More than 300 motorcycles will go on the auction block Sept. 6-9, 2023. Mecum Auctions has been named to liquidate the John Parham Estate Collection at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. In a decision reached by the Board of Directors and chairman/co-founder Jill Parham, it was stated that “We have struggled for several years to cover wages and utilities partly due to low visitation.” The past few years of the pandemic and the struggling economy adversely affected the famed museum, contributing to the closure.
Founded in 1989 by passionate motorcycle enthusiasts, the National Motorcycle Museum collection contains more than 300 collector-grade motorcycles and upwards of 1,000 lots of Road Art encompassing more than 6,000 pieces in total. With 36,000 square feet of professionally curated display space, the museum has typically held about 550 motorcycles at any given time, including the late John Parham’s personal collection, as well as many on loan belonging to other collectors from around the world.
Mecum Auctions plans to consolidate the motorcycles and memorabilia into approximately 1,000 lots, led by top-shelf collector pieces such as a 1936 Norton International racer, a 1927 Brough Superior SS100 Pendine and a selection of Vincent models, including a 1955 Black Prince, a pair of mid-century Rapides and a 1952 Black Shadow. A desirable 1937 Harley-Davidson EL Knucklehead is also among the collection, as are wide selections of additional Harley-Davidsons, Indians, Triumphs, BSAs, Japanese-built bikes and many other lesser-known names as well.
From the Road Art realm, offerings such as a bronze bike engine sculpture, created by renowned artist Jeffrey Decker, will be among the items available. The piece depicts a 1937 Harley-Davidson EL engine and was created in 2002 especially for the late John Parham to honor Joe Petrali’s Daytona record breaker. The auction will also include a Von Dutch's helmet. As it’s told, the helmet served as a “tattoo-style history” of the bikes that Von Dutch owned and loved over his many years involved in the hobby and was one of his most prized possessions.
The auction is open to registered bidders only and will include a preview day on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Bidder registration is available online in advance and on-site at the auction starting at $100, and standard, in-person bidding includes admission for two persons to all auction days. For those unable to attend in person, enhanced remote bidding options are also available, including for both online and telephone bidding.
For more information on Mecum’s offering of the John Parham Estate Collection at The National Motorcycle Museum and all other scheduled auctions, visit:
