtist in Lake Forest, Illinoispartial documentation
Said to have purchased the car after the World's Fair concluded; resided near Chicago, consistent with the vehicle's early provenance.
- → 1949Private saleD. Cameron Peckfull documentation
Prominent early collector and heir to a Chicago dairy business; acquired the car from Overall for $250; his handwritten inventory notes identify it as the World's Fair exhibit car.
- 1949 → 1963Private saleHenry Austin Clark Jr.full documentation
Proprietor of the Long Island Automotive Museum; had the car transported to New York and fully restored at Reuter Coach Works in the Bronx around 1950; the car featured in several publications during his ownership.
- 1963 →AuctionPresent long-term private ownerpartial documentation
Acquired via one of three major Clark collection sales; had the bodywork refinished in metallic pewter with charcoal and red detailing in the early 1990s.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownCharles Overallfull documentation
Illustrator based in Lake Bluff, Illinois, known for portraits of Lincoln and Lindbergh; ownership confirmed by records at the National Automotive History Collection in Detroit.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1950RestorationReuter Coach Works
Comprehensive restoration carried out at Reuter Coach Works in the Bronx. Photographs dated 18 June 1950 from the Reuter archive document the car's sound pre-restoration condition. At the restorer's suggestion, the body was refinished in French Grey lacquer.
Photographs from the Reuter Coach Works Archive are included in the car's file. The bodywork was found to be solid and complete, making restoration straightforward.
- —Bodywork
Body refinished in a lightly metallic pewter shade with dark charcoal moulding and red striping; interior retrimmed in period-correct striped broadcloth with tiger and birdseye maple woodwork.
Work carried out in the early 1990s during the current long-term owner's tenure.
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