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“Collecting, like most passions, has the capacity to let you live in another world for awhile.” – Kim A. Herzinger, Ph.D.: Collector, Pushcart Prize-winning critic and writer, and faculty member at the University of Houston-Victoria
July 10, 2020 is Collector Car Appreciation Day! This annual event, now in its 11th year, raises awareness of the role automobile restoration and collection plays in American culture. Today we honor the collector of our spectacular car collection by sharing his story!
Postcard from Smoke Tree Ranch, 1952
In 1964, Josiah K. Lilly III entered a world of collectors fascinated with vintage cars and the preservation of antique automobiles. In March of that year, he and his wife, Josephine, were visiting the famous Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs, California.
While there, they witnessed an antique auto parade. Mr. Lilly later remarked, “People were dressed in costume and were driving the cars around, having a ball. If they were having so much fun doing this, why couldn’t we start something of this nature also?” Before his vacation ended, he and Josephine had become members of the Horseless Carriage Club. This experience led him to purchase his first antique auto, the 1916 Simplex-Crane, which was followed by the 1915 Stutz Bearcat, built in his hometown of Indianapolis.
Auto meet at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lilly, 1965 courtesy of Heritage Museums & Gardens archive
The Lillys’ auto collection grew quickly. Mr. Lilly reminisced, “For me the purchase of one antique car was the beginning of the search for more. After I picked up a few cars, people started to find me!” Over the next three years his collection expanded as quickly as funds and garage space would allow.
Josiah K. Lilly III in 1915 Stutz Bearcat, 1965 courtesy of Heritage Museums & Gardens archive
The Lillys searched the country for cars that played an important role in American history, such as the 1913 Ford Model T, and rare cars that demonstrate the highest levels of auto design, like the 1930 Duesenberg Model J.
It was important to the Lillys to share their collection of automobiles with the public. In fact, they began researching the idea of opening an auto museum the very same year they began collecting cars. However, after the death of his father in 1966, Mr. Lilly’s plans changed. When he acquired his father’s collections of antique American firearms, military miniatures, and artwork, Mr. and Mrs. Lilly expanded their initial concept. The following year they bough
Auto Museum exhibit, 1970 courtesy of the Heritage Museum & Gardens archive
t the property in Sandwich, and set to work creating the museum.
The work involved with opening the museum was daunting, but they tackled it with zeal. In two years they moved from concept to opening, which included finding and buying the right piece of property, designing and constructing two exhibit buildings, landscaping 76 acres, and more. For the Auto Museum, they made sure each car that was to be placed on exhibit was restored to the highest standard.
Christmas card image: Mr. and Mrs. Lilly in 1915 Stutz Bearcat, 1967 courtesy of Heritage Museums & Garden archive
Josiah K. Lilly III, like many collectors, found friendship and pleasure in the community of those who shared his interest in collecting vintage automobiles. He chose to share his interest with the public when he founded the museum in 1969. Although Collector Car Appreciation Day wasn’t around at the same time the Lillys, they shared the same values of recognizing and saving the automobile, a vital part of the American story.
