After half a century in private collections ‘The Lindbergh Packard’ comes to auction
A famous connection, an ongoing mystery
“The Lindbergh Packard,” a 1927 Packard Eight 443 7-Passenger Touring, is offered as lot 326 in Miller & Miller’s March 2nd auction of Petroliana & Advertising.
In 1927 Charles Lindbergh became the first person to complete a solo, non-stop transatlantic flight between two international cities. It made him an instant global celebrity.
The 25-year-old American left New York and flew 33.5 straight hours, going without sleep for 55 hours. He saw mirages and apparitions he claimed encouraged him, yet miraculously landed safely in Paris on May 21, 1927, greeted by a throng of more than 150,000 cheering spectators.
Back home he was celebrated on June 13, 1927 in New York City with a ticker tape parade held in his honor. It was declared a school holiday and local businesses closed for the day. It’s estimated over four million people came out to see the world-famous aviator. A luxurious Packard was used to chauffeur him along the parade route and one version of the story is that New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker then gifted a Packard to the celebrated Lindbergh.
Charles Lindbergh stands proudly beside the Spirit of St. Louis, the aircraft that carried him on his historic solo transatlantic flight in 1927. Source.
A luxurious Packard was used to carry Charles Lindbergh through the ticker tape parade that heralded his return to the United States on June 13, 1927. Source.
For more than six decades the automobile that’s been known as ‘The Lindbergh Packard’, will be sold at Miller & Miller’s Petroliana & Advertising auction Saturday March 2, 2024, estimated to fetch between CA$225,000 and CA$250,000. It was meticulously restored in 2005 by Stan Uher, of Classic Coachworks in Blenheim, Ontario, a labour of love which included returning it to its original black finish from the gaudy turquoise someone had previously painted it.
It’s the same vehicle that was on permanent display at an antique auto museum in Niagara Falls during the 1960s. One of a number of ‘celebrity cars’, it was identified and exhibited as ‘The Lindbergh Packard’. The museum closed in 1971 and the car has been in private collections ever since. In 2009, it was featured in Amelia, the film on aviatrix Amelia Earhart starring Hilary Swank and Ewan McGregor.
The Packard up for sale at Miller & Miller was also prevously exhibited at the Canadian Transportation Museum and Heritage Village (CTMHV) in Kingsville, Ontario. Source.
While hard evidence of the Packard’s provenance has so far eluded auto enthusiasts, there are plenty of clues to substantiate the Lindbergh connection. Multiple historical photographs consistently show the famous aviator in Packards. The Packard in the upcoming auction bears a body tag stamped with ‘380-7’, meaning the seventh of this series produced, which some speculate this is a direct reference to Lindbergh’s well-known nickname ‘Lucky Lindy’. Since the number seven has long been associated with luck this suggests it may have been made for him. (He got that nickname, not because of the transatlantic flight, but because he twice parachuted to safety while working as an airmail pilot.) The type of numbering on the Packard body tag also confirms it was made by Packard for an individual, not for a dealer. It’s also a fourth series 443, a series not in production until August 1927, several months after the New York ticker tape parade in Lindberg’s honour. Clearly it was not the same car the New York City mayor purportedly gifted him in June. However, on Oct. 11, 1927 Lindbergh was similarly paraded through the downtown streets of Atlanta and a fourth series 443 – possibly ‘The Lindbergh Packard’ – was part of that parade. Unfortunately, Packard factory documents were destroyed in a fire years ago so there’s no help there.
"The Lindbergh Packard" is offered as lot 326 in Miller & Miller’s March 2nd auction of Petroliana & Advertising.
Manufactured under various ownerships from 1899 to 1956, Packards sustained their reputation for quality and luxury. “Ask the man who owns one,” was their famous slogan.
As an international celebrity Lindbergh received many accolades and awards, including being named Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1928. He was also the subject of an acclaimed biography by A. Scott Berg, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999. But while Lindbergh may have been known as Lucky Lindy, he wasn’t always lucky. In fact, he and his wife were struck by unimaginable tragedy when their 20-month-old son was kidnapped from the family home in New Jersey on March 1, 1932. American gangster Al Capone offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the kidnappers, but tragically the child was found murdered two months later just a few miles from their home.
A poster seeking information about the whereabouts of Charles Lindbergh’s kidnapped son. Source.
‘The Lindbergh Packard’ is an exquisite automobile which may soon have a new home. Along with it comes the long-standing Lindbergh connection, which while still supported by speculative connections may someday be confirmed with the discovery of hard evidence.
“We know there’s a story there, but at the end of the day we just can’t get to bottom of it,” says Miller & Miller Auctions co-owner Ethan Miller. “But you know, sometimes those are the best stories.”