This once in a lifetime collection of all things Indian is on the block this week in Las Vegas.
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By Kate Murphy, RideApart
Rickey Jensen was the owner of RJ and C Metal Fabricators in Phoenix,
Arizona. He was a quiet and private man who reportedly mostly kept to
himself. He had an extensive collection of scrap metal and other
junkyard items, but in the business of welding and fabricating, that
collection is simply stock. Some apparently may have observed the man to
be “a bit of a hoarder” which, given the historic discovery, seems like
just a slight understatement.
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After Jensen’s death, his padlocked barn revealed not more scrap metal, but a hidden treasure. Fifteen vintage Indian motorcycles, among which is, your eyes do not deceive you, an Indian Papoose.
Manufactured in the UK as the Welbike and rebadged by a struggling
Indian, it was developed for wartime use as a paratrooper scooter! There
are also eight Indian-branded bicycles and hundreds of pieces of
Indian-branded memorabilia items (the auction house refers to these
things as “road art”) on offer. Signs, screwdrivers, spark plugs, belt
buckles, letter openers—all bearing the Indian motorcycle brand—show an
extreme level of dedication to this marque and a constant vigilance in
hunting them all down that must have spanned decades.
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Unfortunately, not much is known about the dedicated collector today;
we regret that the recluse died without talking about his collection,
and, apparently without showing it to more than one or two people in his
lifetime. He was obviously dedicated to the brand, however, and this
week his collection is up for auction in Las Vegas. Each piece is
offered there with no reserve, and happily, it has all been cataloged so
we can drool over the pictures and wonder at this man’s passion. The
surprising part of the find, and the collection, is that he accomplished
it almost entirely in secret.
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| © RideApart.com/Hersteller |
This remarkable collection spans
the original Indian marque’s life, from inception until the day it was
no longer a viable business (its subsequentresurrections notwithstanding). There is speculation that this collection is so rare, it might be the only one of its kind in the world.
The
actual literal barn-find collection is out of the dark and squinting
under the bright lights of Las Vegas this week, on the auction block at
Mecum’s 28th annual vintage and antique motorcycle auction in Las Vegas,
until January 26th, 2019. The “road art” has all been for sale since
Tuesday, and the motorcycles and bicycles will be on the block on
Thursday, January 24th. Remember, there is no reserve, so you have a
chance to own a piece of this remarkable history.
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| © RideApart.com/Hersteller |
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