Finally Found My Grandfather's Tucker

[JRHaelig]

Brochure

 

I did not know until my brother went fishing the filing cabinet that my grandfather took some interest in the Tucker dealership proposed in Bound Brook, NJ.  I couldn't tell you if his interest was as a dealer, buyer or "mark", but here's the brochure.  My Dad did say that Mr. Messinger (on the business card) "lost a lot of money" on this endeavor. 

 

Note the question about availability and pricing - and the "stay tuned for more information" answer.  We all know how that worked out!

 

Apparently, these brochures are frequently available for sale and not particularly valuable.  Nonetheless - we happen to have this one in excellent condition, and I was quite excited to see it uncovered.

[Rusty_OToole]

Interesting that they were selling as a medium priced car. Given the costly nature of the design, large powerful engine etc. I would have expected them to sell for more than a Cadillac.

[Mark Shaw]

A very cool find indeed!

 

[prewarnut]

   I never knew he had a coat of arms (as shown in the brochure) and then again some contemporary people just make this up. But, given the rare seahorses in the heraldry I looked it up and actually this is the coat of arms for Stephen Isaacson Tucker and later Robert Tucker of 1538, Exeter, UK. Well I'll be!

 

[Dave Wells]

This Tucker brochure was widely available in the 1960's as either a reprint or as overstock of the original. I have one packed away somewhere, but don't recall any notation on it as to its authenticity or lack there of. I recall having seen them for a dollar or two at a number of swap meets but whether they were being sold by the same seller at different meets or different sellers I can't remember.

I'm sure the one in the OP is genuine, from what "JR" says.

 

As an aside, Tucker car AM radios could be purchased prior to purchasing a Tucker. Many radios were sold and still appear on auction sites today, many are NOS and still in the box. They were made by Motorola for Tucker. Some claim there was a minimum order quantity from Motorola, so all the excess beyond what went into production (51) or sold to prospective customers were sold off when Tucker went out of business.

 

 

[Rusty_OToole]

As a means of raising money Tucker sold accessories like radios, fitted luggage etc before the cars were ready. Anyone who was a dealer or who had ordered a Tucker was encouraged to buy them. This accounts for many of the NOS radios etc .