Tom Hoczyk
PCS Past President
I couldn’t resist. When I found out that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was playing Also Sprach Zarathustra (begins with 2001 Space Odyssey theme) I knew I had to get tickets. Of course this coupled with the opportunity to visit the Hartung Collection in Glenview, NW of Chicago. I was fortunate to have a connection with RM Auctions, who made a phone call in my behalf to the people at Hartung’s, and I was allowed to have free access to the property as some local people and RM Auctions people were (trying to) itemize things for the auction. They were very nice to me. Mr. Hartung died this past May, and the collection is being auctioned by his 30-year companion, Marge, who I met.
You had to be there to fully comprehend the amount of stuff this man collected. Not only did he have dozens of older worn automobiles, but thousands of periferal automotive items, including some amazing NOS parts, both OEM and aftermarket. Some of it was stuff I didn’t even know existed. It was amazing.
The 1958 Eureka hearse turns out to be a limousine-style sideloader, table missing, of course, as are the draperies. It’s the only ’58 Eureka in that styling that I know to exist. It’s quite rough, although the interior isn’t too bad. I’d call it an ambitious restoration. It appears that someone actually would camp in it, and there was cardboard and plastic sheeting covering the rear compartment floor, and that protected it very well. The outside metal had been exposed to the elements and was showing a fair amount of rust and corrosion.
I uploaded all my pictures to flickr, so you can just see for yourself. For some reason some of the enlarged pictures seem to squish, so don’t ask me why that happens. I have no idea. If the following link doesn’t work, use the Yahoo search engine and search for “Hartung Eureka” Here’s the link:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Hartung Eureka
You had to be there to fully comprehend the amount of stuff this man collected. Not only did he have dozens of older worn automobiles, but thousands of periferal automotive items, including some amazing NOS parts, both OEM and aftermarket. Some of it was stuff I didn’t even know existed. It was amazing.
The 1958 Eureka hearse turns out to be a limousine-style sideloader, table missing, of course, as are the draperies. It’s the only ’58 Eureka in that styling that I know to exist. It’s quite rough, although the interior isn’t too bad. I’d call it an ambitious restoration. It appears that someone actually would camp in it, and there was cardboard and plastic sheeting covering the rear compartment floor, and that protected it very well. The outside metal had been exposed to the elements and was showing a fair amount of rust and corrosion.
I uploaded all my pictures to flickr, so you can just see for yourself. For some reason some of the enlarged pictures seem to squish, so don’t ask me why that happens. I have no idea. If the following link doesn’t work, use the Yahoo search engine and search for “Hartung Eureka” Here’s the link:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Hartung Eureka
