Davis Motor Robe

[BigMatt]

I was at an estate auction of a prominent local family and came across 2 Davis motor robes. I wasn't sure what they were at the time, but I knew they were in excellent, dirty condition. 

 

Does anyone have an idea what they are worth? Any more info would be great. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Shaw]

A very cool item in excellent condition that would be great as part of a museum display. 

[John_S_in_Penna]

Matt, there is a small subset of old-car hobbyists

who appreciate vintage clothing.  Yours, that clearly

have a tie-in to old cars, would be interesting to them.

Their excellent condition is a bonus.

 

Terry Bond, who collects and writes about all things

car-related, may know their value.  He checks this

forum regularly, and I hope he sees your topic.

[Terry Bond]

Davis Motor Pants - the ad says it all.  These are advertised in several of my teens era auto accessory catalogs.  The $10 price-tag was a lot back then, but they look substantial - read hot and heavy!   They seem to be NOS - never used at least.   I gather you also have the matching robe? As to value, first let's talk about how collectable the might be.   The pants are interesting, but would be difficult to display.  There are collectors of automobilia who collect motoring attire/clothing.  I have a collection of goggles, gauntlets and driving caps, but those pants are not of great interest.  Very hard to display them, unless you had a mannequin you were dressing up for display, or wanted to wear them as part of a costume.  I'm sure the hot and heavy aspect would be important for someone wanting to actually wear them on a brass car tour.    Same basically with the robe.  I have half dozen different nice robes, but they are folded in a closet.  Very hard to display.  If I had an automobile museum, there might be a greater level of interest and room to exhibit them.

In my opinion - collectable? yes, somewhat.

Displayable?  not really.

Valuable - not terribly valuable.  Perhaps something in the $200 area for the pants, for the "body bag" for the passenger, perhaps the same.   They are not a "pair" or "set" so if you are going to sell them, sell individually.  

That's my guestimate on them, but if you want to float them on evil-bay and see what happens, you just might find two people who are dressing mannequins and want to bid against each other.

Terry

Edited June 14, 2021 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Mark Shaw]

3 minutes ago, Terry Bond said:

Davis Motor Pants - the ad says it all.  These are advertised in several of my teens era auto accessory catalogs.  The $10 price-tag was a lot back then, but they look substantial - read hot and heavy!   They seem to be NOS - never used at least.   I gather you also have the matching robe? As to value, first let's talk about how collectable the might be.   The pants are interesting, but would be difficult to display.  There are collectors of automobilia who collect motoring attire/clothing.  I have a collection of goggles, gauntlets and driving caps, but those pants are not of great interest.  Very hard to display them, unless you had a mannequin you were dressing up for display, or wanted to wear them as part of a costume.  I'm sure the hot and heavy aspect would be important for someone wanting to actually wear them on a brass car tour.    Same basically with the robe.  I have half dozen different nice robes, but they are folded in a closet.  Very hard to display.  If I had an automobile museum, there might be a greater level of interest and room to exhibit them.

In my opinion - collectable? yes, somewhat.

Displayable?  not really.

Valuable - not terribly valuable.  Perhaps something in the $200 area for the pants, for the "body bag" for the passenger, perhaps the same.   They are not a "pair" or "set" so if you are going to sell them, sell individually.  

That's my guestimate on them, but if you want to float them on evil-bay and see what happens, you just might find two people who are dressing mannequins and want to bid against each other.

Terry

The HCCA Museum (now being funded) or the AACA Museum might be interested.

[BigMatt]

Wow! That's great information!

 

I am into them for $100 and I would like to see them go to a great cause. 

 

I emailed the HCCA to see if they wanted them for donation. 

 

Thanks for the input!

[Terry Bond]

You might also wish to contact the Buffalo Transportation Museum (Jim Sandoro).  They have a great museum with a strong focus on the early days of motoring.  There are many great showcases in that museum filled with automobile related artifacts.  They have a lot of motoring related clothing items on exhibit.

Terry

[BigMatt]

I will do it. I have 2 pair, so I can probably send them to two different museums.

[Mark Shaw]

19 hours ago, BigMatt said:

I will do it. I have 2 pair, so I can probably send them to two different museums.

This museum would be appropriate too, as it is in Alaska. 

 Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum (fountainheadmuseum.com)

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Mark Shaw (see edit history)

[gossp]

I would wear them with pride, but not for about six more months. 

[JamesR]

Those are really neat! Thanks for the great detailed photos.

 

Learning about how to clean or wash such old garments (or finding out if you should even attempt to cleaned them at all) might be a good place to start. Best wishes.

[Terry Bond]

Please do not attempt to clean them. They don't need it and you may do more harm than good.

Terry

[TTR]

I would also research if any company that reproduces vintage driving/riding apparel to see if they’d have interest buying something like these for patterns. 
I believe there are several in UK, maybe some here in States.